Glen Este’s one-two punch of quarterback Tyler Pilcher, 2, and running back Robby Boone, 27, is a big reason the Trojans are ranked No. 10 in the state.

Glen Este’s one-two punch of quarterback Tyler Pilcher, 2, and running back Robby Boone, 27, is a big reason the Trojans are ranked No. 10 in the state.
By Chris Chaney
Sports Editor

For the first time in school history, the Glen Este football team has cracked the top-10 of the Associated Press Division II state football poll. The Trojans, fresh off of their 48-45 overtime win over Loveland, were voted No. 10 by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters from across Ohio.

“(The ranking) is a nice reward for the kids; it shows that the work is paying off,” Glen Este head coach Nick Ayers said. “They bought into the program. This is my first full group — these guys were freshmen when I got the coaching job — but they know that there is still a lot of work to do and a lot of good teams left to play. They’re up for the challenge and excited about what’s to come.”

The Trojans were in the “others receiving votes” category when the first poll came out last week, placing them 13th in the state at that time.

Glen Este athletic director Dan Simmons said that the Trojans’ 4-0 start to the 2015 season is the best start since the 2000 team went 7-0 to begin the year.

The ‘00 squad would go on to finish at 8-2 and make the playoffs, beating Northmont in the first round before falling to St. Xavier in the second.

So far this season, Glen Este has beaten the likes of Amelia (63-20), Winton Woods (39-33), Mount Healthy (48-47) and Loveland (48-45, OT) and faces a strong ECC slate through the remainder of the regular season.

“Our conference schedule and non-conference schedule is so competitive that we know that each week we need to compete,” Ayers said. “We know that we have a really good team. We’ve tried to stay healthy and keep our guys in tune with practice, making it exciting and doing different things to keep it fresh and new, so they’re still excited as if it were Week 1.”

And if that ever-changing practice regimen wasn’t enough, once Ayers got a look at the rankings his team got some bulletin board material for their Week 5 match up with 4-0 Turpin.

“Found what I was looking for,” Ayers tweeted, a reference to the team ranked one ahead of Glen Este in the AP poll, Turpin. “Are you motivated yet? #ourtime”

Turpin hopped in front of the Trojans presumably thanks to their Week 4 win over Kings, a team who had previously been ranked eighth in the state.

Something will have give when the two teams meet on Friday, Sept. 25. Glen Este is averaging just under 50 points per game and Turpin’s defense has only given up 46 points all season.

Also on the line is the fast track to the ECC title, something Ayers said has been the Trojans’ top goal since losing in the first round of the state playoffs last season.

“Every rep we took this offseason was for the league title that we’re going to compete for,” Ayers said.

They will compete for another win in the ECC on Friday night at Turpin as well as a move up the state poll. Kick off is slated for 7 p.m.