Player: Tre’von Charles Position: RB/DB Height: 5' 10" Weight: 165 lb Academic: Junior School: Union

By Clay Sauertieg

New Castle News

Tre’von Charles didn’t expect to be in the position he found himself in Friday night against Jefferson-Morgan.

“I wasn’t really even supposed to be at running back, our running back got injured last game so I had to step in. I’m usually at wide receiver,” the Union High junior said.

But when running back K’Von Huddleston went down in the Scotties game against Northgate the week prior, Charles was more than ready to answer the bell.

He rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns against visiting Jefferson-Morgan on just eight carries for an impressive 27.1 yards-per-carry average in a 30-0 WPIAL Class 1A Big Seven Conference victory.

“Tre really stepped up,” Union coach Stacy Robinson said. “We stress to our kids that you have to always be ready, so you don’t have to wait to get ready. So when we called his number, he was ready and we expect that from all our kids.”

Charles’ performance helped hand Robinson and his Scotties team their first win of the season, something that wasn’t lost on the stand-in running back.

“It’s nice to be able to help my team and help us get that win. After the first carry of the game where I got about 40 yards, I knew I could have a big game,” Charles said. “I get reps throughout the week at both running back and receiver, so I was ready to go from the start.”

Robinson noted that due to his teams limited numbers with regards to roster size, he tries to get his players comfortable at multiple positions.

“With our limited numbers, we don’t necessarily always have starters at certain positions, we try to get guys reps at different positions and get the ball to as many guys as you can to keep them from getting too banged up,” he said.

Charles’ big game was a breakout performance both personally and for the Scotties’ offense, which had been averaging just 8.7 points-per-game heading into the contest. Charles was sure to note that he couldn’t have done it all by himself.

“When I come to the sidelines I’m up with the o-line telling them ‘good blocks keep moving and we got to get it next time, we get back out there on offense,’ “ he said.

Robinson was quick to praise his offensive line, saying the veteran group had maybe its best game of the season and that his team had only been “playing football in spurts” before putting it all together in last Friday’s game.

Both Robinson and Charles will look to compound their efforts this Friday when the Scotties host West Beaver.

“As soon as last week was over, we forgot about it,” Charles said. “Now we’re worrying about this week and worrying about winning this Friday and continuing to win games. I’m not sure whether I’ll be playing running back or wide receiver, but I know we’ll be ready either way.”

(Email: csauertieg@ncsportsonline.com)