Before the 1999 football season kicked off, Trinity Episcopal head football coach David King would not even have talked about a 4-6 season.

By the end of an injury-plagued year, King was proud of that mark. A team that was hurt and outmanned each night fought hard and never quit.

&uot;I’ve never been as proud of a group than I have this year,&uot; he said. &uot;We just simply did not have enough players on some nights. I really believe if we would have stayed injury-free, we could have gone 8-2 or 7-3 and been in the playoffs.&uot;

King lost linebacker William Foley in a preseason jamboree.

The injuries would keep coming as the Saints finished the season without a healthy linebacking corps.

&uot;We never got over the injury bug,&uot; King said. &uot;Several times we dressed out only nine or 10 for practice. But that’s part of football. The kids never once complained about that. And they gave their all every Friday night.&uot;

The Saints lost their opener 8-7 to Tensas.

&uot;If that game had gone our way, I think it would have been an entirely different season,&uot; King said.

Trinity senior quarterback William McGehee finished the year completing 113 if 251 passes for 1,497 yards and 11 touchdowns.

He rushed for 242 yards and seven TDs. McGehee also had 70 tackles and two interceptions.

Senior Scott Maggio, playing most of the year with an injury, rushed for 238 yards.

&uot;William and Scott are two of the toughest kids I’ve ever coached,&uot; King said.

Junior Cole Brown, who limped through the second half of the season, led Trinity with 32 receptions for 483 yards and five touchdowns.

Sophomore Chad Ridley had 31 catches for 425 yards and five TDs.

Senior Hunter Dale caught 27 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown.

Senior Landon Harrison had 99 tackles.

&uot;This senior group worked hard in the weight room and it was painful to see what they had to go through,&uot; King said. &uot;But that’s what it’s all about.&uot;

Trinity will move into a different division next year, joining MPSA&160;4-A.

&uot;We have some quality players coming back and I think they will be hungrier,&uot; King said. &uot;With Chad and Cole we have two of the finest skilled players around. We may be short in numbers, but we’re going to have a good group. If we stay injury-free, we should make some noise in district next year.&uot;