Year one with Anderson football is in the books for Coach Donald Hatcher, and it was a successful step up from where the Trojans were a year ago. A move to division 6A certainly created some adversity for the Trojans, but the players dealt with it well. Coach Hatcher said that “the 6A competition didn’t bother them because they wanted to go out and prove something to everybody,” and that’s a perfect way to describe these Trojans. They went out every game and wanted to prove everyone wrong. Before the season many fans and opponents were writing this team off, citing the move to 6A or the games against Westlake and Lake Travis, but that didn’t faze the Trojans. Anderson was competitive in just about every game but Dripping Springs, and that speaks to the culture that Coach Hatcher brought with him.
Coach Hatcher told me that he made a point to be “around all the time”. He wanted to be at every Anderson game, whether that was to support one of his players that was a dual-sport athlete or just to support Anderson, he showed up. That goes a long way with players because it shows that Coach Hatcher really cares, on and off the gridiron. Creating that sense of family within the program is the first step to building a winning culture. The other thing Coach Hatcher preached to me was always having a positive attitude. Even if you lose, Hatcher’s mind isn’t on the loss, it’s “what does [the team] get out of that loss?” or how the team can correct the mistakes made so that they win that game next time. It’s that shift in culture that caused Anderson to have a better season this year than last, and why they will be better again next year.
According to Coach Hatcher, Anderson’s biggest strength this past season was their leadership. That certainly came from having a big senior class with many major contributors. Next season, Anderson won’t have those veterans to help lead the team so new players will have to step up and make a difference not only on the field but also in the locker room. Look for players like rising senior QB/WR Brady Gephart and class of 2025 WR Ed Small to set an example for the team.
The Trojans will certainly be a young team in 2023 as a strong current freshman class will certainly make an impact at the varsity level next fall. All 3 freshman backs scored 10+ touchdowns this fall, and any one of them could see time in the varsity backfield due to the loss of leading rusher James Idunate. Look for a committee backfield next year that Hatcher says will bring “a lot of speed,” he told me that “we’ll have more speed next year than we had this year”. Guys like Zayden Sharp and Tristan Waidelich will play an even bigger role next season and add to that speed.
One of the biggest questions going into next year is who’s going to fill Fred Dale’s role for the Trojans. The two obvious names that come up are Brady Gephart and Max Gerlich. Regardless of who’s at quarterback though, both players are “good athletes” and Coach Hatcher doesn’t “sit athletes on the bench”. This past season, instead of sitting behind Dale, Gephart saw the field at receiver and had just about 200 yards and 3 TDs. Coach Hatcher expects to have a deeper team this fall which will allow whoever’s at quarterback to take more risks on the field.
Another key for Anderson this offseason will be overcoming the loss of over half of the defensive starters. None bigger than 1st Team All-Central Texas linebacker IV Webb. One way that the Trojans will fight this adversity is by playing players on both sides of the ball. Coach Hatcher pointed to the fact that we lack the luxury of some of the bigger 3000+ student schools to exclusively play guys on one side of the ball. A great example over the past few seasons is Trinity College commit Cole Canaday who excelled on both sides of the ball when needed for Anderson. Other younger players such as c/o 2025 LB Gage Webb and DB Colin Haines will also be relied on to make a big impact next fall.
When asked how he makes those personnel decisions, Coach Hatcher said he’s “got great coaches” and that he “trust[s] their judgment”. Throughout the week they gameplan what situations they’re going to bring in different personnel groups that might consist of players that play mainly on the other side of the ball. Similarly, despite being a former defensive coordinator himself, Hatcher doesn’t call the plays. He leaves that up to coach Maldonado and coach Holcomb the co-defensive coordinators. This allows Hatcher to coach up certain players on the sideline and manage the game better.
Anderson’s gonna have a busy spring with all the young players that are coming up next year. The trojans will be younger and more inexperienced, and in order to combat that, they’ll have to work hard this spring and into the summer. Two scrimmages in the fall will also be vital to get the new players some in-game experience. Coach Hatcher pointed out two things as areas for improvement this offseason, the run game, and the pass defense. Anderson wants to run 60% of the time on offense, and an improved run game will allow them to do that more effectively. An improved pass defense will allow the Trojans to get off the field earlier in drives and get the ball back to the offense.
Looking to the 2023 schedule, Anderson will face the same teams once again. Coming out strong in the nonconference could be a huge confidence boost for the Trojans. In district play, Anderson needs to compete the same way they did this year. Lots of losses were by just one score, and if the Trojans can flip those games, they could very well find themselves in the playoffs.
