Jeff Sloan era debuts when Trojans host Manchester Friday

LC football fans will get a glimpse of the new look Trojans Friday night when LC hosts Manchester in a preseason scrimmage. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Trojan Field.The scrimmage will mark the beginning of the Jeff Sloan era of LC football. Sloan was promoted to head coach early this year when the previous head man, John Flath, resigned. Sloan had been Flath’s defensive coordinator during Flath’s two-year tenure.Sloan brought in Greg Busby, former head coach at Windsor Forest and Montgomery County, as his defensive coordinator. He is the son of Buzz Busby who won a state title at Statesboro and another in Alabama.Barnesville native and former LC player Josh Coffey is Sloan’s offensive coordinator and the Wing-T LC fans are so accustomed to is gone. Coffey spreads the field and runs a lot of run-pass option.After several years of low participation and a dearth of senior leadership, Sloan has 14 seniors who are hungry. They are backed by a hugely talented sophomore class, many of whom got extended playing time last year out of necessity.’We are looking forward to the scrimmage as a measuring stick to see where we are. We had a great summer and feel like we are ready for the challenges ahead,’ Sloan said.The first year coach expects his new offense to move the ball downfield and force defenses to defend the entire 53-yard width of the field. ‘We will still look to be a physical offense with a run game to compliment the vertical passing game. Balance will be the key element we are looking for on offense Friday night,’ Sloan continued.Defensively, Sloan wants his team to force opponents to play the game on his terms. ‘We have made some adjustments up front and we want to see our guys flying to the ball,’ he added.Special teams for the scrimmage will not be live. Kicks and punts will not be covered. Extra points and field goals will not be defensed.’We want to see how our kids respond to live game action and how we are going to operate in live situations. We want to see them play together and lead each other out on the field,’ Sloan concluded.Manchester’s Blue Devils, coached by Evan Hochstetler, are coming off a 6-5 season last year. They lost to ECI 42-20 in the first round of the Class A playoffs last season.