Junior quarterback Trey Dobson (3) is back to lead the Greenwood Christian offense.
As program building blocks go, Greenwood Christian got it right with Trey Dobson.
The Cougars’ starting quarterback since the first game of the school’s debut season two years ago, the junior can’t wait for the snaps from center that will officially start the back half of his high school career.
“We’ve been talking as a team that we want to get to the sectional championship game, and win it, but it’s going to take a lot of work,” said Dobson, a 5-foot-9, 155-pounder capable of impacting a game with both his passing and running abilities.
“We’re looking forward to it. I feel like the last two years were to get the program started, have fun and win some games.”
Greenwood Christian is part of a Class A sectional includes seven other teams — most notably a trio of six-time sectional champions in Milan, North Decatur and West Washington.
Those are tomorrow’s concerns, however. GCA is out to improve on last season’s 5-4 record, which followed a 2-2 ledger the first time around against a partial varsity schedule. Impressive doings from a high school that not all that long ago viewed football as just one of those down-the-road possibilities.
Dobson has been a major factor.
“I’ve been around some very good quarterbacks in my career. Trey is a very special quarterback,” said Cougars coach Andre Dobson, who is Trey’s father. “His knowledge and his poise. Reading defenses and changing plays.”
Trey Dobson’s sophomore campaign featured 19 touchdowns and nearly 2,000 yards of offense when combining his passing and running.
“It’s been really fun watching him develop,” coach Dobson said. “All I can say is thank God he takes after his mother (Brianne) because at his age, I never would’ve been able to do what he’s doing.”
The younger Dobson will again juggle football responsibilities with being part of the GCA boys soccer team, which a year ago advanced all the way to a Class A semistate.
On the pitch and on Friday nights, his decision-making and athleticism benefit both teams.
But, like anyone else breaking new ground, Dobson — all of 145 pounds as a ninth-grader — was shouldering responsibilities most athletes that age never experience.
Greenwood Christian?
Football?
Really?
“I’m putting up numbers, but it’s up to the kids in the future to break those records,” said Dobson, who sincerely hopes that they do. “Coming here and being the first quarterback, it comes with a lot of adversity. A lot of doubts.
“Sometimes it’s hard, but I have a lot of people behind me telling me to just be who I am.”
2024 SCHEDULE
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 23;Park Tudor*;7 p.m.
Aug. 30;Covenant Christian*;7 p.m.
Sept. 6;Wes-Del*;7 p.m.
Sept. 13;Edinburgh*,7 p.m.
Sept. 20;at Milan;7 p.m.
Sept. 27;at North Central (Farmersburg);7 p.m.
Oct. 4;Clarksville*;7 p.m.
Oct. 11;at Fort Wayne Blackhawk;7 p.m.
Oct. 18;Indianapolis Shortridge*;7 p.m.
* – at Beech Grove Middle School
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Coach: Andre Dobson
Last season: 5-4; not yet eligible for IHSAA postseason play
Who’s back?: OL/DL Jack Franey, WR/CB Zach Haynes, OL/DL Eli Jackson, RB/LB Evan McIntire and OL/DL Tad Speedy, seniors; QB/FS Trey Dobson, RB/LB Danny Honeycutt and OL/DL Cayden Pasch, juniors
New faces to watch: WR/SS Ryder Knox, senior; RB/CB Ethan Wolf, junior
What to expect: This season opens up an entire new world for the Cougars, who’ll take part in sectional play for the first time in their three-year history. Trey Dobson, a starter at quarterback since his freshman season, threw for 1,239 yards and ran for 641 last season. McIntire is back at running back; he and Haynes were good for 27 and 15 catches, respectively, as juniors. McIntire was also GCA’s top tackler last season with 57; Honeycutt and Dobson are holdovers prepared to lead the secondary. Junior running back Nathan Goins, one of the main cogs in the team’s offensive attack the past two years, transferred back to Center Grove.
Coach Dobson, who feels this could be the best defensive unit in GCA’s brief history, will find out immediately whether this is true. The Cougars will play six home games, including their first four, on the grass field at Beech Grove Middle School. The first three foes (Park Tudor, Covenant Christian and Wes-Del) were a combined 23-11 last season. The road tests are both lengthy and challenging, with drives to Milan, North Central (Farmersburg) and Fort Wayne Blackhawk.
