MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Christopher Simpson helped to put the pieces in place for the relaunch of the Trinity football program last fall. Now Simpson will be the man at the controls of the Warriors.
Simpson was promoted to head coach on Tuesday. He replaces Marcus Law, who resigned after one season. Simpson was the Warriors’ offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator in 2019.
“The biggest aspect for me was the resiliency of the players. We had a young team coming in. None of our upperclassmen had any varsity experience at that point. Just how the kids kept persevering through all the difficulties that a football season can throw at you — we had some injuries to key players that sent us low on numbers.
“The fact that they kept fighting with a lot of grit, it proved a lot about their character.”
In their first football season since 2014 and their first full varsity slate since 2009, Trinity went 2-8 with wins over Mapletown, Pa. and Hannan.
“Some of it will probably be a lot of the same that we ran last year with some tweaks. We have a lot built into the program already. We had a good, successful season last year building the program. That’s credit to the work that Marcus put in.”
As with many Class A teams, the Warriors battled low numbers, especially late in the season. Simpson says the middle school feeder program will boost the roster this fall.
“We will have a good sized freshman class coming up with a lot of talent. We lost four seniors last year but we are gaining eleven freshmen. We’re excited about that. Plus we will have a couple transfers coming in for this year as well.”
Simpson highlighted a trio of sophomores in quarterback Drew Boczek, running back Levi Teets and kicker Kyle Knight as key returners for the Warriors.
“We have a returning quarterback in Drew Boczek. He is extremely versatile. He has a great arm and sees the field well.
“Line is always an issue in Class A because you just don’t have the numbers to get the size of the kids that you need. So the line is always a concern.”
As the program continues to build in numbers and in experience, Simpson is mindful of the big picture. The goal is to win now while laying a foundation for the future.
“While you are playing your hand today, you always have to be mindful towards the future and build the program up at the same time. It is a two-step issue. We are looking at both of those issues right now.
“It is not just about the year coming, it is about five or ten years down the road and making sure the program is always a contender. You go out of your way to make the right decisions today to save you the issues tomorrow.”