O-R Athlete of the Week: Andrew Durig, Trinity
Name: Andrew Durig
School: Trinity
Class: Junior
Sport: Football
Durig’s week: Normally, scoring three touchdowns in a game is pretty ordinary, what with the emphasis of high school football on offense with defense just a passing thought.
But the 5-10, 200-pound running back from Trinity scored his three touchdowns in the same quarter, the second, of the Hillers’ 35-14 win over Connellsville last Friday.
Not only that, Trinity scored all its points in that second quarter. And finally, none of Durig’s three touchdowns was less than 40 yards. Also unusual for games of this caliber was that no team scored in the first quarter.
“The second quarter, everything seemed to fall into place,” said Durig. “We made some mistakes in the first quarter and then we settled down in the second quarter and started playing our game.”
Practice makes perfect: Durig opened the scoring by breaking off a 78-yard run for a touchdown, then followed it with a 40-yard gallop to make it 21-0. Durig finished the scoring for himself and his team when Jonah Williamson connected with him on a 67-yard scoring pass.
“On the 70-some-yard run, my linemen blocked it great and I got a good wide receiver block on the edge. That set it up perfectly for me,” Durig said. “On the 40-yard run, same thing. Beautiful hole and it was off to the races. On the touchdown pass, the quarterback placed it on me good, and there was good blocking by the offensive line. We had been working those plays in the week and executed them well.”
The three touchdowns gave Durig five for the season. Last year, he accounted for nine of Trinity’s touchdowns.
Speedy delivery: Durig has rushed for 255 yards on 34 carries. That’s an average of 7.5 yards per carry. One thing that helps him is his speed. Durig has turned in times of 4.3 and 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. He was the fastest player at the Tri-County Coaches Association combine during the summer.
“He’s an explosive player,” said Trinity head coach Dan Knause. “We didn’t play him in the second half, what with the running clock (because of the Mercy Rule).
“He’s got great acceleration. What I like about him is when it comes time to finish a run, he does. He’s sneaky physical. He can lower the boom on somebody to finish a run.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano