Semoball

Senior night extra special for Perryville’s Trevor Schnurbusch

Perryville senior Trevor Schnurbusch runs down the court earlier in the season at Perryville High School.
Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

The Perryville Pirates lost to Kingston 56-52 on Tuesday but for Pirates guard Trevor Schnurbusch, the fact that he played on senior night is a victory in itself.

“Just being able to play is a blessing,” Schnurbusch said, “and getting to get a season in, I’m grateful for that.”

Schnurbusch scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. After spending the last season recovering from a torn ACL and playing in a year that was under constant threat due to a viral pandemic, Schnurbusch learned to “not take anything for granted.”

“You never know when it could be your last game,” he said.

Trevor, more of a soccer player than a basketball player, injured his knee on the pitch in the fall of 2019 during his junior year.

“I don’t think it’s a memory that will ever go away,” Schnurbusch said. “We were playing Jackson and it was about 15 minutes into the second half and I was jogging towards the guy with the ball. He passed to my right side so I lunged towards my right and planted off my left foot and it just gave out and I felt a pop, just very painful and it went through my knee.”

It was Schnurbusch’s first injury and the surgery not only meant the early end to his soccer season but the erasure of his basketball season as well.

“It was extremely heartbreaking,” Schnurbusch said. “I love sports. I love every sport and competing. That’s what I love to do. So just being away from the game was extremely tough.”

After the surgery, it took eight months of physical therapy to get Schnurbusch back on the field.

“The hardest thing about therapy was definitely every therapy session, mentally, just giving it your all,” Schnurbusch said. “That was extremely exhausting, just having the mindset to go in every day and give it your all.”

Trevor was back on the field in full strength in time for the soccer preseason to start. He knew he was back when in a 50-50 situation; he would go in and make contact without hesitation.

The Pirates soccer team finished 12-4 but saw their season end in the first round of the Class 2, District 1 tournament. As common as it is in high school sports, it is the intangibles that he’ll miss the most.

“It was a true family,” Schnurbusch said. “That’s what I’m going to miss the most, just being around the guys every day.”

Schnurbusch also played in the Mayor’s Cup against St. Vincent this past weekend, an annual rivalry game held at the Perry Park Center that was circled in his calendar.

“It means a lot,” Schnurbusch said. “I grew up coming to the games a lot and seeing all the older kids and just like them being idols and kind of being able to play in front of the community. It’s a big deal.”

The Pirates (1-11) lost 59-39 but made it interesting in the fourth quarter with 19 points, seven of which came from a free throw and a pair of three-point baskets by Schnurbusch.

“They got a lot of confidence in me and I got a lot of confidence in myself to putting the outside shot in the hole,” Schnurbusch said.

Six of the Pirates’ remaining seven games are against opponents with winning records. Perryville host Windsor on Friday at 7 p.m.

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