In the biggest football game of last season, in fact one of the biggest games in Trinity’s history, sophomore Spencer Fetter stepped up in place of an injured quarterback in the District Championship game when he was only a freshman. He has started at quarterback ever since.
“It was really nerve-racking because it was the best team we played last year,” Fetter said of the district championship game against Trinity Catholic. “It was the biggest game of the season too.”
In the past season, Fetter has continued to grow and mature as a player. In a sport where experience generally determines your playing time, a sophomore starting as the quarterback is very rare.
“Back [in the district championship], I didn’t really understand the offense,” Fetter said. “I would just pick one receiver and pass it to him. But now I can read the defense.” The quarterback learned the extensive playbook of the offense during the off-season.
Fetter is expected to use a similar playbook to the one Head Coach Mike Kruzeck used as the offensive coordinator for the Arizona Cardinals. Fetter’s ability to play in this offense shows the impressive maturity and confidence he has for his age.
“People don’t realize the complexity of what we do,” Coach David Langdon said. “We have Coach Kruzeck [who has an] NFL background.”
Kruzeck’s coaching has been instrumental in Fetter’s development as a player.
Even though he is young, as the quarterback, Fetter must lead the team. His leadership applies to both the offense and the overall team mentality.
“I try to be vocal as much as I can,” Fetter said. “[I like to] hype the team up when we make a good play.”
Trinity’s schedule this year is one of the hardest in its classification and one of the toughest in Trinity’s history. The team plays big schools, such as Carrollwood, Lakeland Christian and Deltona High School. Fetter and the rest of the young team were certainly not dealt an easy schedule.
Older members of the team have helped Fetter adjust to his new position. They offer words of encouragement during practices and games when he makes a mistake.
While the team’s goal is to win as many games as possible, Fetter has set goals for himself. He would like to throw twice as many touchdowns as interceptions and lead his team to five or more wins.
Thus far, Fetter has had a lot of success accompanied by only a few mistakes. Luckily, the Saints will have Fetter to lead the team for two more years. His success as quarterback has only just begun.
