Tolton football welcomes major changes heading into the 2026 season

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

There's a lot of newness heading into the fall for the Trailblazers.

With a completely new field ready to be open ahead of the team's 2026 campaign and a completely new look roster, Tolton football has some major changes in the new year.

The turf field is just about ready to go, but there are still several projects throughout the stadium that need to be completed before it can be considered finished. However, the school is still expecting that it will be ready by the start of the fall sports season.

Head coach Michael Egnew is excited about the new surface, allowing his team to practice and compete without having to worry about adverse weather conditions.

"It's going to be incredible, we use to have water on the field, no real place to practice, and now there's a place," said coach Egnew. "The soccer team's going to enjoy it, the football team will use it, track, everybody, we're excited about it."

The personnel is also bringing lots of changes to the team. More than 20 athletes from last year's squad graduated, leaving lots of room for new players to step up and make an impact.

"It's definitely going to be one of thoseyears where you kind of have to reestablish roles," said Egnew. "But these guys are all ready to do it. We have a lot of guys stepping into roles that haven't played before. I think it's going to be a fun year to figure out what we are."

Even with one of the smaller rosters the Blazers have had in recent years, the goal is to keep the mindset and the methods the same, and not change too much just because it's a young team.

"We don't change what we do, we do what we do. We practice hard, we make sure the guys show up on time. They're getting out here, they're learning the scheme and learning new things, and that's what we're going to do."

With just about seven weeks until the season gets going, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that the team is starting on the right foot, and adjusting to the new facilities is a major part of that.

"I'd like to see what we can do when we're actually practicing on our field. I want to see how well the scheme is, the kind of cohesion, we have some set stuff we're going to do," said coach Egnew. "It'll be interesting to watch some of these younger guys make plays, and that's really what it's all about."

Tolton football opens its 2026 season at home against Marceline. Kick off is currently scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on August 28.