Mendota looks to continue building after successful 2021 season

Coming off a winning campaign for the first time since 2014, the Mendota football team has spent its offseason diligently working to recapture the newfound success it achieved in 2021.

The Trojans opened last year’s campaign with five victories in their first six games, finishing the season 5-5 after bowing out of the first round of the Class 3A playoffs against Durand-Pecatonica.

Mendota’s win total was its most since a 6-4 finish in 2014 and no Mendota squad had won more than one game since.

Coach Keegan Hill’s crew will look differently in 2022, but has put in the effort to keep the Trojans improving.

“Whether the kids put it into words or not, [the 2021 success] fed into their preparation for this season,” said Hill, who enters his sixth season as the Trojans’ mentor. “I think a lot of them have higher expectations of themselves now because they saw what was possible.”

Mendota lost 13 seniors to graduation, including six of the team’s seven All-Three Rivers Conference Mississippi Division selections.

Isaac Smith, an honorable mention All-TRC pick last season at defensive back, returns at safety this season and will also play wide receiver. Smith had 165 yards and one touchdown receiving last season.

Tony Childs returns at running back and linebacker after rushing for 467 yards and six touchdowns last fall. J.P. Belmonte also got some carries in 2021, while Ryne Strouss and Garrett Zinke gained experience in the receiving corps last season.

The Trojans have a veteran offensive line with four starters back - Jose Rocha, Landon Kreiser, Jordan Coney and Neal Linden.

Junior Justin Randolph will take over at quarterback for three-year starter Ted Landgraf. Randolph attempted passes in five games last season, including the final four. He completed 3 of 11 passes for 73 yards.

“Our junior class is only five or six kids, so some younger guys will be asked to provide some depth,” Hill said. “I don’t think you can ever have enough depth, but we’re starting the season healthy, and we got after it this summer. Our style of play will change a bit based on the skillset of the guys we have, but the presentation and how we want to do it will look very similar.”

With so many younger players counted on to fill gaps in the depth chart, Hill has benefited from a senior class that has taken a collective responsibility to ensure the entire team is on the same page.

“That’s been very, very refreshing to see how they’re treating incoming freshmen and anybody else that might be a new face,” Hill said. “There’s none of the traditional behavior you might hear about within football teams looking down on their peers or bullying; just the quality of enjoying practice as teammates and building each other up.

“It’s very obvious that for this current group, this way of treating people is a priority, and what we accomplish on the field has a chance to be better because of it. If they continue to operate that way, the coaches can focus on football instead of having to spend time on those personal skills.”

The Trojans open the 2022 season at Erie-Prophetstown Friday, Aug. 26 in a Three Rivers Conference crossover. Mendota won last year’s matchup 24-14.

Mendota’s Week 2 is up in the air after Riverdale canceled its varsity season. The Trojans get into TRC Mississippi Division play in Week 3 with a trip to Bureau Valley before playing Princeton at home in Week 4 and Hall on the road in Week 5.

After the Trojans play Sherrard in a TRC crossover in Week 6, they finish the season with conference games at home against Kewanee, at Newman and home against St. Bede.

Mendota’s schedule features five teams that made the playoffs in 2021, including the Trojans’ final three opponents of the regular season.