Kevin Spiller, Trinity Christian football ready to finish the job
Kevin Spiller was close to retiring for a second time.
The Trinity Christian head football coach contemplated calling it a career after a long 2021 season. The Lions had just lost in the TAPPS Division II state championship game to Cypress Christian and Spiller was ready to head off into the sunset.
But, his wife talked him out of it and Spiller had come too far with the group that were freshmen when he first took over as head coach to walk away now.
Spiller ultimately decided to come back for one final season. He'll leave the school in December, giving way to new head coach Riley White to replace him.
Before that, though, Spiller will try to lead the Lions to the title they came just short of a season ago. And he'll have plenty of talent back from that runner-up squad to give the Lions a chance at history.
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Trinity Christian brings back 19 total starters — 10 on offense, nine on defense — and 28 total lettermen. Considering where the program was when Spiller took over, when having enough players for a JV squad was the goal, this as good a time as any for the Lions to go for it all.
"Just having those numbers and having some depth and having some options and being able to practice without just always holding a dummy or, you know, me running routes or something. ... It's quite awesome," Spiller said.
Having that many players does provide its benefits, but it's also modified how Spiller runs practices to keep everybody busy. With a large number of players, and all those returning players, allowed the Lions to figure out things this spring rather than waiting for August to roll around.
The returning players are the biggest factor to Trinity's optimism, especially the three senior leaders in Marcus Ramon-Edwards, Zach Anthony and Hunter Mastin.
Each of the three players are being heavily recruited by colleges — Ramon-Edwards has already committed to Texas Tech — and are players Spiller points to as an example of what the Lions are all about.
Anthony is the anchor on defense at linebacker and joins Mastin and Jeremiah Isaac as the core of the Lions' offensive line, which is featured heavily in the Slot-T offense the team utilizes to take plenty of time off the clock.
Ramon-Edwards is the featured back, having run for 1,778 yards and 23 touchdowns in his junior year.
It's no secret the Lions will get the ball into Ramon-Edwards' hands. The Lions are also going to use his gravity to get the ball to other players like tight end Cade Hays. Trinity will still be pounding the opposing defense with run plays, but Spiller said the team will start to add some tempo, even throwing the ball on occasion to keep defenses honest.
"We feel like we've got good enough receivers and some guys now that you can get them the ball," Spiller said. "If you just try to give us a hitch or something, we're going to try to take it this year and just not be so hard-headed that we're just going to pound it every play. We're going to use some of that talent that we've been blessed with."
Through the spring, Eli Reeves has been tapped as the new starting quarterback. Reeves is a starting safety and played fullback last season, but will compete for the starting QB job with three other players.
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The 2021 campaign was a whirlwind year for the Lions. When they defeated Lubbock Christian in the state semifinals, they felt like that was good enough. Then when they lost in the state championship game, they realized there's a bit more they hope to attain.
"All that beating Lubbock Christian and the big win against Grace Prep was still good," Spiller said, "but, man, there's still that nagging that you came up short in the state championship. So let's go. Let's go give another shot with the numbers that we have coming back and see."
Trinity Christian Lions
Head coach — Kevin Spiller
2021 record — 10-4 overall, 6-1 in district
Base offense — Slot T
Base defense — 3 Stack
Returning off./def. starters — 10/9
Top returners — Marcus Ramon-Edwards, Sr., RB/DB; Hunter Mastin, Sr., OL/DL; Zach Anthony, Sr., OL/LB; Cade Hays, Jr., TE/LB; Samuel Beaver, Jr., OL/DL.
2022 schedule
* denotes TAPPS District I Division III game
Aug. 26 — at Albany, 6 p.m.
Sept. 2 — at Clarendon, 7 p.m.
Sept. 9 — vs. Liberty Argyle at Abilene Christian University, 7 p.m.
Sept. 16 — vs. New Deal, 7 p.m.
Sept. 30 — vs. Denver City, 7 p.m.
Oct. 7 — at Colleyville Covenant, 6 p.m.*
Oct. 14 — vs. Grace Prep, 6 p.m.*
Oct. 21 — vs. Willow Park, 6 p.m.*
Nov. 2 — vs. Pantego, 6 p.m.*
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Trinity Christian football ready for Kevin Spiller's final season
