SAN ANTONIO – The Tiger football team finished off its first undefeated regular season since 2011 with a 55-21 Southern Athletic Association win over Rhodes College (TN) on Saturday afternoon.

Trinity improves to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in league play, while the Lynx finished 3-7 (2-5 SAA) for the year. The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first six possessions of the game overall and took a commanding 41-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Graham) played for just four possessions, completing 16-of-20 passes for 224 yards and three touchdowns. It marks the third time this season that Horn has completed at least 80% of his passes on 15 or more total completions.

Ryan Merrifield (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) had five receptions for a career-high 112 yards receiving and his 27-yard touchdown made it a 21-0 Tiger lead in the first quarter. Chris Stewart (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) caught a pair of touchdowns among his five receptions.

Trinity's defense and special teams were also outstanding as the Tigers allowed just 88 yards of offense in the first half. The Tigers also recovered a Rhodes fumble on a punt late in the game, and Cade Rabson (The Woodlands / College Park) recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown.

The game was preceded by Trinity's Senior Day celebration during which 27 students were honored, including 19 Tiger football players. The Tigers also honored several team managers, one cheerleader, and two student trainers who are also in their senior year.

The Rundown

Trinity took the opening drive 65 yards on nine plays to take the early 7-0 lead, finished off by a one-yard run from Winston Hutchison (Round Rock, Texas / McNeil). Horn hit Merrifield three times for 54 on the drive.

After a quick three-and-out to start the game for Rhodes, Horn was back to work for the Tigers. This time he hit Austin Bertness (Richmond, Texas / Travis) twice for 52 yards to start the drive, then connected with Stewart to make it a 14-0 game with just under six minutes left in the first quarter.

Trinity's defense forced Rhodes into negative yardage on its next drive and Horn showed no mercy. He led the Tigers on a drive that covered 70 yards on three plays and ended with a 27-yard scoring play to Merrifield. Trinity led 21-0 and there was still just under two minutes left in the quarter.

After two three-and-outs that netted negative total yardage, the Tiger defense raised its game to match the offense. Instead of just a third-down stop, this time it was an interception from Malik Ross (San Antonio, Texas / Jay) that finished off the Rhodes drive. He returned it 22 yards to the 30 yard line and Trinity's offense was set up once again.

The Tigers converted a fourth-and-one to end the quarter and keep the drive alive, then Horn completed a pass to himself for the second time this season on a batted ball. He fired another touchdown pass to Stewart for a 27-0 Trinity lead, and that proved to be the last pass of the day for Horn.

Rhodes put together its only drive of the game after that, driving 74 yards for a touchdown to break up the shutout. The answer to that score came quickly as Stewart raced 61 yards on the ensuing kickoff, and Legend Grigsby (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek) scampered 21 yards on the first play to put the Tigers in front 34-7 midway through the second quarter.

Trinity forced another three-and-out to stop Rhodes once again, leading to another scoring drive for the offense. Will Chaney (San Antonio, Texas / Alamo Heights) led the team 61 yards on seven plays, highlighted by a scramble play on which Chaney connected with Cole Monago (Houston, Texas / Klein Cain) for a 12-yard play that set the Tigers up at the two. Justin Carmouche (Cypress, Texas / Cy-Ranch) punched it from there and the Tigers reached the halftime margin of 41-7.

Chaney followed another Rhodes three-and-out drive by leading another scoring drive for the Tiger offense. This time he hit Carter Self (North Richland Hills, Texas / Birdville) for a 49-yard pass play to set the offense up at the one. Grigsby powered into the end zone for his second score on the next play and Trinity held a 48-7 lead early in the second half.

Rhodes converted on a pair of third downs on its next drive, leading to its second touchdown of the game and a 48-14 score line. Trinity was then truly stopped for the first time in the game, but punter Eli Gehman (Cedar Park, Texas / Leander) bounced his punt inside the 10 and Azariah Anderson (Saint Charles, Mo. / Francis Howell North) downed it with a diving play at the one yard line.

That play proved to be key to the final Tiger score of the game as Rhodes began its drive so deep in its own territory. Though the Lynx were able to move the ball out to the 21, the ensuing punt was blocked by Tyson Cornett (Marquez, Texas / Leon) and Rabson recovered for a 55-14 Tiger lead.

Neither team did much else until late in the fourth quarter when Rhodes broke loose for a 62-yard run to set up the game's final score. After the score, Trinity was also forced to punt late in the game, but the Tiger punt coverage team fell on a ball that bounced off of a Rhodes player to keep the home team on the field with just over two minutes left in the game. The Tigers were able to run out the clock from there to finish off the game.

Numbers to Note

Three Tiger quarterbacks combined to throw for 324 yards on 22-of-28 through the air for a completion percentage just shy of 86%. In addition to Horn's numbers, Chaney also throw for 99 yards on 5-for-7 passing. With his three passing touchdowns, Horn is now tied for fourth in single season history with 33 TD passes in 2021.

Stewart piled up 102 all-purpose yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns in the game. Those scores give him 22 TD receptions in his career, tying Trinity Hall-of-Famer Bill Hodge for eighth on the all-time list.

Merrifield's first career 100-yard game featured 43 yards-after-catch. He is the second Tiger player to top 100 yards receiving in a game this season.

Cannon Starcke (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) led the Tiger defense with eight tackles in the game, followed by five stops for AJ Townsend (Spring, Texas / Klein Collins).

Charles Gilbert (Chandler, Ariz. / Basha) picked up the only sack of the game for Trinity and he totaled 2.0 tackles for loss. Harris Good (Ft. Worth, Texas / Paschal) also had a pair of tackles for loss in the win.

Coach Speak

"I am so proud of this team and their commitment to finishing a special season with a great victory at home," said Head Coach Jerheme Urban. "We have been guided by strong senior leadership all year long, and it is great to see them come away with a win in their final regular season home game. We talk a lot about 'pride in performance can only be achieved if we are humble before the task,' and this team, led by these seniors, has exemplified that mentality all year long."

"We have great young men who have been unselfish as well as fully committed to developing and getting better", Coach Urban continued. "From senior to first year, starter to development squad, these guys have maximized their roles and opportunities and it was great to be able to get everyone on the field today to honor their hard work and commitment."

Up Next

The Tigers qualified for the NCAA Playoffs after last weekend's win over Birmingham-Southern College (AL), but the team will find out the postseason schedule tomorrow. The NCAA Selection Show will be aired at 4:30 p.m.

Coach Urban concluded with: "We are excited to find out tomorrow afternoon where we'll be for round one of the playoffs, but right now we are going to enjoy finishing the regular season undefeated, and celebrate the tremendous group of Trinity Football Men that made it happen!"