The Mendota football team has lost its last dozen games. The Trojans’ last win was a 35-14 victory over Riverdale on Sept. 30, 2023.

Despite that, Mendota senior Aden Tillman has high hopes as former St. Bede coach Jim Eustice takes over the Trojans program.

“We are really striving for a playoff spot,” Tillman said. “I know people would say you should start focusing on a few wins first, but I know we have a good enough team to get far.”

Eustice is looking to turn around a program that’s gone 25-88 under two head coaches over the last 13 seasons. The Trojans have won one game or gone winless in seven of the last 12 seasons not counting the spring COVID season in 2021.

“The first goal is to end the losing streak,” Eustice said. “That’s on the kids’ minds. These kids believe they can win some games. They think the goal should not be just to try to win one or two games to end the streak. The reason we’re out here is to win every game.

“Last year, I think six of the nine losses were a continuous clock, so the goal is to be competitive in every game. We’re not going to go into any game thinking it’s over before we get started.

“This group expects to be a competitive football team that is going to win some games.”

Eustice has already seen improvement in the team’s mentality over the summer and in preseason practices.

“The kids seem to be really more united as a group and playing better as a team and understanding of the team concept and what it takes to be competitive on a football field,” Eustice said. “They’re telling me things are different.

“That’s changing a lot of things for them as far as how they practice and how they pay a little bit more attention to detail than maybe they have in the past. Then the consistency in what we’re teaching and repping every day. There’s a ton of improvement from when we got out there in June until today.

“I think the kids are seeing it, and they’re building more confidence as each day goes by.”

Tillman returns at quarterback and will lead an offense Eustice said will “spread the ball out.” Tillman completed 81 of 149 passes for 856 yards and nine touchdowns with seven interceptions, also running for 258 yards last season.

“We’re able to do the things that I’ve always liked to do,” Eustice said. “We’re going to get the ball to our athletes everywhere on the field, just like I’ve done for my whole career. It’s been a matter of getting the guys to do things, to get to the right spots with the right steps, have the confidence to catch the football, have the confidence to block out there on the perimeter.

“Just all the things that go into being a good offense is what we’ve been working on.”

Joe Stewart (6-foot-4, 220 pounds), Keegan Beetz – who missed most of last season with injury – Gavin Evans and William Musanovic will be among Tillman’s top targets, while Corbin Furar returns at running back after rushing for 221 yards and two TDs on 53 attempts.

Austin Welch returns for his third year as a starter and will anchor the offensive line. Reese Lane, Payton Gagliardi and Josh Shakespeare also will play up front.

The Trojans are looking to improve on defense after allowing 44.8 points per game last fall. Mendota has allowed more than 400 points in each of the last two seasons.

Stewart and Furar will play defensive end, with Lane, Gagliardi, Shakespeare and Welch also contributing on the line. Wyatt Ossman returns at middle linebacker. Tillman, Beetz and Brennan Northcutt will be key in the secondary.

“The defense has a chip on their shoulders,” Eustice said. “The kids know how many points they’ve given up in the last couple years, and there are some seniors who have been part of it and they want to put an end to it.”