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Trinity-TJ game goes national
Ohio State recruit Andrew Sweat and Penn State recruit Michael Yancich provided Trinity High School football with a significant level of local and national attention in recent months.
Now, the rest of the Hillers get to show their stuff on a very large stage.
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"It's pretty awesome," Trinity football coach and athletic director Ed Dalton said. "Back in 1999 when I first got here, Trinity might have been the worst football program in the WPIAL. Now, to be on national television, it's really exciting."
FSN operates 18 regional networks and employees will be doing a site survey of Hiller Stadium Thursday.
Thomas Jefferson at Trinity is the second WPIAL game selected to be televised nationally. Yough at Jeannette will be televised ESPNU on Friday, Sept. 14. Jeannette features heralded recruit Terrelle Pryor, the nation's top-ranked senior according to rivals.com.
And the Trinity-Thomas Jefferson contest has no shortage of players with national profiles.
Sweat, an all-state linebacker, was ranked Monday by the ESPN 150 as the nation's No. 45 recruit. Yancich, also a linebacker, has also skyrocketed up the rankings and is listed as one of the nation's top 250 seniors by rivals.com.
Thomas Jefferson, which beat Trinity 30-0 last year, is led by senior lineman Lucas Nix, a Pitt recruit who is ranked No. 120 on the ESPN 150. The Jaguars are also the defending WPIAL Class AAA champions and reached the PIAA semifinals.
"Thomas Jefferson is obviously the ringbearer in our section and they're the team we've got to beat if we want to get to that level," Dalton said. "To them, they're the reason this game is televised and they have every right to feel that way."
Not only does this contest give Trinity a chance to prove it belongs among the Class AAA elite, it provides much-needed exposure for local football and gives Trinity alumni scattered across the nation an opportunity to see the program's progress.
"I don't know what you'd normally have to pay to get this type of exposure," Dalton said. "And it really comes down to exposure. Look at Beth-Center, they've been doing well for a number of years but people don't talk about you unless they see you play. If we come out and play well, the argument keeps getting better that there's good football in the area."
