MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Many on the Trinity Christian football team hadn’t even been on the field for a tackle football game prior to Saturday’s scrimmage at Federal Hocking (Ohio).
“A lot of these guys had never taken or hit or given a hit before,” Trinity coach Marcus Law said. “That’s what we wanted to see out of them was being able to get back up from stuff like that and show some confidence, and that’s what they did.”
Trinity, playing its first football season in five years and first varsity schedule in over a decade, responded with an impressive 24-6 win, and overall, Law was thrilled with what he saw. Before the Warriors open their season Aug. 30 at home against Mapletown (Pa.), there were a ton of question marks about how a small group that’s never played together — or at all — would respond.
“Offensively, they did exactly what I wanted them to do,” Law said. “We’d make certain calls and guys would do the right thing for the most part. On the offensive line, those guys, even with small numbers, were making the right blocks and blocking who they were supposed to. Defensively, those guys competed very well, so I was happy to see that.”
After a brief battle during the three-week period, Drew Boczek emerged as the starting quarterback. In the scrimmage, he went 6-for-8 for 185 yards and two touchdowns, both to Devon Eldridge.
Law believes Boczek, a freshman, has the tools to be a successful leader in spite of his age — his teammates buy into what he brings to the field.
“He controls the offense,” Law said. “He goes out there against seniors, juniors, sophomores, all players older than him, and is able to get those guys respect on our sideline. He has that competitive edge to himself, and I think that sticks with other people.”
But, at times, Boczek still plays like a freshman. Law said in the scrimmage, there were moments when Boczek did not make the correct read and tried to force throws that weren’t there. Those are things he can overcome with time and experience, but Boczek himself realized there are aspects of his game he needs to continue to improve.
“I think I need to work on my feet and just being more confident in my abilities,” he said.
While a few of his teammates are new to football, Boczek isn’t one of them. Starting to play quarterback in fourth grade, he helped lead the Evansdale Tigers to a 10-0 record, and then in sixth grade, he went 7-3 as the starter.
Boczek didn’t play football in seventh grade because his parents, Joe and Debbie, didn’t think he was physically ready to play. He was also excelling in basketball at St. Francis and for the West Virginia Burn travel team.
Because of a WVSSAC rule, Boczek and Elridge were able to play at Suncrest Middle because St. Francis did not have a football team. Boczek and Eldridge helped the Seals to a 6-2 record and berth in the county championship game.
Now at 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds, Boczek is ready to make the leap into a high school varsity season.
“Getting our team better and just helping the seniors have a memorable last moment in high school is what I’m looking forward to most,” he said.
