I could tell Trevor Codak wanted the interview to end.
Toward the end of my conversation with the Eureka sophomore, he watched as his teammates gathered into a tight huddle after the Wildcats lost 32-29 at home to Cape Girardeau Central in the Class 5 state football quarterfinals Nov. 18.
Sometimes it’s better to stop asking questions.
“I love the seniors so much; it’s going to take a while to get over this,” Codak said as he walked away.
The end of a season can be painful in the moment. After the game, the Wildcat huddle persisted, families and coaches ringed around it, clapping for the success of the season. It was a sunny, mild, brilliant November Saturday afternoon in Eureka. Not far from the high school, the town’s Christmas tree lighting took place that night. It was small-town America wrapped in one beautiful package.
Prior to kickoff, rock music blared, tents sprouted like weeds, kids were chalk-painting on the parking lot and tailgating was in full force. All of the elements were in place for a big game.
When it began, Eureka put the ball in the hands of Codak, its latest unlikely hero. A season-ending injury to senior running back Larry Reed had moved Codak up the depth charts by midseason. Eureka was languishing at 4-4 and needed a new identity on offense going into the game at Hazelwood Central on Oct. 20. Codak scored the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter of a 21-19 victory.
That set off a four-game winning streak that included the Class 5 District 2 title and the confrontation with the Tigers. Each week Codak’s role and numbers grew. In a 52-0 rout over Parkway South in the first round of districts, he scored the game’s first three touchdowns before the Wildcat defense put the game away by the end of the first quarter with two defensive scores.
Senior running back Ryan Holz scored two fourth-quarter TDs to put Ladue away 34-14 in the district semifinals, while Codak led the Wildcats with 175 yards on 27 carries.
By the time Eureka played top-seeded Rockwood Summit (11-2) in the district final, Codak wasn’t a mystery to opposing coaches. Seven seconds after the Falcons took a 7-0 lead, he tore off an 86-yard touchdown run and senior kicker Bryce Clark’s PAT tied the game. Codak’s 3-yard scoring run and 69-yard TD catch from junior quarterback Casey Hobelman put the Wildcats ahead for good. They were district champs and Codak had scored five touchdowns, rushed for 162 yards and established himself as the team’s feature back for the next two years.
The game against Cape Central couldn’t have started any better for Codak or the Wildcats. Senior defensive back Josh West intercepted Tiger QB Jathan Spain on the game’s first play and returned the ball to Cape’s five-yard line. Codak scored from there, Clark booted the PAT and Eureka led 7-0 less than a minute into the action.
When Codak broke into the second and third levels of the Tiger defense, he was elusive, sidestepping tacklers left and right. More and more he started looking like the workhorse ball carrier Wildcat fans have grown accustomed to in former backs like Kevin Emmanuel and Hassan Haskins.
“(Codak) grew up all season and in the last two weeks obviously made some great things happen,” Eureka head coach Jake Sumner said. “He’s done a great job of figuring things out and I am proud of the way he’s done things here at the end.”
Unfortunately, Eureka hurt itself with two Codak fumbles and a pair of Hobelman interceptions, including one that killed a late-game drive. After the first fumble, Spain fired a 46-yard TD strike to receiver Bao Tran to tie the game 7-7. Later the Wildcats trailed by as much as 23-7 and had to play catch-up.
With only 3:36 to play, Hobelman tossed a 19-yard touchdown strike to Codak to bring the Wildcats to within a field goal. But on the next possession Hobelman threw a sideline pass that Cape linebacker Davarious Nunley snatched out of the air as he got his toes just inside the sideline to seal the Tigers’ first trip to the state semifinals.
Before joining his teammates in the postgame huddle for one last time this fall, Codak thought about his sudden importance to the program.
“I’ve learned that you can do anything you put your mind to,” he said. “You just need the support. Injuries put me in this place, but I was put here for a reason. These next few years, (this community) has something special coming for it.”
Codak was warmly embraced by that community, which is proud of its teams and traditions. He already understands what that means.
“I don’t have any words for that,” he said. “Nothing compares to this at all. No one has Eureka football. No one has a team like this.”
Good luck to Cape Central – their next opponent in the semifinals is unbeaten Cardinal Ritter, winners of 26 consecutive games and defending Class 3 state champions.