Eagles dual-threat QB shining in final season

The road to rebuilding and improvement can be a long, winding road, whether it is in a competitive or a professional setting. 

For the Trinity Christian Eagles football program, improvement has been noticeable in the midst of the 2024 football season. The Eagles have been largely led on the field and in the locker room by senior signal-caller Canaan Kaznowski, a dual-threat quarterback and transfer from Azle High School.

“The role of quarterback is nothing new to me – I have played quarterback my whole life,” Kaznowski said. “The thing that makes this year different, I would say, is that I’m more vocal compared to previous years. Also, I think a lot of that comes from being a senior and the experience I have. I know the team looks to me as their quarterback and I cannot fail to give them anything but my best effort.”

More than on-field leader

Through nine games this season, Kaznowski has produced 1,047 passing yards and seven aerial scores, along with 476 rushing yards on 84 carries (5.8 yards per carry) with seven scores on the ground. While the production of his arm and legs have come up big for the Eagles this season, his leadership in the locker room has been contagious with the rest of his team.

“I would say people are stepping up into leadership positions,” Kaznowski said. “Teammates are being more vocal in a good way. I think we all just got tired of losing and getting thrown around. We changed our mindset to a ‘Let’s go out and win this game’ rather than just expecting another loss. We have the mindset to go out and win.”

During their best stretch of the season, Kaznowski helped lead the Eagles to wins in two of three games. Trinity Christian scored a 42-27 victory at home over Bishop Gorman before losing a tight 26-24 contest to All Saints Episcopal. The Eagles followed that up with an impressive 56-36 romp over the Newman International Academy Warriors in front of their home fans. 

Kaznowski discussed goals of putting up good statistics, being a reliable leader for his teammates on and off the field and winning as many games as possible as goals for the season. To his credit, the Eagles (2-7, 0-3) have as many wins as the previous two seasons combined and have scored more points through nine games (193) than that of the 2022 and 2023 seasons combined (181). In addition, the Eagles have two single-digit losses compared to zero from the past two seasons.

“I want to have fun and enjoy it since it’s my senior year,” Kaznowski said. “I want it to be my best year and to play each game with no regrets. As a team, we want to win as many games as possible, but we can’t get fully wrapped up in the win and loss columns. Football is a game that I feel exemplifies life more than any other game. There are times of joy, times of anger and times of regret. However, you have to power through and do your best no matter what. As a team, we want to be Godly men who can handle the struggles that both football and life will throw at us.”

Creating memories

Along with helping begin a potential turnaround process for the football program, Kaznowski said he will take many quality experiences and memories with him after this chapter of his life, citing the culture his coaches have created and the bonds he’s shared with his teammates coupled with the overall positive experience he’s had as an Eagles student-athlete.

“Being a student athlete at TCA is certainly a difficult endeavor, however, it is not as bad as some may put it. Yes, there is a heavy workload, but it’s nothing you cannot handle. I would say what I have enjoyed the most about my experience thus far is the atmosphere TCA creates,” he said. “I feel like my coaches have played a huge role in that. All my coaches want us to have a genuine love for others and Jesus. They coach us in a way that will not only set us up to win on the field, but also after football in life. In football, they tell us to play for the brother next to you.

“Each one of us relies on the man next to us to do their job so that the team will succeed as a whole. They also teach us that one day, our spouse and kids are going to rely on us, and it’s up to us in how we handle the situation.

“This emphasis on growing into not only good football players, but good, strong, confident and Godly young men is what I appreciate the most about my coaches,” he continued. “Yes, I am enjoying my time, especially my senior year. I am forever grateful to this coaching staff.”