October 29, 2009 — Trevor Harris is a math major, and a pretty good one at that, having been named a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference scholar athlete four times throughout his career thus far. But strangely, Harris isn’t a real big fan of numbers.
To him, numbers are just that, numbers. To everyone else, they’re a measuring point. And it takes only one look at Harris’ numbers to know he is and will always be one of the best quarterbacks ever in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
Just ask the best, East Stroudsburg’s Jim Terwilliger.
“He is a tremendous quarterback,” said Terwilliger, now the head football coach at Pleasant Valley High School. “I only got to see him play one year, but I was extremely impressed. I can only imagine how much he has grown since then.”
Heading into the final two regular season games of his career, Harris ranks among the top four in five categories in the PSAC record books. He ranks second in two of those categories, trailing only Terwilliger, who does has a convincing lead.
There is one record, however, well within Harris’ grasps, career pass completions. Harris currently ranks third behind Lock Haven’s Bob McLaughlin (884) with 880, needing just 26 to tie Terwilliger for the lead.
“I always thought the records would be broken,” Terwilliger said. “Honestly, I was never about the records. It was more about winning. The records just came along as I was successful. I’m sure Trevor would say the same thing.”
Undoubtedly.
“It’s very, very humbling,” Harris said of the records and being defined as one of the best quarterbacks in Division II right now. “When you say that it kind of gives you chills to think that people even put you in that breath. It’s a compliment to my teammates … They don’t say football is the ultimate team sport for nothing.”
Terwilliger isn’t surprised, though, that Harris is chasing those records or earning the praise he is.
“Of all the quarterbacks I ever played against, I can remember him very well as a freshman,” said Terwilliger, who played his last season for East Stroudsburg in 2006, Harris’ freshman season. “I can remember thinking, ‘It’s a good thing I’m getting out of here.’ Because I think that East Stroudsburg-Edinboro contest could have been a little crazier.”
“I thought this is a guy who can really swing it around,” he added. “He was a tremendous player. And I can remember him coming up to me after the game. He said some tremendous words. I thought what a great guy. This young man is going to be great. And from what I’ve seen, he has been.”
Terwilliger also considers Harris a great spokesperson, per say, for the PSAC, which is quickly developing into one of the most competitive football conferences in Division II. That is coming from one of only two PSAC players to ever win the Harlon Hill Trophy, Division II’s equivalent of the Heisman. Terwilliger won the award in 2006. Bloomsburg’s Irv Sigler won it in 1997.
Harris was one of eight finalists for the Harlon Hill last season and is figured to be among the favorites this year.
“One thing about the PSAC is week in and week out there are great football games,” Terwilliger said. “The level of competition is great. It’s certainly a stepping stone to getting the word out there when you have a great player like Trevor serving as kind of a spokesperson for the conference.”
The question is, does Harris, who has attracted several NFL scouts to the stadium this season, have what it takes to compete at that next level. Terwilliger made a brief stop in the NFL himself, as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings, and doesn’t necessarily consider himself qualified to judge, but said, “There is a place in the NFL for someone who is tough, a great leader and knows how to be a great quarterback and can learn the system. I can see Trevor putting his hat in the ring.”
After all, that is Harris’ ultimate dream.
“Hopefully that opportunity does present itself,” Harris said. “If not, I’ve got plenty of backup options. It would be a fun experience to go through. And I’d be lying if I said I haven’t been thinking about it.”
Local Sports
Harris will go down as one of PSAC’s best
- Local Sports
-
-
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Big Reds shut down Lions
SLIPPERY ROCK — The Linesville baseball team, with its mix of experienced and lesser-experienced players, has been capable of two different kinds of games this season.
The first is the sharp, skillful kind of effort the Lions put together Monday in their 10-7 win over Cochranton in the District 10 Class A quarterfinals. -
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Mercyhurst outslugs Lake in D-10 semis
ERIE — After a District 10 Class A championship game appearance last year, the Conneaut Lake baseball team lost four seniors who were important to the team’s success.
Even though the talented quartet graduated and Lake featured just three seniors this year, the team came together and reached the district semifinals. The team’s end result, and the school’s last game as a baseball team due to Conneaut Lake, Conneaut Valley, and Linesville consolidating into Conneaut Area Senior High, was a 15-4 loss in six innings to Mercyhurst Prep on Friday at Ainsworth Field in Erie. -
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Panthers edge Tigers, reach D-10 title game
ERIE — The Saegertown baseball team made an art form of compiling mercy rule wins this season. Nearly all of the Panthers’ 20 regular season victories were by 10 runs or more, as double-digit hits and runs scored were the norm.
The playoffs have been a different beast for the defending District 10 Class AA champion Cats, but they continue to find ways to win. -
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Cardinals come back from losers’ bracket to win D-10 title
The very first word spoken by Cochranton boys volleyball coach Brad Custead in his post-match interview will sum up Friday night’s District 10 championship finale better than all the words that follow it.
“Incredible,” he said. -
Bulldogs' trio ready for state track and field meet
Meadville’s best now look to be among Pennsylvania’s best as Paige Kassab, Chaykala Lindsey and Heather Sternby compete in the PIAA Class AAA Track and Field Championships, which run Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
-
D-10 SOFTBALL: Tigers no-hit in loss to Braves
HARBORCREEK TOWNSHIP — The Maplewood softball team had no answer for Iroquois starting pitcher Megan Martin on Tuesday during the District 10 Class AA quarterfinals on the campus of Penn State Behrend in Erie.
Martin worked around two errors during a no-hitter that included zero walks. And the Braves’ offense was sure to back her up during Iroquois’ 10-0 victory in five innings. -
D-10 BASEBALL: Prep rolls past ’Dogs in four innings
ERIE — Hitting, they say, is contagious. And the Cathedral Prep baseball team had a full-blown outbreak against Meadville on Tuesday at Ainsworth Field, notching 13 base hits in a 16-1, four-inning rout of the Bulldogs during opening round action of the District 10 Class AAA playoffs.
-
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Lake storms past Eisenhower
ERIE — The Conneaut Lake baseball team started off its postseason with a bang. Numerous bangs, actually.
The Indians (12-7) slugged 19 base hits while bumping off Eisenhower 15-5 in six innings during opening round action in the District 10 Class A playoff tournament Monday at Ainsworth Field. -
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Lions top Cards
ERIE — If this story had to describe every clutch hit, gutsy pitch, run-saving defensive play, or momentum-shifting moment during Monday’s playoff classic between Region 3 foes Cochranton and Linesville; there wouldn’t be room for much else in today’s newspaper.
The bottom line is: You should have been there. -
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs stop Trojans to cap perfect region slate
Meadville junior Matt Izbinski laced a hard spike down the line, and so ended the regular season for the Bulldogs boys volleyball team — with a 3-1 win over McDowell, and a 9-0 run through Region 1. It all summed up on Friday night at the House of Thrills.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Big Reds shut down Lions
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
