Unsung center Terracina is leader of Bulldogs offense

[KFDM COOP]

Unsung center Terracina is leader of Bulldogs offense

By Tom Halliburton

The Port Arthur News

NEDERLAND -- If you had three guesses, you probably would not pick Larry Neumann's most valuable player on these Nederland Bulldogs.

You might not even guess the right guy with 10 choices.

That's how unsung and obscure that Trey Terracina's work generally seems to be recognized by those of us ignorant football dingbats who show up in our seats week after week.

We see Kirby Bellow make great passes.... Wareall Grogan make brilliant runs.... Asa Cardenas, Ryan Brady and Jude Vidrine make acrobatic catches.... We even tend to appreciate Stefan Huber's noticeable blocks.

There's just nothing about Trey Terracina's behavior to stop the presses whatsoever.... Or is there?

"I was just kidding Trey back in two-a-days that he might be the absolute, one single guy that we could not afford to lose on this entire team," the Nederland head coach recalled on Tuesday afternoon.

If you appreciate Trey Terracina's contribution, then you may be a real knowledgeable sports guy such as former Lamar University coach/administrator Dan Rogas. Rogas never has quit coaching. To this day, he still coaches his grandson and critiques Trey's performance. But you can be sure that Dan is proud of his grandson. Just as Larry Neumann is.

"Trey doesn't just throw it back there," the NHS head coach said. "He seeds it. He's insuring a snap to be in the right place. That's the conscientiousness of Trey Terracina. He's keenly aware of where the snaps need to be. He's a very coachable kid. He makes adjustments well. He's the glue that holds the offensive line together."

If you really think Neumann considers Terracina among his best-ever centers, let's go at the subject matter from the negative end, rather than the positive side.

How many bad snaps to the shotgun passer does Trey make? How many are too low, too high or too wide and what does he do after the snap?

Again, the positives come shining through for this 17-year-old son of Tony and Gale Terracina.

"He doesn't make very many bad snaps," Neumann said, after weighing his answer carefully.

Terracina started at center all last year, weighing more like 165 pounds. He tried to shield his body behind the defender and the ball carrier but he needed more size to assert himself more effectively. The same opinion of Terracina might be written now but at least Trey's up to 5-11, 190.

"Last year, I was so small that I was trying to get in the way," Terracina admitted. "(Offensive line coach David) Coach Crommett always talked about how I needed to gain weight."

The groundwork for much of Terracina's success was laid prior to the 2007 season when he and his quarterback would spend plenty of time working on snapping and catching the shotgun snap. Take it for granted if you want to, but it either makes the offense start properly or else the Nederland juggernaut has a dead battery.

Once the snap is timed and positioned just right, the blocks are delivered, the pass routes are started, the running back is out of his stance, the quarterback is reading his coverages. Sometimes the pinpoint accuracy of Terracina's snap gives Bellow that extra stride if he wishes to run the ball, or move to either side before releasing a pass.

Trey is no small factor in accounting for the significant improvement to Nederland's line play from a year ago. His extra year's experience has improved his ability to make the proper blocking calls when he has reached the line of scrimmage and has completed his reads on the defense.

"Last year, all of those calls we made was like trying to learn a foreign language," he said. "It's really unbelievable how much that all of that has improved. The two young players (junior Khoby Moore and sophomore Ben Jones) have stepped up and fit in good."

The challenge intensifies Friday night as Nederland (3-1 and 3-0) visits Beaumont Central (3-2 and 2-1) in Beaumont's Babe Zaharias Stadium at 7:30. This 20-4A shootout pits David and Goliath in the trenches when Terracina lines up against Jaguars' defensive tackle Chris Johnson (6-1, 250). Terracina stands two inches shorter and 60 or more pounds lighter.

"He's a pretty big guy," the Dogs center of Johnson. "I'm always outmatched because of my size. I'll just try to stay in his way and try to keep him busy."

Just avoiding holding penalties alone on Friday night would make Trey a most valuable player indeed.

Bulldog Bites: If you had 10 guesses, you would not pick Nederland's defensive captain this week either. That's how well Asa Cardenas played on defense with an interception and some key tackles at LC-M.... The top grades at LC-M belonged to QB Kirby Bellow (94) and receivers Brent Salenga (91), Jude Vidrine (89), and Ryan Brady (87)... Top tacklers at LC-M were Jordan Landry (5 and 3) and Jackson Broussard (5 and 1).... Salenga sustained a hip pointer at LC-M but returned to practice and was regarded as probable for Central.... The Bulldogs were weakened a bit in Tuesday's practice because of a virus which sidelined a pair of starters, outside backer Nick Cardenas and left guard Khoby Moore.... The Nederland-Beaumont Central game will be televised by the Port Arthur News Friday Night Experience crew with the game airing on Cable 18 next Tuesday night at 7 p.m....

[Nederland Dog 2006]

Oh yes. This offensive line is one of the best that has come through Nederland since 2004 when Hood and Butler were playing. These guys are hosses.

[BMTSoulja1]

Thank you, PA Snooze!  Chris Johnson, you better eat that tiny Center for lunch!  ;D ;D

Televised game?  Sounds good to me.

[obcowboy]

I think Central's Sterling Cantue is the best Center in the area!  He has 25 pancakes for the year...He leads the team with the most helmet stickers!

[Guest Luv Ya Blue]

He was good no doubt.