Nick Day (26) and Jeremy Phillips (22) will both be going both ways for the Titans this season. The duo will be eager to help BT improve upon their fifth place region finish in 2008.

By Jeff Dickinson

Ricky Turner has the usual things on his mind as his Blessed Trinity Titans prepare to kick off the 2009 high school football season. The head coach and athletic director has to replace a few players from last year’s 7-3 team that he lost to graduation.

It shouldn’t be too difficult for Turner to replace the lost seniors from last year’s squad. After all, he only has to find someone to fill in for Sam Burkhalter, who rushed for 1,555 yards and scored 18 touchdowns last season. Burkhalter will be running down the field for Bill Curry’s first football team at Georgia State University this fall.

Tough to Replace

In addition to replacing Burkhalter, Blessed Trinity’s all-time leading rusher, Turner also has to replace quarterback Kohl Hegetschweiler, who threw for 1,524 yards and 17 touchdowns last season. Like Burkhalter, Hegetschweiler is the all-time leader at his position in Blessed Trinity history.

Oh, and Turner also has to replace fullback Bruce Johnson, who rushed for 316 yards while scoring five touchdowns last year. And don’t forget leading tackler Court Kasten, who posted 86 tackles in 2008.

The picture is becoming clearer at Blessed Trinity, Turner and his coaching staff know they have their work cut out for them as they prepare for the 2009 season. Seven of the players that Turner lost from last year’s team will be playing football on the collegiate level this fall.

What does that mean for Blessed Trinity this year?

“We’re going to be a very young football team this year,” said Turner, who enters his 10th season at Blessed Trinity. “We’re going to have to get some experience for these kids real quick.”

Turner acknowledges that the Titans were hit hard in the receiving department. He said that Blessed Trinity lost virtually all the receiving corps from last year with the exception of senior Jake Skole.  Skole’s return is vital for this young team. The senior, who starts at wide receiver and defensive back for the Titans, led the team with 829 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns last year. He was also second on the team with 79 tackles.

It is clearly evident that Turner expects big things from Skole again this season.

“Jake is going to be a big part of our team this season, both on offense and defense,” Turner said. “He is such a good athlete that he already has eight offers to play for Division I schools.”

Anchors Away

Although Blessed Trinity will be a young team this fall, Turner said that one area of strength is the offensive line. Anchoring the line, Turner says, will be juniors Jack Howard and Jack Bradley and senior Eddie Bartlett.

All three players will see action on both the offensive and defensive lines for the BT this year. Bartlett weighs in at 180 pounds, but Bradley tips the scales at 290 and Howard 275.

Another area in which Blessed Trinity should be strong this season is in the defensive backfield. Skole and fellow senior Nick Day will anchor the secondary for the Titans; the two teammates shared the lead with three interceptions apiece in 2008.

Replacing Hegetschweiler at the quarterback position will be another challenge for Turner. The coach says the QB competition will come down to a battle between two players – Chris Lewis and Ricky Turner. Lewis is a senior, while Turner is a junior. And if Turner’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it should, he’s the coach’s son.

The Replacements

Burkhalter’s absence leaves a big hole on the Blessed Trinity offense. The Titans were a team that was built around running the football early and often behind Burkhalter. Stepping up and taking Burkhalter’s place will come from among a pool of candidates that includes Day, Ryan Cote, Nick D’Amato and Wes Fujihira.

With such a young team this season, when will Turner be able to assess how the season will go?

“I think that once we get to the start of our region play (the fourth game of the season), we’ll have a good idea of what kind of team we’re going to have,” Turner explained.

Turner said that the Titans were only two plays away from winning the region championship last season. One of those plays occurred in week eight of 2008 when Blessed Trinity lost to eventual AA state champion Buford 14-10 on a 51-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds to play.

If BT can get the breaks to go their way this season, the Titans will certainly contend for a playoff spot out of region 6-AA.

2009 Blessed Trinity Titan Roster (Players are listed in alphabetical order)) Noah Anderson, Eddie Bartlett, CJ NBonutti, Jack Bradley, Bryant McCauley, David Cano, John Collar, Ryan Cote, Nick D’Amato, Nick Day, Kyle Denis, Chris Dore, TJ?Drake, Tanner Dupuis, Scott Evans, Sam Farmer, Shane Foye, Jacob Frate, John Freese, Wes Fujihira, Blais Furse, John Gaston, Pierce Gonzalez, Mitch Hattersly, Chris Hershberger, Trent Hollis, Jimmy Horton, Jack Howard, Casey Joseph, Will King, Matthew Kinney, Andrew Laurusonis, Chris Lewis, Braden Lipham, William Longino, Kevin Lynch, Andrew Lyon, Riley Lyons, Patrick Marsden, Anthony Mazzanti, Thomas McCormick, Spencer McManes, Jonathan Mehall, Merrick Metcalf, Chase Moon, Hunter Myers, Cody Nelson, Thomas Nickolas, John O’Briant, Chase Phillips, Jeremy Phillips, Matthew Phillips, Thomas Pietro, Cody Pridemore, Michael Reagan, Chis Rondinone, John Schifani, Joey Schifani, Kevin Schulz, Jake Skole, Mark Smith, Stephen Spitler, TK?Thomas, Patrick Towner, Ricky Turner, Kevin Valentino, Nick Vanden Heuvel, Christian Vasquez, Liam Walsh.

Dickinson Breaks down BT

Prediction: It’s tough to bet against Blessed Trinity because the Titans have showed that they are a team that gets after the ball from the opening to the closing whistle. It is also hard to ignore the fact that the Titans lost 40 touchdowns from last season’s team in the form of running backs Sam Burkhalter and Bruce Johnson and quarterback Kohl Hegetschweiler.

Blessed Trinity is going to have young, inexperienced players at quarterback, running back and at the receiver position (except for senior Jake Skole). Although they will be strong on the offensive and defensive lines, and in the defensive backfield, it is going to take some time for the Titans to learn to play together on offense.

While it remains to be seen as to how the young players will perform, it is asking a great deal for unproven underclassmen to step right in and follow in the footsteps of players like Burkhalter and Hegetschweiler.

Look for Blessed Trinity to struggle early and to fight through a tough season of learning. The Titans will finish the season with a record of 5-5 in 2009.

Blessed Trinity Cheerleaders 1st Row:    Margaret Mraz, Kara Stultz, Eileen Morgan, Hannah Garlick, Katie Murphy, Meagan Molter, Nancy Nguyen 2nd Row: Kelly Wise, Corey Hagemeyer, Ryan Coyle, Taylor Thomas, Aly Fite, Katie Glowacki, Anna Fink 3rd Row: Meghan White, Ashley Rinehart, Bridget Quinn, Olivia Steimle, Rebecca Cudahy, Coach Lisa Ragan, Tara Crosby, Katrina Lindstrom, Lauren Case, Emmy Bone