Remington Trick (9) attempts to run the option for Manchester while Ryan Horne (72) goes airborne in pursuit for the Trojans. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

BOURBON – It was not Friday night lights like fans are accustomed to seeing, but Triton’s scrimmage against Manchester on Friday night officially ushered in a new prep football season.

While no score is kept, the energy coming from both sidelines was more than noticeable when the two schools faced off. No, scrimmages are not used for wins and losses, they are used as a measuring stick. After the contest against Manchester, Triton feels it measures up pretty well.

“We’re still learning,” said Triton head coach John Johns. “Just our younger kids in general were a positive from tonight. We had a lot of freshmen come out this year, which is a good thing, but they still have a lot to learn about playing at the next level.

“We want to get those guys quicker, but tonight our younger guys did step up. They did rise up. They’ll keep trying. They just need to keep learning and keep pushing and they’ll get to where we need them.”

There was encouraging play from quite a few freshman and sophomores for the Trojans on Friday evening. Vincent Helton, Malachi Greene and Max Slusser all stood out on both sides of the ball on several occasions for Triton. Helton and Slusser are freshmen while Greene is a first-year sophomore.

As far as the varsity team goes, there are certainly improvements to be made. But there is some nice size in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Joey Corder provides good height and leadership at the receiver and safety positions.

Solid athleticism in the backfield will be a nice boost for the Trojan offense. Grant Stichter did a nice job at quarterback, showing off his athleticism by scoring twice with his feet. Jayden Hargrave and Nathan Spangle both had nice performances running the ball against Manchester. Overall, Johns is just excited to have excitement.

We’re a little more excited this year than we were last year,” Johns remarked. “That’s obviously a positive thing. Once we get a few of our guys healthy we will have some better depth and be ready to go.”

Triton will kickoff the regular season next Friday night at Caston.