Milford's Trice Cote is playing in the CHaD East-West All-Star Game years after he was once a water boy on the CHaD sidelines. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

AMHERST – Talk about getting a big promotion.

Several years ago, Milford’s Trice Cote, along with Spartan teammate Chuck Urda, were water boys for the first annual CHaD East-West High School All-Star Football Game.

And Friday night both will be playing in it.

“Playing in this game it’s pretty damn cool,” said Cote, whose father, Travis, the former Bishop Guertin head coach and current Milford assistant has coached in this game along with current Milford assistant and former Merrimack head man Rick Urda, who is on this year’s Team West staff.

But you’d think that Trice Cote would use this as a springboard to a college football career.

Nope. Baseball wins again. That’s what he’ll be playing at WPI as an outfielder.

“He let me go,” Cote said with a grin of Travis.

But there’s still something that the former Spartans wide receiver loves about football.

“I love baseball, but the atmosphere of football, you can’t beat it,” Cote said. “Especially high school football. Being here one last time playing football, I can’t imagine a better way to go out.”

And there will be a good atmosphere.

“It’ll be a crazy day, with a lot going on,” Cote said. “It’s about the kids, but going out there one last time with these guys, the best in the state, can’t get any better than that.”

Cote, as a wide receiver at Milford, caught a lot of passes from his friend Urda. But Milford ran the ball a lot, and this CHaD Team West offense may be a lot different.

“Playing at Milford, we played a lot of triple option,” Cote said. “So just getting with these guys and learning the spread offense, getting the call from the coaches from the sideline rather than the huddle. But everyone’s here to improve and you can always ask questions of anyone. You just have to get with everyone and get better every day.”

Cote said he and Urda “had a good connection these past few years” and that he played a lot of running back this past season.

“We know he’s going to get me the ball and I’m going to try to make a play on it,” he said. “And go from there, and hopefully succeed.”

Ironically, Cote’s been playing baseball longer than football, as Travis didn’t allow him to play football until the sixth grade.

“I’ve been playing baseball a lot longer, all the way back to T-Ball, but I’ve always been around football, especially with (Travis) coaching,” he said. “But I’ve always been around football with my Dad coaching. But sixth grade is his rule. Me and my brother.”

What has he learned from Travis?

“He taught me the fundamentals, just working hard every day,” Cote said. “If you want to be great, you’re going to have to work hard every day, and learn from the best. I’m just glad I’ve had him as a mentor. Now being around him all these years, he was coaching at Milford a little bit, it’s great to be at the level he was coaching at. And get over to this ChaD Game where he coached as well.”

It beats being a water boy – or does it?

“You know,” Cote said, “at that age, with these big kids, some of the best football players ever, (being a water boy) was unreal.”