Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON — Nearly one-third of the 2025 Triton Junior/Senior High School varsity football roster was seniors.
Of 35 players, a dozen were in the Class of 2026 and 10 of those saw significant playing time for the Trojans squad that went 7-4 overall and 5-2 in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference.
“We’re looking at very new faces to our varsity and a couple of guys that are returning,” says second-year Triton head coach Andy Barker as he prepares his 38-member team for the 2026 campaign. “Cayden Bradley was a really good wide receiver last year.
“Ryder Gayheart was a really good slot receiver/running back offensively for us. Charlie Worsham is an offensive lineman returning for us. All those guys play defense as well (Bradley at cornerback, Gayheart at safety and Worsham on the line).
“Beyond that, we’re replacing everybody else.”
Graduation took running back Jayden Overmyer (261 carries for 1,749 yards and 19 touchdowns plus 13 receptions for 142 yards and one TD in 2025), quarterback Gavin Riffle (61-of-132 passes for 970 yards and nine TD’s) Isaac Quintana (14 catches for 263 yards and two TD’s).
Gayheart had 10 receptions for 230 yards and two TD’s last fall. For his senior year, he is moving to quarterback to trigger the Gun-T spread offense.
“We decided to go with a pure athlete,” says Barker. “He's worked hard this off-season to try to fill that role for us.”
Sophomore Tyler Painton moves in at running back.
Wideouts are senior Bradley (10 catches for 167 yards and three TD’s) and juniors Lukas Nicely and Jaidyn Arnett.
Junior Blake Ousley looks to be the starter at tight end/H-back.
Junior Chris Fenton is atop the depth chart at center with a pair of brothers — senior Dom Bradley and junior Greg Bradley — and junior Logan Collins in the offensive line mix.
During preseason practices, Gayheart was front runner at punter with Ousley handling extra points, field goals and kickoffs.
The Trojans jumped in and out of odd fronts and employed a “3-3 stack” as a base defensive formation in 2025 and Barker says the team will likely do much of the same in 2026.
Lost to graduation on that side of the football are Colton Reynolds (124 total tackles), Preston Brookins (75 total tackles) and Cam Callahan (29 total tackles).
Still sorting out the lineup, Barker says Worsham is likely to start at nose tackle with senior Ashton Jacobs at one of the ends.
The linebacker corps features Collins, Ousley and senior Christian McIntosh.
In the secondary, there’s Gayheart (38 total tackles) and Painton as “walk-up” safeties and Cayden Bradley and junior Noah Mondy as corners.
Triton held its scrimmage Aug. 14 against Jimtown on the “Trojan Tundra.”
Building team culture was a big part of the summer and preseason.
“Our mantra this year is “Earn it, Own it, Live it,” says Barker. “I spent a lot of time this off season unpacking the culture that I inherited, and then trying to figure out exactly what I wanted our culture to be moving forward.
“I started with a much broader picture. The title for the whole cultural ecosystem is “Meant For More. The idea is we are meant for more than just football.”
It’s about incorporating the lessons learned on the gridiron into life.
Barker says his young men are meant to grow up to be good fathers, brothers and sons.
“You ‘Own It’ or ‘Earn It’ every day whether it’s on the football field, in the classroom or at home,” says Barker. “‘Owning It’ is a big one as this generation struggles with ownership and taking responsibility especially for failure.
“They do not like to fail and there's a whole reason behind that, and I'm empathetic to it.
“Because of social media, they're out in the world's face all the time. Failure ultimately causes embarrassment. They're so scared of that that they won't “Own It” when they actually fail.
“Then the “Live It’ piece is living the good character that you build on the football field and do the right thing at the right time for the right reason.”
As a way to navigate this culture, Barker gave the players’ assigned reading over the summer — “Above The Line” by Urban Meyer.
“What a great foundational book for our program,” says Barker. “It’s just the lessons that come out of that parallel took football and life, which is exactly what I was looking for.”
The Class 1A Trojans open the 2026 season Friday, Aug. 21 against visiting 2A LaVille.
After that comes a road game against 2A Bremen Aug. 29, vs 1A Culver Community Sept. 4, at 1A South Central (Union Mills) Sept. 11, at 1A Winamac Sept. 18, vs. 1A North Judson Sept. 25, at 1A Caston Oct. 2, vs. 1A Pioneer Oct. 9 and at 1A North Miami Oct. 16. The last seven regular-season games are in the HNAC.
The Indiana Football Coaches Association preseason rankings have Pioneer at No. 2 with Bremen and North Miami receiving votes.
Triton’s last sectional title came in 2018.
The Trojans have won at least games in each of the last four seasons.
The Triton coaching staff also includes Matthew Arvesen, Cord Atkinson, David Cook, Aaron Mondy and Steve Watkins.
