Capital One Bank Dallas Coach of the Week: Trent Fuller

Coming off a disappointing 48-17 loss the preceding week, Lamar (Arlington) got bad news leading up to a showdown with District 3-5A co-leader Martin (Arlington) Friday at Cravens Field.

A foot injury would sideline Vikings starting quarterback Shane Buechele.

But at least Lamar head coach Trent Fuller had a week of practice to prepare backup quarterback Andy Guinn.

That task is right up Fuller's alley.

"There isn't much, bad or good, I haven't seen with quarterback play,'' said the former quarterbacking star.

In his high school playing days in 1992 at Arlington and 1993 at Conroe, Fuller threw for over 5,000 yards. At Emporia State University in Kansas, he was second team All-Conference.

On cue, Guinn completed 17 of 31 passes for 258 yards in Lamar's 44-36 upset. The victory clinched a playoff berth for Lamar.

For guiding the Vikings to their first win over Martin since 2007, Fuller was selected as the Capital One Bank Dallas Coach of the Week.

Lamar improved to 6-2 overall and 4-1 in District 3-5A, tied for second place with Martin.

Guinn, a junior, sealed the victory with 1:46 remaining with a 7-yard completion to Andra Lemons-Hicks on fourth-and-6 at the Martin 37. It was a one-possession game at the time, with Lamar leading by eight points.

"It was the kind of call that could be second-guessed if it hadn't worked,'' said Fuller. "There were several factors. We thought it was too long for a field goal. Martin has been very good at blocking kicks this season. Buechele is our punter and we didn't have him. At that moment, we played to win the game rather than trying not to lose.''

Trust in his quarterback was perhaps the biggest factor.

"We have two good quarterbacks and I told Andy I've never had a season go by without relying on more than just the starter. When he didn't win the starting job, Andy never pouted and not one time did he say anything negative. He didn't work hard just this week because he knew he was going to start. Andy works hard every week.''

In the build-up to facing Martin, a strong, physical team riding a six-game winning streak, Lamar had to fast-forward from the previous week's 31-point loss to Bowie (Arlington).

"We were embarrassed,'' Fuller said. "We didn't catch the ball, we had busted assignments up front and we didn't play defense. We're better than that. Our coaches challenged the kids and after watching the Bowie film on Saturday, we came back to practice on Monday ready to work. We had some really good practices, especially on defense.''

It was also on Monday that Fuller learned Buechele, the sophomore son of former Texas Rangers' third baseman Steve Buechele, suffered a foot injury late in the Bowie game and would be unavailable.

Running back Cameron D. Smith lifted some of the pressure off Guinn by rushing for 161 yards and four Vikings touchdowns. Kicker Ryan Jacobs had field goals of 44, 40 and 34 yards, helping to maintain a two-score lead for most of the night.

Fuller, 38, was groomed for his first head coaching job with stops at Heritage (Colleyville), Coppell and four years as offensive coordinator at Bowie. He took over at Lamar in 2010 for a coaching legend. In four decades as the school's original football head coach, Eddy Peach won over 300 games.

Football has deep roots in Fuller's family. His father Dave has garnered multiple state championship rings as an assistant coach at Grapevine and Southlake Carroll and remains active.

Trent's older brother Mike Fuller, also a former quarterback at Arlington, is the head coach at Heritage (Colleyville). While the brothers have faced off in scrimmages, they've yet to be on opposite sidelines in an actual game.

"I don't remember the exact moment when I decided to be a football coach,'' said Trent, "but I grew up around the game and it just seemed to happen. My dad, my brother and myself are all passionate about football. Our offensive ideas are very similar.''

Trent and wife Shawn have two sons, Chance and Colt. Chance, a quarterback for the Lamar freshmen, threw five touchdowns in his most recent game against the Martin freshmen. Colt is a sixth-grader, taking his turn as the Lamar ball boy, a job that Chance held.

Once upon a time, Trent was a ball boy on game nights for his dad.