Bellevue has a history against top out-of-state opponents while Trinity is in the unfamiliar role of underdog.
Photo by Jeff Napier
There's a lot that will be different about Trinity's season opener in 2012.
It will be opening under Thursday night lights, not Friday. It begins the season outside of the national spotlight. It's playing 2,200 miles from home.
All of those elements contribute to making the
Trinity (Euless, Texas) vs.
Bellevue (Wash.) interstate tilt one of the most intriguing matchups of the 2012 season.
No stranger to preseason acclaim (Trinity was MaxPreps' preseason No. 1 team in 2008 and 2010), Trinity is playing the part of the underdog to Bellevue, which enters the contest ranked
No. 5 in the Xcellent 25.
According to Matt Wixon of the Dallas Morning News, Trinity is not completely unaccustomed to the underdog role.
"It's definitely unusual for Trinity to be an underdog, but back in 2009, Trinity was the underdog (a slight one) in two early non-district games," Wixon said. "It lost to Allen and Cedar Hill and started the season 1-2. It then won 13 straight games and won the state title."
A season-opening, high-profile interstate showdown is much more Bellevue's style.
Ari Morales, Bellevue
Photo by Jeff Napier
Head coach Butch Goncharoff's squad has taken on the likes of Oaks Christian, Grant and Katy in recent years. Its most famous victory was a 39-20 win that snapped De La Salle's 151-game winning streak.
This year's Bellevue squad may be its most talented. Its defense is led by junior linebacker
Sean Constantine, a Washington commit, while 6-foot-2 running back
Myles Jack and 5-9 back
Ari Morales also star.
Bishard "Budda" Baker, only a junior, will see action on offense and defense, and is a
Top 100-caliber player for the Class of 2014. He also excels returning kicks.
With two capable quarterbacks in
Jack Meggs and
Timmy Haehl and an experienced line, Bellevue has the pieces to execute Goncharoff's modified version of the Wing-T.
In some sense then, it will be a battle of speed and precision against size and strength. For a program that has produced the likes of Dontrayevous Robinson, Tevin Williams and Brandon Carter, this Trojans' squad is relatively void of proven skill players.
Rather, Trinity's strength will be up front, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Senior defensive ends
Gaius Vaenuku (6-5, 260) and
Samiuela Tevi (6-5, 270) will be tasked with disrupting Bellevue's prolific ground attack. They'll bookend fellow returners
Cody Mayfield and Hafoka Olie, the team's defensive tackles.
Steve Lineweaver, Trinity
Photo by Jim Redman
"We've got some boys that know how to play good technique and got some nice size," Trinity head coach Steve Lineweaver told the Dallas Morning News. "But we have to play fast. That's our big emphasis. That's usually one of our strengths is the D-line and it should be again this year."
Trinity will follow its trip to Washington with a game against a power from a different state, albeit one much closer: Union (Tulsa, Okla.).
Carrying the banner for the state of Texas is no easy task, and it's the reason why Goncharoff believes Trinity, not Bellevue, will be the team feeling pressure.
"Playing programs from other states, I don't think we've ever had a negative," Goncharoff told the Cincinnati Enquirer. "This time, all the pressure's on Trinity because they're representing the state of Texas. … For us, it's going to be a fun experience. We've been in so many big games, I don't think our kids are going to be all that nervous."
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. PST. The game will be Qwixcored.
Follow the action live.
