By MATTHEW PEASLEE
MORGANTOWN — It’s Week 5 of the high school football season in West Virginia and Trinity Christian is gearing up for just its second game of the 2021 campaign.
Believe it or not, it’s actually ahead of the game, compared to this time in 2020.
“We didn’t get to play a game last year until Week 5,” Trinity head coach Christopher Simpson said. “We’re already ahead of where we were last year because we had a full summer together. Compared to last year, this year is a piece of cake.”
Trinity had a bye in Week 1, and opened with a 28-14 win over Bridgeport (Ohio) in Week 2. The following week, Trinity’s game with Millersport (Ohio) was called off and the Week 4 contest against Paden City was postponed due to COVID protocols.
This week, all is clear for Friday’s game on the road against the Southern Tornadoes in Racine, Ohio.
“It’s been forever but it finally feels like the time is paying off,” Simpson said.
The Trinity football players have also showcased their leadership skills, Simpson said, by supporting their classmates at soccer and volleyball matches while their own games were not being played.
Five Warriors play on the football team as well as the soccer team. The Trinity soccer team started off the 2021 season with four-straight wins.
“They’ve been playing at a high level and we enjoy supporting them and the other sports of the school,” Simpson said. “It helps us become a strong leadership presence. It helps us stick together and it helps the school get over the stigma of football.
“Some people at some schools think that football is this magical kingdom and they don’t do anything to help anyone else — that’s not the case with us.”
The three-week layoff allowed Simpson and the coaching staff to take a deeper look at some of their underclassmen players. This week against Southern, freshman Aaron White will step up to fill in for injured senior captain Jack Burrell, who will be out with a torn meniscus.
White is 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds.
“We have some freshmen who are willing to step up and learn the position,” Simpson said. “Any time you can get a freshman playing some senior minutes just jumps them ahead for next year in the educational process.”
Simpson said because the Warriors are not a power football team, having younger players on the line isn’t as detrimental as one may think. Trinity’s air raid and zone-run schemes still allow for quarterback Jaylon Hill to have time to make decisions.
It’s a clashing style to that of the Tornadoes, who enter with a 3-1 record. Southern knocked off Belpre (Ohio), 73-36, last week. The Tornadoes put up 57 points in a win against South Gallia (Ohio) the previous week, and opened up the season with a 37-8 win against Federal Hocking (Ohio).
They were shut out against Frontier (Ohio) in Week 2.
“It’s’ going to be a really good challenge for us,” Simpson said. “They’re more power and we’re more speed. It’ll be an entertaining match-up for sure.”
When scouting Southern, Simpson said it runs mostly H-back power formations and has a run-first-style quarterback. He noted their offensive line will probably be the biggest the Warriors face all season.
“We’re going to try to counteract that with speed any chance we get off the edges,” Simpson said.
Defensively, the Tornadoes run a 4-4 stack and have a pair of strong middle linebackers, with defensive linemen who will apply constant pressure.
“It’s nothing fancy but it’s extremely effective,” Simpson said.
But Trinity’s offense will create challenges for the Tornadoes with Levi Teets in the mix. He had three rushing touchdowns against Bridgeport and caught two passes from Hill.
Hill was an efficient 10-of-14 for 135 yards and a touchdown pass to Kyle Knight.
“Our motivation comes from the effort the guys put in,” Simpson said. “This group does a really good job of staying positive and keeping themselves motivated.”
Earlier this week, Trinity was able to secure the previously postponed Paden City game — it has been rescheduled to Wednesday, Oct. 6. The Wildcats are currently 1-2 on the year and play winless Hundred this week.
“It hits us at the right time in the schedule,” Simpson said. “It’s nice for us, but it’s also nice for a program like Paden City. They’re going through a rebuilding process and it’s been a difficult year for them. It’s great for their kids to get their games in and build their program up.”
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