Fall is deepening in Minnesota. Football seasons are heating up.
“It’s a fun time of year when playoff football is hitting and the leaves are changing and all that,” said Trey Feeney, the quarterback for St. John’s University.
For Feeney, it’s a refreshing time. After three years as a reserve at North Dakota, he’s now the starting QB for the Johnnies.
“It had been almost since high school I was in the routine of starting every week,” he said. “It’s a rhythm thing. It’s like in basketball if you’re shooting the ball well, you could say you’re on fire. It really feels like I’ve gotten into a rhythm, gotten into a good connection with some of the receivers, running backs, tight ends.”
Feeney has been putting up big numbers for the Johnnies of late, since taking over the full-time quarterback job.
Growing up, the Feeney household was a football fortress. Trey’s dad Kevin was a star quarterback at NDSU, then became Trey’s coach and is still the head football coach at Moorhead High School.
“Picking his brain on experiences,” remembered Trey Feeney. “Like, ‘Hey dad, what was your coolest game or coolest atmosphere you got to play in?’ Just the little things, honestly.”
“Thankfully, I’m a few inches taller than him. Thank the good lord for that one,” laughed Trey Feeney. “We still do sometimes, over holidays, pull out the old tapes. But we have to get out the DVD players. It’s old school.”
Trey Feeney’s little brother Jett probably has never heard of the iPod. He’s a high school junior and already one of the top passers in the state.
“He would ask me questions like, ‘Hey, on this one, my footwork was kinda off,’ or, ‘What should I do here?”’So yeah, he was a very curious kid and it’s paying off for him,” said Trey Feeney.
Jett Feeney was injured in week two and missed five games. But now he’s back and has led Moorhead to this week’s state tournament semifinals.
“That’s where I know it was tough for my dad and my brother when he got hurt,” said Trey Feeney. “Because my brother’s in my dad’s ear every day like, ‘Dad, I’m good, I’m good. I can play.’ And my dad knows that he’s got a lot of football left ahead of him.”
The Johnnies are gearing up for their annual playoff push. The Spuds are taking aim at a Prep Bowl. Trey Feeney will watch his dad and brother at state on Friday night, then play his regular season finale up in Collegeville on Saturday afternoon.
“It is super special. St. John’s, the location has obviously been another great thing about this place because I’m kind of in the middle of the Cities and Moorhead. I’ve been able to make some of my dad and brother’s high school games,” said Trey Feeney. “It’s a really special area and I know, I’m just trying to take it day by day because I know it goes fast.”
Autumn reflection as football falls into place.
