MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It takes one year to lay the foundation of a new football team, and it takes two years to finish building the house. Luckily for Trinity Christian School, they have a lot of the same contractors returning to continue what they started. Also lucky for TCS is things are running smoothly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s far smoother than I anticipated with the hysteria,” new head coach Chris Simpson said. “The kids just want to be normal and so do the coaches. While there are new rules, the nice thing at the end of the day is with the kids being able to be active with football, it brings some normalcy that they’ve not had since school went out.”
Only losing four seniors, the Warriors return a solid corps of players. While folks will remember Drew Boczek, Levi Teets, Calvin Blunt Jr. and Mason Steptoe, there are also up-and-coming players who Simpson is excited about. He’s also excited a lot of his returning starters are sophomores and juniors, noting he can continue to mold them into the team he wants as opposed to starting over fresh.
“I think anytime you get ahold of a player and keep them in a program where they’re getting reps every single day, I think back to some of the really good Cincinnati teams when they first got into the Big East and were really young, they were super aggressive and every week they went out and laid everything on the line,” Simpson said. “That’s what that brings. It makes it a little easier for the coaches because you get your system in and then you can start hitting home with the finer points and really broaden your educational base. With their age, they’re going to keep maturing. That’s something, being a single-A school, we don’t have a J.V. that helps us, too, because we get those kids for four solid years.”
According to Simpson, newcomer James Gabbart is fitting in well going toe-to-toe with Boczek in the quarterback spot. Whoever wins the QB 1 role, though, will still be likely sharing time. As Simpson puts it, he has a 1A and 1B.
“We have a unique situation. We have two highly talented quarterbacks right on top of each other’s heels,” Simpson said. “That’s made camp a lot of fun. We didn’t have a lot of depth last year and it really hurt us. James is pushing nicely, coming along nicely and growing well. I’m excited about him.”
Simpson also named freshmen wide receiver Ben Lohmann and running back Carmelo Kniska as players to keep an eye on.
“Ben is something really special. He’s 6-foot-4 right now as a freshman and coming into his own,” he said. “Carmelo is what I call the Warrior back instead of an H-back. Carmelo and Levi [Teets] will be able to switch out [in that spot]. It’s a unique role using them in the air raid offense because they do a little bit of everything. It’s a high-IQ position on the field and takes a special athlete to be able to play it.
“They have unbelievably impressed our staff and me with their mental maturity and ability to learn so quickly. It’s impressive.”
The change in schedule is a concern for all teams in the state, bringing to light the question, “How are we going to keep players healthy and rested during a 10-game stretch?” Simpson’s already crossed that bridge and has spoken to his team.
“What I try to remind them is that when you’re a brand new program like we were last year, you don’t have many options for your first couple years,” Simpson said. “You have to fit in where you can and find your place. I try to push to them that the schedule is what it is. If you get too caught up on it, you’re going to get lost in the shuffle and you’re not worried about football itself.”
The Warriors also have a rough four-game stretch in the middle of the season. That, too, Simpson covered.
“It’s a lot of away games so it is harder – it’s a mental challenge – but I told them if you think about the 180 from it, we have really nice stretches at the beginning and end of the season,” he said. “You have to see the positives of it, I’d rather spend two or three games at home before the potential playoffs knowing where my guys are every night. We’ll take our punches with it.”
After losing Week 1 of the season, a game which would have pitted the Warriors against Gilmer County at home, TCS now opens with a Thursday night home game against Wirt County, Sept. 3. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Trinity will also travel to Hannan on Sept. 19, eliminating its bye week.
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