‘You almost have to go a little bit harder than you did before’: Tolton looks to keep momentum rolling
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Year-after-year, Tolton football continues to climb, as the program reached the highest point its seen yet with its first-ever district title win in 2023.
Head coach Michael Egnew has been there for each step up the ladder. Over the course of the past five seasons, he's seen it all. From a one-win year in 2019, to five wins in 2021 and then to a historic 11-win season just last year.
He emphasized that one of the keys to that recent success has been the program's growth in roster numbers. Heading into 2024, Egnew said he has the biggest team he's had yet, with 60 now on the roster. It's a far cry from his first season when he said he fielded about 17 or 20.
"We've had seasons where we've won zero games and then we've had seasons where all of the games, so one thing that really helps us is being able to go into the school and try to get the kids that are already in school to come out and play. That's what I do. I literally do that. I go in there and say, 'hey, you look like a little bit bigger kid, come out and play.' A lot of times it works. They come out and they play. We have like maybe four starters this year that have never played football, so you'll see some of those guys come out," Egnew said.
The 2023 district championship win over Warsaw last season definitely helped Egnew's cause when hitting the hallways to find new talent. He said seasons like that make playing football popular.
The Trailblazers will have their hands full replacing a big chunk of offensive production, as both quarterback Jake Ryan and star wide receiver/defensive back Cameron Lee graduated last school year.
"You're not gonna be able to replace that," Egnew said. "We have other ways now of attacking the field. We're gonna look a little different this year, just how we run plays and kind of our tempo and formations will change a little bit because we have to do what works for our kids."
Although they will make a few adjustments, Egnew said that Tolton will still be sticking to its roots, running a multiple-style offense in 2024. He also added that he is very happy with where his defense stands, just a little more than week out from the start of the regular season.
The Tolton defense stole the show many times in 2023. Overall, that unit limited opponents to an average of about 10 points per game, posting five shutouts during the season.
Turning the page to a new year, Egnew and his Trailblazers will look to take the success they found in 2023 a step further. However, it will take a different kind of grind to accomplish that.
"You almost have to go a little bit harder than you did before, at least what you though you did," he said. "Now, everyone's prepared for the team that you were last year."
Tolton will get its first taste of action on Friday, Aug. 23 when the team participates in the California Jamboree. After that, the regular season will begin with a home game against Forsyth on Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. in Columbia.
