Trinity Christian celebrated senior Elijiah Oehlke on Wednesday as the Crusaders’ quarterback made his future at Wake Forest official, signing an offer from the Demon Deacons on the first day of the early signing period in a ceremony with friends, family, coaches and staff.
A two-time NCISAA all-state passer who threw for more than 4,000 yards in his two seasons at Trinity Christian after transferring from Gray’s Creek, Oehlke is the only Fayetteville-area football player in the Class of 2025 to sign with an ACC team so far.
“It’s all a blessing at the end of the day,” Oehlke said of his commitment earlier this season. He can turn his focus toward college now that the Crusaders’ season has ended with a second straight trip to the state championship.
HEARTFELT MESSAGE: Trinity Christian’s Elijiah Oehlke dedicates his ACC football commitment to Mom & Dad
“He has a wonderful mentality about life,” program-founding coach Chuck Webster said of his QB. “He doesn’t take it for granted. He just brings great energy and that form of leadership every day. Never negative. Ultimate competitor.
“There’s not many kids that I can say that I’ve coached that are more competitive than him.”
Oehlke chose Wake Forest over offers from Harvard, Air Force, Army, Cornell, James Madison, Liberty, North Alabama and William & Mary. He’ll join Cape Fear graduate Jeremiah Melvin, a freshman receiver for the Demon Deacons.
A 6-foot-2, 190-pound Oehlke was part of a very talented Trinity roster including receiver Fonzy Smith, who holds offers from UNC, Liberty, Cincinnati, Charlotte and Bethune-Cookman. He was one of two 1,000-yard receivers for the Crusaders this season, joining do-everything athlete Xayden Watson who caught 18 of Oehlke’s 35 touchdown passes.
Trinity Christian has a 20-4 record over the last two years with back-to-back unbeaten championship runs through the Big East Conference and Oehlke honored as the NCISAA Division II’s top QB twice. Over the last two postseasons, the Crusaders are 6-2 — twice reaching the DII state title game and twice falling to Asheville School, led by Virginia-bound linebacker Justin Rowe.
The Crusaders have won four state championships with the last coming in 2019, reaching the title game seven times since the program’s creation in 1999 under Webster. He played for one of the state’s all-time winningest high school football coaches, Bob Paroli, at Douglas Byrd before going on to star on the offensive line at Methodist.
Webster has sent numerous players on to college with football scholarships. He’s confident in Oehlke’s combination of skills.
“If a play breaks down, with him back there, the play is never over,” Webster said.
“His abilities layered with his understanding and his mentality, that’s why he’s going to Wake Forest.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: early signing period 2024 wake forest football elijiah oehlke
