NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC defenders (L to R) Lakyr Peska, Drew Mellies, Kyle Youngbear, and Garrett Surman pursue Vinton's quarterback Colt Koeppen

You don’t often see a Gatorade dousing of the head coach after the first game of a season. But this one was special. For the first time in nearly three calendar years, the STC varsity football team was victorious, snapping a 25-game losing streak. In their 2025 season opener on August 29, the Trojans defeated the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings, 20-8, earning head coach Nate Doran the celebratory dousing.

“The win means a lot to the program,” said junior lineman and co-captain Manny Cervantes. “We’ve worked so hard for this; it is really special to see how all the hard work pays off.”

The Trojan defense set the tone of the evening early, forcing the Vikings to go 3-and-out on their first two possessions. Vinton-Shellsburg — themselves looking to snap a nearly identical three year losing streak — found yardage tough to come by. Strong defensive plays by senior Nick Upah, senior Garrett Surman, and Cervantes limited the Vikings on their opening drives.

The early defensive dominance set up STC’s offense nicely, and they turned to one of their leading rushers from last season: junior Eric Medina. On their second offensive possession, the Trojans started their drive at the Vikings 37-yard line. Medina broke off runs of ten, five, ten, two, and four yards to bring STC down to the six-yard line. Medina finished off the drive on the next play, scoring a six-yard touchdown to cap off a drive where he ran the ball on every play. He also kicked the point-after-attempt to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead.

“My hogs, my offensive lineman, it’s beautiful to have them,” Medina said after the game. “It’s fun to run behind them; they give me space and let me hit the holes hard.”

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC seniors Drew Mellies (L) and Garrett Surman (R) take down Vinton-Shellsburg quarterback Colt Koeppen.

On the next drive, the Vikings finally got the passing game going behind junior quarterback Colt Koeppen. Driving down to the Trojan’s 8-yard line in the early portions of the second quarter, Vinton-Shellsburg was threatening to even up the score. But STC junior defensive back Michael Henry intercepted a Viking pass to swing the momentum back in the Trojans’ favor. The two teams failed to sustain drives in the remaining moments of the quarter, and STC took a 7-0 lead into the locker room.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Trojan defense came up with another huge turnover. On Vinton-Shellsburg’s first play from scrimmage in the second half, Upah tore into the backfield to strip running back Isaiah Schneider of the ball. Upah recovered the fumble himself and STC was set up at Vinton’s 36-yard line. Sophomore running back Izak Schroeder got things going on the ground for the Trojans, breaking off runs of eight, eleven, and seven yards. STC drove to the 1-yard line, where they faced a fourth and goal. Going for it, Schroeder punched it in and, after missing the two-point conversion, the Trojans increased their lead to 13-0.

STC’s defense continued to hold strong against the Vikings, led by tackles for loss by Cervantes and senior Marcus Bear on Vinton-Shellsburg’s net possession. Forcing them to punt as time expired in the third quarter, the Trojans entered the last twelve minutes of the game with the ball and one quarter away from victory.

What transpired next may be a sign of the toughness and determination of this year’s squad. The Trojans reeled off an 18-play, 74-yard, 10:34 minute drive to seal the victory. What’s even more impressive is that they did it without their top two options at running back: Medina and Schroeder. Medina had left earlier in the game, having been sidelined with leg cramps.

After the first play of the now long 4th quarter drive, Schroeder joined him, having experienced severe foot cramps himself. But the trio of Bear, Henry, and junior Eli Cruikshank stepped up to help fuel the drive.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC junior co-captain Manny Cervantes (#77) makes a tackle against Vinton-Shellsburg.

“I’ve never really ran the ball in a game or practiced it,” said Cruikshank after the game. “But I just came in and believed in the hogs and just kept running through the holes they made. It was great,” he said.

The drive was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown reception by Upah from sophomore quarterback Ryan Brant. Brant, making his first career varsity start, had a key 12-yard scramble earlier in the drive to gain a first down. Medina converted on the point-after-attempt to give the Trojans a 20-0 advantage.

The Vikings drove to score a touchdown in the last two minutes of the game. However, a final squib kickoff was recovered by Cruikshank and the Trojans controlled the ball and the clock with Vinton-Shellsburg out of timeouts. STC was able to kneel out the clock, secure their first win since Sept. 2, 2022, and celebrate on the field by dumping the cooler on their head coach.

On the evening, the Trojans were led by Medina in rushing with 14 carries for 80 yards. Behind him, Schroeder carried the ball 10 times for 41 yards and Cruikshank added 35 yards on 6 carries — all in the key fourth quarter drive.

STC’s stellar defensive performance was led by junior Kyle Youngbear, who tallied 8.5 tackles. He was followed by Cervantes, Bear, and senior Drew Mellies, who each contributed 4 tackles. “Our defense played great tonight,” co-captain Upah said after the game. “We shut Vinton out until the last minute of the game. The defense stepped up and did a great job.”

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC sophomore quarterback Ryan Brant (L) and junior Eric Medina line up in the backfield for the Trojans.

Up next for the Trojans (1-0) is a trip to La Porte City to face Union on Friday night, Sept. 5. Union (1-0) opened their season with a 22-19 win over New Hartford. But for the week after their big win over Vinton, the STC football program will savor a long-awaited victory.

“It means the world. I love this team, I love what we have going, and I can’t wait to do more,” Upah reflected.

“The coaches are really happy. They’ve been saying, ‘This is the team; this is it. You guys keep working and keeping a good mentality, it’s going to happen.’ We’re going to keep pushing every day at practice and making ourselves better,” Medina added.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – Trojan junior Eric Medina carries the ball for STC against Vinton-Shellsburg. Medina had 80 yards rushing for STC in the game.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC celebrates a touchdown by Eric Medina (#5) to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead over Vinton-Shellsburg.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC junior Michael Henry takes the pitch from quarterback Ryan Brant (#9).

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – STC senior co-captain Nick Upah (#8) is lifted up into the air by sophomore offensive lineman Lakyr Peska after Upah scored on a 3-yard touchdown reception.

NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO BY STEVE BRANT – The STC football team celebrates their victory over Vinton-Shellsburg after kneeling out the clock in the fourth quarter.