Trey Blair had ignition. He had liftoff.
Thirty-one yards from the launch pad the 2019 Delco Times football player of the year at Haverford High literally left his feet to touch down with one of the most satisfying scores of his career.
It had been nearly four years since Blair felt that burn, and it felt like an eternity for the young man who rushed for a school-record 27 touchdowns as a senior on the way to leading Haverford to its first District 1 playoff victory.
Putting up two scores last Saturday in front of his dad, Chet, and mother Dawn to lead West Chester University to a 38-31 victory over Gannon at Farrell Stadium was like going through a time warp. Temple transfer Blair is back. For the first time since he attended college, he’s loving football.
“It’s kind of refreshing,” Blair understated Tuesday. “In high school, I had a great group of guys, a great team and I was really close with a lot of my teammates. And then at Temple I had a lot of teammates I was close to but football just wasn’t fun for me. Especially in the last year. I was struggling just to get myself to enjoy practice, enjoy games, enjoy the bus rides, all that stuff. When I scored I kind of got that feeling back – the feeling of it’s just a game, and it’s fun. It doesn’t have to be such a serious job sort of thing. It’s supposed to be a fun thing to do.”
Blair did not forget how to finish the 31-yard run by stretching the ball over the goal line, something he had done masterfully as a quarterback for the Fords at A.G. Cornog Stadium.
For Blair, being born again in a football sense less than 20 miles from his hometown also is a credit to West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan, his staff and the work they’d done to make him feel welcome and finalize the transfer. Though Blair’s debut for the Rams was delayed until Game 3 due to transfer red tape, it was worth the wait.
“Once we got him cleared, we tried to get him in there kind of wherever we could because there’s guys that have been playing, and playing pretty well for us,” Zwaan said. “He definitely made a difference. He made a great run for his first touchdown. He just got around the end and took off to the end zone. That was a key touchdown for us. And obviously he scored the last touchdown for us late in the game. But also on that drive, he had a couple of nice runs that got us some first downs. So there’s no question he adds to what we have offensively. We’ve got a few talented kids on offense, and he just makes us that much more potent.”
The Rams (2-1) are loaded with playmakers. In addition to Blair (5-11, 210), quarterback Cooper Jordan has impressed throwing, running and making quick decisions. Wideout Rahiem Bowens from Penn Wood had two TD catches against Gannon, including a 73-yarder and has become a force to be reckoned with.
Wide receiver Julian Jordan scored Saturday for the Rams and is having a stellar season. Jaden Williams is vying for playing time at running back along with Dayshawn Jacobs, the West Chester Rustin product who returned a kickoff 79 yards last week. Jacobs was a West Chester Daily Local player of the year.
Blair, who has Division I skills, not the attitude, is a story of hope to players willing to do what it takes to change.
“He was just looking to play,” Zwaan said. “And he wanted to play offense, No. 1, and Temple was playing him on defense. He wanted to be at a place where he could get the football. His dad (Cheet was an All-Delco basketball player at Strath Haven High) is a grad here, an alum. And his mom is, too. So, they have a lot of familiarity with West Chester. He did not want to go too far away from home to play. So, we kind of fell right into what he was looking for.
“In the end, he said, ‘Coach, I’m coming to West Chester.’ It was a nice match. He’s definitely going to help us.”
Blair basically is replacing Jaden McKenzie, the Springfield High standout who led the Rams in rushing the past two years but transferred to Rhode Island. Blair had other transfer opportunities but ultimately preferred staying local and adding to the family resume. His father scored 1,219 points for the Rams’ hoops teams from 1991-95 to rank 17th in school history.
“My mom graduated from West Chester, my dad graduated from West Chester and is in the basketball hall of fame here,” Blair said. “It was kind of like, why wouldn’t I come here? All the boxes kind of checked themselves. I still weighed my options but at the end of the day I couldn’t say no to coming here.”
Honors student Blair figures to have his BA in psychology by May, and to soon work toward a Masters in clinical and mental health counseling, also at West Chester. He has three years of football eligibility.
Blair will have plenty of time to stay connected with family and the varsity Fords’ football team coached by Luke Dougherty, who has become a mentor. One of these weekends Blair will return to Cornog to cheer on the Fords, and maybe even to tell his story.
Don’t be surprised if the theme is along the lines of it’s never too late to find the joy in what you do.
Source: Berkshire mont