SEWANEE, Tenn. – The 20th-ranked Trinity football team produced its highest scoring game since 2002 with a 66-7 road win in Southern Athletic Association play against Sewanee: University of the South on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers exploded for 24 points in the second quarter alone, finishing in a tie for the fifth-highest scoring game in school history. Coupled with the 64-point output in the season opener against Macalester College (MN), this is the first time in school history that Trinity has scored 60 or more points twice in the same season.  

Chris Stewart (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) played a major role in breaking that record, scoring four total touchdowns in the game. Stewart had a pair of receiving touchdowns to go along with two punt return touchdowns. The two punt return scores tie the school record set by Jason Hunt in 2002 and tied by Jordan Williams in 2016.

PJ Hensley (St. Louis, Mo. / Ladue Horton Watkins) broke a school record of his own, converting nine PAT attempts in the game. He tied the record earlier this season with eight successful attempts, equaling the record held by Todd Canion and Garrett Biel. Hensley also had a field goal in the game to give him 12 total points.

Trinity's defense allowed just 104 total yards in the game and forced three turnovers. The Tiger D also scored a touchdown of its own on a 36-yard fumble recovery.

The Rundown

Trinity took the opening kickoff of the game 71 yards over seven plays to take a 7-0 lead. Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Graham) hit Ryan Merrifield (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) from five yards out for the score.

The Tigers scored again later in the quarter as Stewart finished off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown catch from Horn that made it a 14-0 lead with just over four minutes left in the first.

Early in the second quarter, Stewart caught a punt at his own 36 yard line and promptly returned it 64 yards for a touchdown. After a three-and-out for Sewanee, Stewart was at it again with a third straight score for the Tigers. This time it was a 49-yard catch for a 28-0 Trinity lead with just under six minutes left until the half.

Another good return by Stewart set Trinity up inside the 10 yard line, but the offense settled for an 18-yard field goal from Hensley with just 2:01 left in the second quarter.

The defense got in on the scoring action just three plays later as Campbell Miller (Tyler, Texas / Lee) forced a fumble that was picked up by Mac Douglas (Fairhope, Ala. / Bayside Academy), then promptly returned 36 yards for a touchdown that made it a 38-0 game at halftime.

Horn hit Cole Monago (Houston, Texas / Klein Cain) from 13 yards out for another touchdown on the first drive of the third quarter. The drive lasted just three plays and consisted of a 12-yard pass to Monago, followed by a 30-yard catch by Stewart, and then the scoring play to finish off the drive that lasted just 61 seconds.

Another three-and-out on the ensuing Sewanee drive led to another punt return touchdown for Stewart. This time it was a 67-yard return that put the Tigers in front 52-0.

Later in the quarter, Sewanee took advantage of outstanding field position to score on a 31-yard drive that broke up the shutout. Sewanee then converted an onside kick to get the ball right back. Instead of another scoring drive, it was the first interception of the day just three plays later.

The offense dried up for both teams the rest of the third quarter and into the early part of the fourth. Trinity quarterback Ryan Back (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) completed a 65-yard pass to Carter Self on his first attempt of the day, setting up another score for the Tigers with 9:07 left in the game. Back hit Ethan Boyer (Greenville, N.C. / J.H. Rose) from five yards out for the score and a 59-7 lead.

The final scoring drive of the game came courtesy of Gerald Daniels (Houston, Texas / North Shore). Daniels accounted for 31 of the 41 yards on the drive, including a 23-yard reception, and the one-yard plunge into the end zone.

Sewanee's final drive ended with the final turnover of the day for the Tiger defense. Blake Michels (Argyle, Texas / Argyle) notched his first career interception with just five seconds left in the game.

Numbers to Note

Stewart finished his day with five receptions for 117 yards and two touchdown receptions, as well as piling up 160 yards and two touchdowns on four punt returns.

The 160 yards in punt returns in the second-most in school history for a single game, trailing only Hunt's record-setting total of 185 punt returns yards against Rhodes in 2002. His two 60-yard returns give him three of the 12 longest punt returns in school history. Stewart holds the record with a 95-yard return against Centre in 2018, as well as tying for eighth with today's 67-yard score.

Horn finished his day with 206 passing yards and four touchdowns, completing 15-of-24 through the air. His 23 passing touchdowns this season rank him 12th in school history for a single season. Back threw his first career touchdown in today's game to give the Tigers five passing touchdowns on the day.

Ezra Gore (McKinney, Texas / North), Cannon Starcke (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands), and Carson Byrd (Waco, Texas / Midway) paced a balanced defense with five tackles each. Byrd and Michael Jewett (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) each had sacks in the game.

Coach Speak

"Once again I want to tip my hat to our team on their preparation and focus - especially with this being another big road trip," said Head Coach Jerheme Urban. "We came in with some very specific game situations and areas that we needed to improve upon, and I thought our focus and attention to detail allowed that to happen. We didn't hurt ourselves with penalties, we had a huge game getting Chris Stewart and our punt return unit going, we played incredible defense, and relentlessly covered kicks - which allowed us to win the field position battle and control the game."

"Getting the defensive touchdown by Mac Douglas was great to see as well; especially with how hard he has worked this year to come back from his injury," continued Coach Urban. "All in all, I'm very proud of our guys for their efforts in this game."

Up Next

Trinity will return home to face Hendrix College (AR) in continued SAA action on Saturday, October 30, at 12:00 p.m.