Scouting Michigan City: Containing Wolves’ speed and the skill of quarterback Trinaston Hart and big, fast Division 1 recruit receiver Zaire McKinney the key for Chesterton in tonight’s Week 3 road game
Michigan City senior receiver Zaire McKinney is averaging 21.3 yards per reception for Michigan City going into tonight's game against Chesterton at Ames Field. (Mark Ridley/photo).
Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com
The names and experience levels change every year for Michigan City, but the challenge remains the same for Chesterton every time the Wolves are the opponent: Find a way to neutralize their speed.
The speed challenge this season starts with the player who has the ball in his hands on every offensive play: No. 1, senior quarterback Trinaston Hart.
Some quarterbacks are labeled as dual-threat players when they aren’t actually much of a passing threat. That’s not the case with Hart, a legitimate dual-threat QB, who stands just 5-foot-8-inches, but casts a big shadow on a defense.
Two games into a 1-1 season that started with a 31-0 victory over New Prairie and continued with a 46-29 loss to Lafayette Jefferson, Hart has completed 25 of 38 passes for 336 yards and has thrown for four touchdowns. He has been intercepted once. Hart has averaged an exceptional 13.4 yards per pass attempt. For comparison purposes, Chesterton sophomore quarterback Hunter Boyd, who has not been asked to throw the ball downfield very often yet, averages four yards per pass attempt. Hart also has averaged 7.5 yards per rush in the Wolves’ pass-oriented offense.
Zaire McKinney, a 6-4, 190-pound senior who wears No. 6, has been particularly productive for the Wolves. He has 11 receptions for 117 yards, a 21.3 average, and has one TD catch.
“Zaire McKinney has made a (verbal commitment) to Northern Illinois and has gotten some other late offers from P4 (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) schools,” Chesterton head coach Mark Peterson said. “They have a couple of offensive and defensive linemen who are pretty decent and have had some scholarship discussions with NAIA and D2 schools, and they have a team full of good athletes and some generally good players. We’ll have to play a good game tonight and we talk about it every week, being error-free and being able to hang onto the ball on offense. That’s going to be a key.”