Hunter Trusler, football, Sr.
On the field: Behind Trusler’s career effort, the Dalhart Golden Wolves pulled out one of the biggest wins of Week 2 at a state-wide level beating Panhandle in a 42-35 thriller in the very last seconds. Tied 35-35 in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, Trusler took a quarterback lead play, busted it to the outside and went 85-yards for the eventual game-winning score. On the night, Trusler 10-of-20 209 yards with three touchdowns but ran for a career-high 303 yards on 23 carries with another three touchdowns.
Through the first three games, Trusler has already rushed for 448 yards, passed for 590 yards with a combined 10 touchdowns. Defensively, the senior has 24 tackles on the season.
Head coach Joey Read: “Getting a win like that was a major confidence booster for our football team. We know how well coached Panhandle is and how physical they play. We just played a great game. We opened fast and though they came back on us we were able to finish it out. I’m so proud of that and the way Hunter played. Hunter has come a long way from last year. He was thrown into the quarterback role a year ago when Kyler got hurt and now he’s really learning how to play the position. He is very quiet but he does such a great job of leading by example and he’s an excellent teammate.”
Trusler: “It was awesome to get a win like that as a team. Especially with how we finished against Perryton the week before. I think getting a win like that against such a good team like Panhandle can give us a lot of confidence going forward. I’m feeling so much more comfortable this year at this QB position. I was shocked last year when I got thrown in but now the game has slowed down and I know what I’m doing now. That was just a fun game overall last week and we want to keep it going.”
About Trusler
Favorite band or musician: Fleetwood Mac
Favorite social media platform: TikTok
Favorite athlete: Tom Brady
Bet you didn’t know: He likes to go hunting with his dad.
Parents: Trent and Lida Trusler.