SAN ANTONIO - The Trinity University Football team went to battle with Southern Athletic Association conference foe in a game of unbeatens. The (4-0, 2-0 SAA) Tigers remain perfect on the season after handling the Centre College Colonels in a 27-7 game that TU controlled from the first snap. Centre falls to (3-1, 1-1 SAA) after falling to the Tigers. 

Trinity held Centre to just 12 first downs this afternoon on 180 total yards while the offense put up 405 total yards with 23 first downs. The TU offense and defense continues to fire on all cylinders. 

Michael Jewett (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) led the Trinity defense with nine total tackles, one quarterback hurry, and 0.5 sacks on the day. 

Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Graham) had another big day with 246 yards in the air, completing 21-of-33 attempts with three passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown on 29 rushing yards. 

The Rundown

The Tigers won the toss and chose to receive the ball. Winston Hutchison (Round Rock, Texas / McNeil) started the drive off with a big five yard run to set the TU with a manageable 2nd and 5. Horn then scrambled for eight yards and collected the first down. Hutchison then turned around and rushed for seven yards to set up 2nd and 3. Horn then found BJ Stewart (Shreveport La. / Woodlawn) for an 11 yard completion before finding Austin Bertness (Richmond, Texas / Travis) who made a one-handed ESPN worthy grab that resulted in a 21 yard touchdown. After kicking the extra-point, the Tigers took a 7-0 lead on a five play 52-yard drive. 

The Trinity defense made their presence felt early by forcing the Colonels to punt after running four plays that resulted in six total yards. After getting the ball back, the Tigers scored on a 14 play drive where the high-octane offense drove the ball 81-yards down the field. The drive was highlighted by a 25-yard hookup from Horn to Hutchinson and the 16-yard touchdown from Horn to Bertness to go up 14-0 early in the first quarter. 

Centre responded by finding the end-zone for their only score of the day to make the game 14-7 with six minutes and 12 seconds in the second quarter in favor of the Tigers. The Colonels scored on an eight play, 66-yard drive. 

Trinity then responded with a big 12 play, 76 yard drive to make the score 21-7 in favor of TU. Horn went 6-of-8 on the drive and capped it off with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Stewart. 

The Tigers continued their dominance on defense by forcing Centre to punt after the Colonels ran three plays for six total yards. The Tiger offense stalled  after running eight plays and gaining 39 yards. Centre was putting together a promising drive before getting hit with a big holding call then taking a big sack for a loss thanks to Isaac Agumadu (Dallas, Texas / Trinity Christian) and Carson Byrd (Waco, Texas / Midway). 

The Tigers offense took the momentum created by the defense and put together a nine play, 75 yard drive to give Trinity a 27-7 lead over the Colonels with just over four minutes left in the third quarter. The drive was kept alive by punter Eli Gehman (Cedar Park, Texas / Leander) who threw a 46-yard pass to Caleb Harmel (Burton, Texas / Burton) on a fake punt that was run on 4th and 11. After catching Centre's special teams sleeping, a few plays later, Horn ran the ball in from the 11-yard line for his first rushing touchdown of the day. 

Notable Numbers

On offense, Bertness recorded six catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns while Stewart tallied 68 yards on five catches with one touchdown. 

Ja'Than Royal (Lake Charles, La. / Lake Charles Prep) collected 49 rushing yards on eight carries after coming into the game in the fourth quarter. 

On defense, Byrd finished the game with 1.5 sacks and one quarterback hurry. 

As a defense, the Tigers broke up five passes and collected six quarterback hurries. 

Up Next

Next Saturday, Trinity will host Millsaps for another SAA matchup. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m.