Box Score Georgetown, Texas - The Trinity football team held off a fourth-quarter rally to earn a 26-21 road victory over Southwestern on Saturday night.
Trinity upped its record to 6-1 for the season, while Southwestern dropped to 2-5. Both teams are members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, but tonight's game was a non-conference matchup. The November 7 game hosted by Trinity will count in the SCAC standings. The Tigers widened the series lead to 14-10-2, and have now won the last five outings, dating back to 2013.
"I am proud of the guys, the way they came out today and handled the elements," said Head Coach Jerheme Urban. "They did a phenomenal job in special teams. Really, special teams won the football game. Colby Doyal was outstanding - all those field goals were phenomenal. Davis King was holding, Keller Murphey snapped, and Colby kicked. Those three had a flawless operation all night long. With heavy rain, and lots of wind, Colby kept striking the ball perfectly. Christian Aleman made a big play on a punt on a fourth down to convert. Rhodes Legg and Antonio Massagli did a great job fielding punts all night. Our special teams really stepped up, and I would say they won the football game tonight."
After Colby Doyal connected on his fourth field goal of the game, the Tigers held a 26-7 advantage early in the fourth quarter. Doyal's four field goals tied the school record, set by Garrett Biel against Rhodes College in 2009. His long field goal of 40 yards tied his career-high, which he set just last week in a win over Austin College.
Southwestern began its rally with a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown with 8:08 remaining, and then connected for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 2:50 left to make it 26-21. The Pirates forced four turnovers to keep them in the game, including two in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Trinity was able to run off just enough time before being forced to punt with only seconds remaining in the game. After a sack on second down, the Tigers were in danger of going three-and-out and giving Southwestern a shot to steal the win. Jeremy Simmons converted a third-and-14 with a 17-yard run, though, giving Trinity a first down, and running out most of the clock.
While the Pirates defense was solid, the Tiger defense was even better. Trinity matched Southwestern by forcing four turnovers of its own, and even matched the defensive touchdown with an interception return for a score in the first quarter. The Tigers forced three fumbles in the second half, and the first two led to Doyal field goals.
At the start of the game, it looked like it might be an offensive showcase. Simmons started things off with an explosive 73-yard touchdown romp on the first play from scrimmage. After a short kickoff, Southwestern matched Trinity's score with a 58-yard catch-and-run to tie the game 7-7. The two scores ate up less than 30 seconds on the game clock.
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Jeremy Simmons, on the first play of the game ripped off a nice long run for a touchdown," reflected Coach Urban. "He's a big physical guy. When he gets some space he has the speed. That was a huge start for us that got us on the scoreboard early. In a game like
tonight, with the weather being such a factor, it's nice to be able to capitalize early, and play the game with the lead."
The game obviously slowed down after that, but the Tigers grabbed the lead with Luke Packard's 51-yard interception return for a touchdown with 10:19 remaining in the first quarter. Doyal hit his first field goal for the only score of the second quarter, and Trinity led 17-7 at halftime. Doyal's next two field goals were the only scores of the third quarter, followed by his record-tying boot to start the final frame.
Simmons carried the ball 26 times for 110 tough yards, marking his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season. Quarterback Austin Grauer had a tough day passing, though he did pick up 47 yards rushing in the game. Travis Williams had 40 yards rushing, as well as picking up three of Grauer's six completions for 29 yards receiving.
Julian Turner led the Tiger defense with eight tackles, including seven solo, and one for a loss. Martel Matthews grabbed a pair of sacks in the game, totaling five tackles overall. Alejandro Anzaldua and Packard each had a hand in a sack. Adam Saunders and Braxton Bartlett each forced a fumble.
The Tigers picked up 251 yards of total offense, with 210 rushing and 41 passing. Southwestern had 226 total yards, and was held to minus-21 rushing. The Pirates had 247 yards in the air.
"The defense also played great all night," concluded Coach Urban. "I'm proud of our guys for traveling and handling all the distractions from today, getting up here with the weather. It came out to be a good road win."
Trinity begins its SCAC campaign next Saturday by hosting 24th-ranked Texas Lutheran University at 1:00 p.m. at the Trinity University Football Stadium.
