Trey Lee has been a difference maker for the Bordentown Regional High School football team over the last two seasons.
The Scotties were 0-2 last year when Lee, who was already a defensive starter, was inserted as starting quarterback as a sophomore. Lee helped engineer wins in seven of Bordentown’s final eight games last year, then helped guide them to six wins in their first seven games to start his junior season and put them on track for their first playoff appearance since 2001.
“Trey is a winner,” said Bordentown head coach Skip Edwards. “There’s no doubt about it.”
Lee grew up playing Bordentown Bulldogs under the guidance of his father, Thomas Lee, and the success that he and his teammates had as youth players (going 58-6 with five titles in six years) laid the foundation for their high school triumphs. Lee was ready when called upon early.
“It definitely was a challenge to start,” Lee said. “I didn’t really expect it. I was kind of hoping for it, but it really shot up on me in the moment. But I was just happy to take on the challenge, happy to lead the team. I was very surprised with our success. I think I was a big contributor to our high record just being able to be that leader for our offense.”
His strong finish set the stage for this year. Lee has come back with higher expectations for himself and the team also was looking to build on last year when they narrowly missed out on the playoffs. He went to work to improve as soon as he could.
“We felt like we had a great offseason,” Lee said. “I’ve been preparing since February, to be honest. As soon as basketball ended, getting people to come out to the field, throw the ball around, just anything to try to get our minds towards the season to start.”
The first game of 2025 was an eye-opener. A heartbreaking 20-14 loss to Burlington City had the players and coaches re-committing themselves to being better conditioned and better prepared, and that paid off with six straight wins to improve to 6-1.
“We just been building since week one,” Lee said. “I think we learned our weaknesses, learned what we needed to build. We had a few injuries here and there, but people have been filling those spots, and we’ve just been doing our job.”
Lee is off to a terrific start to his junior campaign under center. He threw for 595 yards and eight touchdowns through seven games while also running for four touchdowns.
“He’s a good technician,” Edwards said. “He just breeds positiveness into the huddle. When he comes into the huddle, everybody gets quiet and they want to hear what he’s got to say.”
That’s only half the story though. Lee remains a starter at defensive back, and he’s on the punt team. The only time he gets a break is on kickoffs.
“I eat my bananas,” Lee said. “I can’t cramp out there.”
Lee doesn’t know anything else. He’s been playing both sides of the ball and special teams since he was 10 years old. He likes being in all the action.
“Quarterback, I definitely love being a leader,” Lee said. “I definitely love pushing the team to be better each and every day at practice. Just being able to take it over like a point guard on the offense, lead our team to the win, and they can always rely on me. And then as for the defensive side, I just like being open to new things like learning new offensive schemes, how we can pick it apart and just being another guy that we can rely on defense as well.”
Bordentown has a strong core that they’ve been able to lean on through their fast start. Jose Santiago, another junior, led the team with 672 yards rushing and six touchdowns through the first seven games. Connor Bramley led the receiving corps with 245 yards receiving, senior receiver Khalil Bangura had 192 yards of catches and junior Jumari Glover had hauled in 114 yards receiving.
The defense has been dominant with Santiago, Bangura, Bramley, Gianni Jones and Greg Stalnaker leading the team in tackles in the early going. The defense allowed 14 points per game in the first two games of the year, then allowed just 22 total points over the next five games, including pitching a pair of shutouts.
“It’s a combination of all three aspects of the game, like special teams, offensively, the line being in sync, having some really good skill players, and defense,” Edwards said. “We lost (linebacker) Carter Stumpf the first game of the year and we had to mix and match a couple times during the season with players and put them in other positions that they hadn’t played and they came through big for us when we needed it.”
Edwards credits the players for their resilience, and his coaching staff for being so good at preparing the team. Former head coach Larry Carthan has been a huge plus, and Adam Drazcuk, Nick Lubrano, Rich McGlynn and Armand Trotto bring great energy and have proven dedicated to keeping Bordentown strong.
“We’ve taken the program and we’ve set it up to a certain standard,” Edwards said. “And the kids that are in Bordentown seem to enjoy it and look forward to being part of the high school program.”
Players that got their start in the town program are rising to aid the high school success. Lee feels comfortable and confident as he closes out his second season at starting quarterback. It’s been easier to be a leader as an upperclassman for a team with contributors from every class.
“I’m not going to tell somebody to do something I would never do,” Lee said. “So I just want to be that guy that people can people can rely on.”
Lee is more adjusted to the quarterback position, which comes with a lot more demands than it did as a youth player. He’s found his way just fine. It only took a couple games to get up to speed.
“We beat Lawrence and then we came in and I think we played Maple Shade next, and I think after those first two wins, it kind of boosted my confidence,” Lee said. “It allowed me to understand the role and I started to figure out the flow of the game and how to slow it down a little bit in my mind and just take control from there.”
Lee spent last winter playing basketball. He showed his versatility, doing whatever the basketball team needed on the court. When the season ended, he jumped right into training for football. Coming back at the returning starter brought added responsibility.
“It was a little different, especially in the offseason,” Lee said. “I think I dedicated a little more time to put in work in the gym, put in working on the field, just because I knew I was going to be starting. I knew I had to step up and basically be the leader of the team.”
Lee wanted to build on last year’s success. He focused on the things he wanted to do better in his second year starting at quarterback, from improving how to play the position and how to lead the team.
“Definitely reading defenses, understanding how they work, understanding the schemes, finding weak points, just being a leader for the offense,” Lee said. “I know we can get in our heads a lot, especially when a couple plays go bad. So I just try to control the pace, be the guy, be the person people can rely on and do my job. I’m never trying to be a hero and thinking I can do everything, but I just do my job, control what I can control.”
So far, Trey Lee has been able to help the Scotties a lot. He’s made a difference since adding the starting quarterback duties to his defensive and special teams roles. It’s been affirming for him to see Bordentown improve with him at the helm and go 13-2 in his 15 starts.
“That’s just helped me out so much, seeing that I’m able to lead a team, able to get the wins and able to be one of the most important positions on the team,” Lee said. “I just know that each week I got to keep my mind prepared and let myself stay prepared for the team because I’m kind of one of those guys people look towards when they need help. So I just want to be that helping hand and allow our team to keep building as we have that 13-2 record. It’s kind of hard to think about now. I take every game one by one. I’m just trying to take my time and enjoy my high school career.”
