MORGANTOWN — A freshman quarterback, low participation numbers and a third-year head coach certainly sound like a recipe for disaster.
But not when it comes to the Trinity Christian football team.
In fact, expectations have never been higher — for a program in its fifth year of existence.
“Another playoff run — that’s our hope,” TCS head coach Chris Simpson said.
Last year, the Warriors finished 7-3 and did indeed make the school’s first-ever appearance in the Class A playoff field. Despite the 32-0 loss to James Monroe in the opening round, it was a step in the right direction for a program that has just 16 players on the roster.
The good news for Trinity is nine of those 16 players return from last season and all nine of those returning players were starters.
“I learned a lot last year about our guys and their character,” Simpson said. “We are ahead of schedule in my book. I thought it would take us four to five years coming into this program of this size. We have small numbers because we are the smallest school that competes in football. But it goes to show you, if you have good quality, character guys that work hard every single snap, you can achieve a lot of amazing things.”
Simpson acknowledged that his team is never going to have the biggest roster or be the strongest team on the field. Instead, the Warriors pride themselves on their football IQ. Simpson said his team spends much of its time in the film room and drilling the team on how to break down an opponent and being smart about where there are opportunities to attack each opponent.
Even with the nine starters back, the Warriors are looking at a new quarterback in Simpson’s Air Raid spread offense.
Freshman Parker Hopkins will start at quarterback this year and Simpson said he is excited about the possibilities that Hopkins brings.
“We are going to try and break him in slowly,” Simpson said. “We have opened up our run game a lot this year, too. He had a couple of really good weeks in the three-weeks period and sometimes as a coach, you just get a feeling.”
Hopkins really showed something during the 7-on-7 competitions this summer.
“I see a lot of great things out of him,” senior running back/safety Levi Teets said. “He has really impressed me with his ability. I think he will continue to improve as the season goes along and I think with how our offense likes to throw the ball, he is going to be a playmaker for us.”
One of the reasons Simpson was able to give Hopkins the reins of the offense is the depth he has returning on the offensive line. The Warriors are bigger, stronger and more athletic than they were last year.
Caleb Parks, a junior, has taken every snap at center for Simpson and is ranked as one of the top 20 offensive linemen in the state right now. The left side of the offensive line also returns as sophomores Landon Goodwin and Aaron White both return at guard and tackle, respectively. The right side of the line will be manned by 6-foot-2 freshman Brayden parks and 6-4 senior transfer Bryce Bailey.
“Our offensive line is really going to help, we have made some big improvements with our line,” Simpson said. “We have added some size. The one really good thing about making the playoffs, last year, is it really taught the kids how good the competition in the state is. It also taught them how important the weight room is.”
That offensive line will provide throwing time for Hopkins and running lanes for Teets, a second-team all-state pick last season, and fellow senior Zane Yeater who missed all last season with an injury. Yeater could provide a big boost at running back and slot receiver as he was an all-conference player at Paden City after his freshman and sophomore years.
“It’s huge adding him,” Simpson said. “He’s a great teamwork guy. He never missed a practice last year. He was always the first guy out for practices, even with his crutches.”
Kyle Knight is the only returning wide receiver for the Warriors that caught a pass. He will also handle punting and kicking duties for Trinity and that’s a big weapon considering that Knight was an honorable mention all-state soccer player last year.
“I can play chess all game as a coach with our field position because of Kyle,” Simpson said.
Last season, Knight averaged over 40 yards per punt and Simpson said he is very comfortable kicking field goals from 40-yards in and Knight has hit from as long as 52 yards in practice.
“Kids like that are very rare in single A football,” Simpson said.
On defense, it will be Teets leading the way from his safety position out of the 4-2-5 defensive scheme. Simpson said Teets is like having a coach on the field. Marcos Kniska and Josh Jorge will man the important outside linebacker spots for the Warriors while Landan Goodwin is moving from the defensive line to the Mike linebacker position. Simpson also said that newcomer Austin Hardin is going to play a hybrid linebacker/defensive line position.
The Warriors open their season on Friday when the host Hundred. But that contest isn’t what the Warriors have their eyes on.
Trinity has hopes for a conference title, they finished second to Paden City last year, and another trip to the state playoffs.
“That is the goal this year,” Simpson said. “I feel confident, if we have the push, we think we are going to have, we should be just fine.”
By ERIC HERTER
