Once again, the Alexandria Senior High School Trojans are going to be in the mix as a Class 5A contender in the state of Louisiana led by head coach Thomas Bachman. Entering now his 10th year leading one of the premier schools in CenLa, the second-generation coach has guided the Trojans to a 54-37 record with a playoff appearance each and every season including a state runner-up finish in 2020.
“This will be season number 10 for me now. It seems like just yesterday when I first interviewed. This has become a home for me and it has been very good to me and good to my family both on a personal and professional level. It has been very exciting for the last year and a half or two as far as laying new turf down on the field and a new field house. There’s a lot of things at the beginning that happened so that’s exciting. I am very grateful and thankful to be a part of it and want to show our appreciation by continuing to show up and work as hard as we can possibly work to try and produce a product on the field and off the field. The people of Alexandria can be proud of the way our kids handle themselves. Saying thank you with your words is one thing, but hopefully, you back it up with your actions.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
After a 8-5 campaign, which included a Quarterfinal berth a season ago, the Trojans return a lot of talent on a roster that has high expectations going into the upcoming season.
However, It is one thing to win on expectations and talent alone, but Coach Bachman understands that it is the work in the offseason that separates teams from being good to elite.
“It’s been a good summer and we are also coming off a great winter session as well. It starts there in the offseason. It has been fairly competitive in spring practice and the numbers have been good. Kids have been showing up and numbers have been good. I have been pleased with the kids. It’s been a busy summer. It always is.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
The Trojans have produced plenty of great players that have gone onto the next level and beyond including DJ Chark, Bud Clark, Jacobian Guillory, Shield Taylor, and others. The next great Trojan that will be playing college football at the next level comes at the running back position and that is LSU commit JT Lindsey. In a year that is filled with incredible running back talent in the state of Louisiana, the All-State running back is certainly one of the best after rushing for 1,729 yards and 26 touchdowns. The four star running back is going to be the key focal point of the offense, but he will have some help as he runs behind an experienced offensive line and has some veteran, talented receivers around him that can also make plays.
“The player with the most name recognition is JT Lindsey. He is committed to LSU and has had a couple of great years for us. It starts there, but we feel like we have a good group up front as far as the offensive line goes. We have three seniors on the offensive line including Connor Reed at left guard, Jakobi Morris at right guard, and Caleb Purl at left tackle. All three are multi-year starters. We feel good returning all those guys.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
“Offensively, at the skill positions, we feel really good at the receiver spots including Jimmie Duncan, Darius Washington and Kirkland Bates. At tight end, we have Tanner Townsend. Those are some of the returning players on offense.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
While the offense is going to be one of the most balanced and best in the state, it is going to come down to the defensive side of the football led by All-District safety Jaden Lewis as they are looking to solidify a couple of more positions on the other side.
“Defensively, we graduated some really good ones. We will see who will fill in some of those roles and who fills some of the void that has been left. There is still a lot left for people to compete for a starting job heading into fall camp.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
Along with some defensive positions, the Trojans also have a position battle going on at the quarterback position between Max Gassiott and Karsen Sellers. Solidifying some of those positions while also identifying younger players that can either fill those roles or can find early playing time can prove to be the difference in Alexandria making a deep playoff run.
“Obviously, the players that you know you got returning, you know what you got in them. They got that Friday night experience. They have proven that they can play at a high level. It is about trying to find this next group of kids. That transition from players going from their freshman year to their sophomore year is to see how many of them can compete at a high level. We got a good glimpse into it here.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
Playing at the highest level against some of the best competition in the state, Coach Bachman and his staff always tries to be flexible and play to the strength of its overall roster when it comes to the X’s and O’s.
“We try to be multiple especially when you get into the playoffs and you are trying to match personnel. We are multiple on both sides of the football and we try to let our personnel dictate it. I tell the kids all the time that the game is about the players. We build the scheme around the players.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
The Trojans are going to need squeeze every ounce of its team, especially when playing one of the state’s toughest schedules, and it doesn’t just start with the regular season. In the preseason, the Trojans will face off against St. Thomas More, Acadiana, and Sterlington before starting the season against West Feliciana, Union Parish, Destrehan, Opelousas, and Many. Then, it does not get any easier in district play with teams like West Monroe, Pineville, Ruston, Ouachita Parish, and Neville.
There’s the motto that if you want to be the best, you got to beat the best and that is something that the ASH Trojans firmly believe in.
“Every cycle, there are new teams that you can play and new places that you can travel to expose your kids. Being here in the center of the state, you can travel to every corner of the state and not be super crazy in terms of the time. We try to hit all parts of the state being in the Northeast part of the district. You play who you play.”
“All of Division I is great on either side, but obviously, that’s a very competitive bracket with everybody that is in there. I certainly look forward to it as a competitor and we want to be stacked up against the best. You got to take that approach, embrace the challenge, and see what this year holds.”
ASH Head Coach Thomas Bachman
With talented players and a solidified coaching staff, the Alexandria Trojans are definitely a team not to overlook regardless of who is on the schedule.
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