Photo by Jake McNeill The 2023 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers football team includes, front row (from left to right): Devin Carter, Christian Lembke, Alex Schuh, Brian Erbes, Damian Alatriste, Zach Swanson, Jaret Ankrum, Jacob Meyer, Ashton Squires, Kelvin Crumrine. Back row (L to R): Taylor Squires, Emery Xiong, Talon Brinkley, Nolan Verlinde, Ty Yackley, Griffin Zick, Jayden Hansen, David Schuh, Aiden Sanow, Dalton Timmerman, Xavier Trierweiler, Noah Knakmuhs, Jack Willhite, Trevor Smith, Adam Hippe, Taylor Swenhaugen, Trenton Johnson, Isaiah Wolske, Sy Sanders, Ryker Davis, Gabe Wolske, Lawton Verlinde.

TRACY — The Tracy-Milroy-Balaton football team was a force to be reckoned with in 2022. Behind its stout defense and the rushing production of Caden Anderson, the Panthers steamrolled their way to an 8-2 record and a section championship appearance. While the many of last year’s team graduated over the offseason, the Panthers are looking to develop some new young talent in their place.

“First and foremost, we’ll have to change a little bit of our offensive philosophy. We’re not going to pound the rock like we did last year,” TMB head coach Jason Kainz said. “Caden wasn’t the only one, we lost a couple of big linemen… it’s going to be a little bit of a chance in what we’re able to call, you don’t have that third-and-1 almost guaranteed first down like we did before.”

Part of the shift in the team’s offensive philosophy will fall upon quarterback Trevor Smith. As a sophomore, Smith ran for 516 yards and five touchdowns while passing for 1170 yards and 15 touchdowns. His numbers were great last season, but now as a junior, the three-sport athlete will be expected to take a jump to the next level.

“He was a major part of the basketball team and just that experience that he had in baseball as well, I mean, took the mound and was pitching in the playoffs for them as their number one pitcher, so he’s got some good experience and both of those sports and just took it into the summer. Came to camp and it’s no longer a learning process for him, hopefully it’s just a fine-tuning kind of thing for him,” Kainz said.

“Hopefully the game will slow down for him a little bit. We’ve got some weapons on the offensive side, wide receiver Jaret Ankrum and the Knakmuhs kid.”

Ankrum was second on the team in receiving yards last season, racking up 358 yards and six touchdowns. Knakmuhs got fewer touches, but he’ll be expected to take a step up as a junior this season.

Last year’s defense was a force to be reckoned with. While they allowed 40 points in a section championship matchup against Springfield last season, that total was an aberration; they had allowed 46 total points all season prior to that and had held eight of their nine opponents to 8 points or less. They lost much of their linebacking corps but they return nearly their entire secondary, making for intriguing no-fly zone potential.

“They got some good experience. Obviously Springfield was able to kind of do what they wanted in the section final game, but just that experience we bring back, I’m hoping we see some maturity out of those kids,” Kainz said. He added that they haven’t been able to test out their secondary as much in practice since many of those players are also on their offensive first-team, but he’s excited to see them go up against other competition.

In terms of the front seven, though, the Panthers do have some key losses. Travis and Nick Willhite — referred to by Kainz as the Willhite Wall — both graduated, as did tackles-for-loss leader John Erbes. Eathan Martinez was slated to return after logging 10.5 TFL last season, but a torn rotator cuff likely has him sidelined for the year, Kainz said. He did add that his leadership is still valued, though, as Martinez has shown up to camp all summer despite his inability to play. 

“The leadership that those guys [seniors] have and the camaraderie that our whole entire team has, that was building last year so we don’t have to rebuild that. We’re just able to reload in that respect… you’re going to hopefully see that on Friday nights for us,” Kainz said. 

Brian Erbes had a sack and eight TFL in his junior year while Dalton Timmerman had one sack with four TFL. Their production doesn’t match that of last year’s starters, but those numbers will almost certainly increase with another year of growth under their belts and increased opportunity for snaps.

Kainz still described the front seven as one of the team’s greatest strengths and said that their first scrimmage today at 9 a.m. will be a big test for the group. 

Timmerman also takes over at center for the Panthers for his junior season while Sy Sanders will fill in the roll of right tackle, Kainz said. He added that Sanders didn’t miss a day in the weight room all summer and looks ready to step up his game. They’ll be blocking alongside Ashton Squires, who’s transitioning from tight end to left tackle due to Martinez’s injury, and Alex Schuh and Devin Carter are expected to take most of the team’s carries. 

While the Panthers will have some fresh faces in the starting lineup, the experience from being a part of a dominant last year still helps build confidence, Kainz said. He added that, while the Panthers are returning just five or six starters on each side of the ball, he’s excited to see how the new starters perform and he’s still confidence in his team’s abilities. 

“I think we have a shot to be pretty respectable,” Kainz said. “Last year, we didn’t know. We had graduated so many seniors from the year before and a kid like Tony Nelson. We don’t ever see that, a kid from Tracy going up to the U [University of Minnesota] and you just have to replace that. Nobody really knew what to expect last year and I think we have some high expectations for this year.”

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton will officially open its season with a home matchup against Dawson-Boyd on Friday at 7 p.m.