LancSports.com honors Cedars’ QB; Podcast interview here
Talk about some gigantic spikes to step into.
Lebanon sophomore QB Alex Trautman – all 5-7, 170 pounds of him – was the lucky duck who was handed the keys to the Cedars’ fun-and-gun ‘Air Raid’ offense after All-State pick and Iowa State University recruit James Capello left Lebanon.
Capello re-wrote every record in the Cedars’ books the last couple of years, and last season he led Lebanon to a program-best 7 wins and to its first trip to the District 3 playoffs.
Enter Trautman, who not only had to take over for Capello, but when Lebanon got off to a 0-3 start, he started hearing the naysayers.
After a hastily-called players-only team meeting following Lebanon’s Week 3 51-14 loss to Elco, Trautman and the Cedars have caught fire with three wins in a row, and at 3-0 in league play, Lebanon is tied for the top spot in Section 2 with Conestoga Valley (3-0, 5-1) and Manheim Central (3-0, 6-0).
Lebanon can remain in a tie for the top spot with a win Friday at Solanco. And the Cedars will play at Central in Week 8, so this is really getting good.
Lebanon got to 3-0 in the section compliments of a 33-13 win over Cocalico. The Cedars did it on defense – holding the league’s top-ranked offense to just 116 rushing yards – and Trautman came up large in the passing department.
Against the Eagles, Trautman completed 11-of-24 passes for 250 yards, and he tossed four TD passes in the victory: a 73-yarder and a 20-yarder to Jesse Sales, a 22-yarder to Brian Quinones and a 68-yarder to Nick Pastrana.
For his efforts – and for helping Lebanon earn a head-turner victory – Trautman is the LancSports.com Player of the Week.
Through six games, Trautman has completed 86-of-174 passes for 1,134 yards and 10 TD against just four picks. He is slowly but surely grasping the Cedars’ ‘Air Raid’ attack, while dealing with the comparisons and expectations of following Capello.
And, most importantly, Trautman has helped guide his team to the top of the Section 2 charts and into the district playoff chase.
I sat down with Trautman after practice Monday morning and we chatted about the players-only meeting that has seemed to light a fire under the Cedars, about the very large win over Cocalico, and about how Lebanon will factor in the chase down the stretch.
You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.
You can also download the Podcast and listen to it on your favorite mp3 player by clicking here.
