Dad's spirit inspires son

In the stands are family members and friends, a support group of about 15 people. He glances up at them, then moves his attention elsewhere.

Eggleston, a junior, scans the field anxiously — first left, then right, then left again.

The 16-year-old does not appear lost, but he certainly never envisioned himself in this position.

His dad, Ken, was a college quarterback at Louisville in the 1960s. The motive for Trevor to start his own football career was obvious, though the avid basketball fan used to fancy himself as the next Mike Bibby, not the next Joe Montana.

When Ken died suddenly from a viral infection in January 1999 — a few short weeks after his son's eighth birthday — Trevor decided to honor his dad and give Pop Warner football a try.

It didn't stick. The game — his dad's game — was set aside in favor of basketball and baseball. Football was a footnote in his active life.

When he tried out for Salpointe's freshman team in 2005, Trevor was relegated to special teams duty and served as a second-string defender. Even if Trevor wanted to replicate his dad's success, not many — including Trevor — seemed to think he had the ability.

They should have known better.

"Trevor's road might have started when he was born," his mom, Sue, said. "These were conversations his dad and I had even before he was born. His dad would say, 'I don't care what his name is, as long as the first two initials are T.D.' "

With little football experience, starting at quarterback this year for one of the state's best high school football teams is Trevor Dalton Eggleston.

Sports fans in life and in death

The first photograph taken of Trevor was at a Salpointe wrestling meet in December 1990 when he was 1 week old. His half-brother, Ray Wood, was a senior wrestler for Salpointe that year.

In the photo, Ray holds Trevor in his arms, carrying him across the gym.

Trevor was born into a world of sports. Ken was a three-sport star in high school in Delaware and played quarterback at Louisville from 1965 to 1967. He never pressured Trevor to follow in his footsteps, but conveyed that passion for athletics.

Father and son played catch, shot baskets, went swimming together and Ken coached Trevor's soccer team.

"He wanted me to play whichever sport I wanted to," Trevor says now. "We'd go swimming. We'd play baseball. He wouldn't have cared if I chose (billiards) — probably because he was really good and beat me all the time."

In the days leading up to Ken's death, father and son played catch and shot baskets every day.

"It's like he knew it was coming," Trevor said.

Ken had a compromised immune system from smoking cigarettes when he was younger. By 1999, he had been a former smoker for 20 years, said Sue, the executive director of local social service agency Our Family Services.

For much of Trevor's early life, his dad battled skin cancer. All of the occurrences were benign. In late 1999, Ken had fought flulike symptoms for about a week before the Egglestons visited St. Joseph's Hospital for a checkup.

Ken died three days later. He was 52.

"He got a virus, and there was nothing they could do about it," Sue said. "We had no idea where it came from. They were pumping him full of antibiotics, but nothing worked."

When Ken could not speak in his final days, 8-year-old Trevor was at his dad's bedside.

"What I really remember is that he squeezed my hand because he couldn't talk," he said.

The day his dad died, Trevor lay with him in his hospital bed and watched sports on TV while Ken was unconscious from a medically induced coma. Their final moments centered around the one thing that united them most: sports.

Today, football is the avenue through which Trevor strives to carry on his dad's legacy — with Ken helping him every step of the way.

Guard becomes a quarterback

Two years ago, football was just a way for Trevor to pass the time before basketball season.

After his one season of youth football failed to capture his imagination at age 9, he focused on basketball. He was a ball boy at UA men's games for four or five years and spent every summer going to camps headlined by Lute Olson and Michael Jordan.

Being a basketball guard was his calling. Football was just for kicks.

"I went out for the freshman (football) team just for fun, and I started falling in love with the game," Trevor said. "I liked the whole atmosphere. But basketball was my life."

When the varsity football coach comes calling, though, your plans change.

One day during the spring of his freshman year, Trevor and some friends were throwing a football around the school parking lot. Salpointe coach Dennis Bene, a former Salpointe QB himself, peeked through a weight room window and noticed Trevor, a left-hander, had something special.

"I love to watch kids play catch, just to see who looks natural throwing the football when they think no one is watching," Bene said. "I was looking through the window at Trevor, and I said, 'Who's that kid? He's got a really nice release.' "

Bene went outside and asked Trevor if he would try out with the quarterbacks in spring practice. Flattered as he was, Trevor thought his freshman-team coaches were playing a prank.

"I thought it was a joke," he said. "But then I showed up for spring practice, and they still wanted me to be a quarterback for JV. So I said, 'All right then, I guess it's on.' "

Salpointe — Southern Arizona's most successful 5A program of the decade — took a gamble by placing a wholly inexperienced player in charge of its junior varsity offense in 2006.

The results spoke to Trevor's ability: The JV squad went 8-0-1, and Salpointe had its quarterback of the future.

Those closest to Trevor, including lifelong friend Chris Claxton, a Salpointe offensive lineman, knew his talent was always there. Trevor just needed someone to notice.

"He's always had a really good arm, but not many people noticed it," Claxton said. "After the coaches saw it, it was really exciting to watch him on JV. I knew Trevor would be the main guy soon."

Added Bene: "The way he plays, the way he runs the offense, it's all got a calmness to it, but he tries very hard to succeed.

"He takes this stuff personally, and it all goes back to the fact that he feels his dad is making this all happen for him."

'He's here somewhere'

The start of Salpointe's scrimmage against Cienega is a few minutes away, and Trevor is now bouncing with excitment, eager to take some snaps.

He wears jersey No. 9, and at 6 feet 1 inch and 175 pounds, looks how a high school quarterback should look.

In moments like this, when so much good fortune has been heaped upon him, Trevor said he knows his dad is standing alongside him.

"I wonder how much different it would be if he came back for one more day. My mom will say, 'I wish your dad was here for this,' " Trevor says, his voice cracking. "But whenever I do well, I just say to myself, 'Yeah, he's gotta be here. He's here somewhere.' "

Trevor began spring practice earlier this year as one of four quarterbacks vying for Salpointe's vacant varsity job. One by one, Trevor outplayed them all in practice and in the passing leagues. Then late last month, Bene told him he will be the Lancers' starter for the 2007 season.

Throughout the summer, the former special teams player stirred up more high praise than anyone in town. Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints All-Pro QB and college roommate of Salpointe receivers coach Ben Smith, attended a Salpointe practice in late May and told Bene that Trevor has a future in football.

College coaches took notice, and local high school coaches were put on notice.

"Trevor just has that quality that all special quarterbacks must have," Bene said. "We wondered if he could handle the pressure that comes with being a starter at this level, and we are very confident he can."

What were the odds?

The time comes for Trevor to take the field in the scrimmage. It is just an exhibition, but the magnitude of the event is impossible to ignore. He is certain his dad is there with him, which makes the business of throwing a football nothing more than a natural instinct.

A sport that was once foreign now defines Trevor "T.D." Eggleston.

"I think there's a piece of Trevor that believes this is what he's supposed to do," his mom said. "It's an interesting ride with this child. Who knows where it will end up? But it sure is fun to watch him do it."

Trevor Eggleston

Salpointe Catholic junior

Position: Quarterback

Age: 16

Varsity experience: None

Sports: Football (quarterback), basketball (guard), baseball (first base/pitcher)

Favorite movie: "Remember the Titans"