San Antonio - Trinity's football team earned a 43-14 victory in its 2011 home debut against Texas Lutheran University on Saturday evening.

Trinity (2-0) opened the game with a flurry of offense, scoring 20 points in the opening quarter.  The final touchdown of the quarter capped a dizzying performance by the Tigers that saw them score three times on just 10 plays. 

The first score for the Tigers capped a seven-play drive, then after Texas Lutheran fumbled on the first play of its next possession, Trinity scored again just two plays later.  A short punt by the Bulldogs put Trinity just 39 yards away from another score - which they reached in just one play.  All three drives started in TLU territory, spanning a total of 94 yards.

Nykolas McKissic enjoyed one of his career-best performances in the win, completing 15-18 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns.  He also scored a touchdown of his own on an 11-yard run in the first quarter.

After the game, McKissic said, "I think it was a combination of tenacious defense, our receivers making plays, and our running backs running the ball very well. I also had faith in our guys up front, allowing me to stand in the pocket, and get the ball to our receivers.  It was a strong effort from both sides of the footbal, and we got a great result. We kind of had a chip on our shoulder from last year."

Desmond King got Trinity on the board with a two-yard run, followed by McKissic's first of four total touchdowns.  Jonathan Osei-Kuffour then caught a 39-yard pass from McKissic to finish off the scoring in the first quarter.

King ended up with two touchdowns in the game, scoring on a 17-yard pass from McKissic for the only points of the second quarter.  He rushed eight times for 28 yards, and caught three passes for 74 yards as well.

Mason Lytal put Trinity ahead 34-0 with a 29-yard TD catch in the third quarter, and Lytal finished as Trinity's leading receiver.  He had four receptions for 52 yards in the game.

After Lytal's score, Texas Lutheran avoided the shutout with an eight-play drive that covered 59 yards, but Trinity was able to add another touchdown before the third quarter ended. 

Patrick Granchelli ran in the final Trinity touchdown from 17 yards out.  Granchelli finished with 88 yards rushing in just 14 carries, averaging better than six yards/rush to lead the Tiger running attack.  Granchelli and King both finished with over 100 all-purpose yards in the game.

After TLU scored late in the fourth quarter, Trinity's defense also scored for the second straight time this season.  First-year Tommy Boboy recorded a sack in the end zone for Trinity's first safety since the 2009 season. 

Trinity's defense came out on fire as well, allowing just 29 yards of offense in the first half.  Of Texas Lutheran's 16 offensive possessions, the Tiger defense forced them to three plays or less nine times in the game - with five of those accounting for negative yardage overall.

Head Coach Steve Mohr credited the Tiger defense with "setting the tone in the first quarter."  He added, "They bottled them up, did not let them out of their end zone, and consequently, gave the offense great field position early in the game."

The Tigers recorded 7.0 sacks and 14.0 tackles for loss in the game, as well as forcing a turnover.

Ben Robinson led the team with nine total tackles, 4.0 for a loss of 16 yards, and an eight-yard QB sack.  In addition to scoring the safety, Boboy also had six total tackles and 1.5 sacks on the night.

"I think it was a combination of defense and offense," said Coach Mohr after the win.  "I was really proud to see both sides step up this week. We  got a little more in sync offensively than we did last week, especially with our passing game. I was pleased to see that come around."

Trinity will open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, traveling to Memphis, Tennessee, to face Rhodes College.  The Tigers will not return home until October 8 against Sewanee: University of the South.