Barnesville Football Poised to Continue Winning Tradition

THE TROJANS HAVE WON EIGHT STRIAGHT SECTION CHAMPIONSHIPS.

BARNESVILLE, Minn. (KVRR) –Football is a lifestyle in Barnesville, Minnesota, and winning is the tradition. Section 8AA champions since 2016 is one one school long: the Trojans. A big reason why: Strength.

“The weight room, for sure,” said senior Adam Branden. “Not missing that. You have to show up every single day. Out here at practice, giving it everything you got. Really just doing everything you can, putting in all the extra time, all the extra work and everything.”

A season ago, Barnesville lost in the State Quarterfinals to Staples-Motley in double overtime. The way in which they lost has this group entering this season with more than enough motivation.

“Yeah, you definitely have a little chip on your shoulder,” said Branden. “We have them for the homecoming game. So, you know, that’s gonna be a big game.”

Senior running back Major Ness added, “100%. We didn’t want to lose that way. We thought we should have won that game. We knew we could have made it further if we would have won that game. So, we have a chip with that.”

That rematch, mark your calendars for Friday October 3rd.

The Trojans return key players from year’s past including running back Major Ness who recently committed to Valley City State.

“Major has hit the weight room very hard,” said head coach Bryan Strand. “He put up 305 the first day on the bench press and he weighs about 180 you know, he’s worked very very hard. He’s a fantastic kid. Actually, we have all three of our starting backs back from last year. So, all three of them are very talented and we expect big things for them.”

At Quarterback the Trojans will turn to sophomore Jacob Strand to lead the offense. He is a guy the team says they are confident in.

“He’s been doing very good,” said Branden. “He can throw the ball very good. He can run the ball very good. He knows the positions very well. He can play running back too. He knows it all inside and out, so I think he’s going to be doing really good this year.”

The end goal for this group is the same every year: State Tournament/Championship.

Anything short of that I think has fallen short for us,” said Coach Strand. “Like I said, we’ve got a lot of very talented kids. We’re not as deep as we have been, so we’ve got to stay healthy.”

Th Trojans have not lost a regular season game since 2021. They begin the 2025 campaign on the road at Roseau on Thursday, August 28. Kick off set for 6 p.m.