CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Scott Bolin feels Zama football’s defense is solid. The question is: Can the Trojans’ offense score enough points to win games and be a contender?

That’s the question the Trojans begin answering Friday when they visit Nile C. Kinnick in their DODDS Japan/Kanto Plain season opener; kickoff is at 7 p.m. Bolin replaces Steven Merrell at the Trojans helm, the first time Merrell hasn’t been there since 2006.

“Our kids are hungry to improve greatly upon last year,” said Bolin, who’s been with the program for four years, the previous three as an offensive assistant.

Zama went 0-7 last season, 2-14 since 2013 and is three seasons removed from its last Far East Division II title.

“The defense is going exactly as planned; it’s where it needs to be,” Bolin said of a unit coached by the school’s new athletic director, Tom Dignan, in his fourth year at Zama. “It’s a matter of putting points on the board. On offense, we need to shore things up.”

To do that, the Trojans must overcome the same issue facing most schools with enrollments at 300 or lower, a pronounced lack of depth.

“We have strength and speed,” Bolin said. “It’s our size, the numbers and girth. We don’t have depth. There’s a serious dropoff; we have between 23 and 25 players, unless we get in a boatload” as the school year unfolds.

Bolin and the Trojans plan to implement some things he used while coaching in Arizona, while keeping some elements of the offense that Merrell ran while at Zama: a hybrid version of a Wing-T combined with the spread option that many Pacific D-II teams favor.

“There are some things” that Bolin and Dignan can bring to the team “that we didn’t have before,” Bolin said.

He and Dignan hope to build a spirit that can carry over outside of football to the rest of the school and its various teams and activities, and perhaps bring home the school’s third D-II title.

“Football always sets the tone” for a school year, Bolin said. “A successful football team can mean a successful school year.”

Players who could set that tone include senior twins Jaelen and Jaedon Baker, who line up as skills players on offense and defensive edge pass rushers. Big senior Jacob Martin anchors the line, and Keiyl Sasano, a speedy senior, lines up in the backfield and at inside linebacker.

“It’s been three years (since the last D-II title) and we’re trying to get back there,” Bolin said. “I’m always optimistic. Compared to where we were last year, we’re in a batter place now. We plan to be competitive against D-II teams, and we’ll try our best to be competitive with Division I teams.”

ornauer.dave@stripes.com

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