ASH Trojans Midseason Report
by Marshall Loeffler
Alexandria Senior High got their much-desired win against West Monroe to move to 5-1, which plenty of coaches in Class 5A would take when you look up and down the Trojans strength of schedule. Having won that much so far is important for their title aspirations, and they have been one of those teams in Louisiana recognized for the tough opponents on their calendar. But as head coach Thomas Bachman looks for ways to continually get better, the attention has been on the practice field competition more so than that Friday night marquee matchups.
“We’re trying to get our kids to understand, you have to practice well to play well,” Bachman said this week. “We just need to improve, and consistency every day on the practice field will lead to consistency when the lights are on on Friday night.”
The Trojans have dealt with injuries dating back to the preseason: Bachman said that more players than usual have missed time over the past calendar year. That has sometimes affected the coaching staff’s ability to establish the personnel and practice routines that they would ideally try and build, but he also says that figuring out the daily challenges are a familiar part of both their lofty pursuits and the overall message that they want to teach the players.
“Your ability to adapt and overcome is a huge part of a season,” Bachman said. “Guys are going to get opportunities, and they need to step up. We tell our guys all the time, setbacks and how you deal with setbacks aren’t just a part of sports, it’s part of life.”
So while they are prepared to look towards anyone on that varsity roster to get in the game and do a job, every level of the depth chart gets full throttle competition early in the week: “Ball down, let’s play football. To the ground, all out,” Bachman said of how they approach their weekdays when the stands are empty.
And that one loss to Neville was a chance for both the staff and players to recognize how important those moments at practice have to be to avoid results like that one, especially now that it will be 5A opponents the rest of the way. All of the familiar playmakers for ASH are on track again this year, and Bachman is hoping the electric backfield combo of Noble Williams and Kason Williams are able to remain elite, now that they both are ready to go at full speed. “Noble’s been off to a great start, and Kason has come on the past couple of weeks and been explosive” he said. “We finally feel like both of them are getting healthy where hopefully we can start rolling that one-two punch.”
The Trojans, of course, are used to preparing for a long haul. A few of these starters were on the Superdome field in 2024, and the feeling within the (brand new) field house is that their season is a much longer process that even the calendar would somehow indicate. “We’re going to hit our stride at the right time. That’s what I know,” he said. “This season’s just getting started.”
