No. 6 Tiger Football gets set to take on Millsaps College on Saturday with a 12:00 PM kickoff for the 2023 Trinity Alumni Weekend.
The Tigers (6-1, 5-0 SAA) took on in-state opponent Southwestern over the weekend, and they sank the Pirate's ship 57-7. The Tigers put up a school-record 710 yards of total offense, highlighted by a prolific passing attack. The Tigers rode on the back of quarterback
Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Texas) who had 342 yards passing and four touchdowns. However, Horn wasn't the only Tiger quarterback to have a day. Quarterback
Ryan Back (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) had 138 yards on 6-of-8 passing and two touchdowns. Also, quarterback
Collin Bishop (Childress, Texas / Childress) would add another touchdown. The Tigers sent out four quarterbacks in the game that all combined for 560 total yards of passing.
D3football.com Rankings
The Tigers remain in the number 6 spot on the D3football.com national rankings. The top two spots still remain the same, with North Central (Ill.) sitting in the top spot. Region rival Hardin-Simmons sits in the 20h spot and UMHB occupies the 23rd spot. Conference foe Berry remains in the rankings at the 24th spot.
SAA Player of the Week - Mac Douglas, Defensive
Fifth year
Mac Douglas (Fairhope, Alabama / Bayside Academy) has been selected as the SAA Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career.
From the SAA Press Release
Douglas and the Tiger defense led fifth-ranked Trinity to a 57-7 victory over Southwestern on Saturday afternoon, marking the team's sixth consecutive victory. Douglas piled up a team-best eight tackles that included 1.5 tackles for loss and a shared sack, while also limiting Southwestern to just 165 yards of offense that included a stifling total of 49 yards rushing on 35 carries.
Preview - No. 6 Trinity vs Millsaps
The Tigers will take the field against the Millsaps Majors on Saturday, October 28th for a 12:00 PM kickoff. The Tigers are 21-22 all-time against the Majors since their first game in 1974. The Tigers took the 2022 matchup by a score of 53-7. The Majors are 1-7 (1-5 SAA) this season, dropping their most recent game against Centre 59-20.
Offense: For the seventh game in a row, the Tigers have put up more than 30 points. This was also the third time this season that the Tigers have scored more than 45 points. Along with the aerial assault led by Horn and Back, the Tiger ground game was also good. The Tigers rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown. For the Tiger receivers, it was
Cole Monago (Houston, Texas / Klein Cain) who would lead the Tigers with 123 yards and 2 touchdowns. Fifth-year receiver
Ryan Merrifield (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) also had 86 yards and two touchdowns. First-year
Berend Kahlden (Jonestown, Texas / Lago Vista) caught the first touchdown pass of his career. All in all, Tiger offensive coordinator
Wade Lytal was calling all the right plays. For Millsaps, the offense has struggled. The Majors have only put up more than 30 points twice this season. The Majors are led by first-year Gray Jennings who is completing 50 percent of his passes this season. Jennings will look to get the ball to his top receiver, Temias Mason, who leads the Majors with 525 yards receiving this season.
Defense: For the third time this season, the Tigers gave up less than 10 points defensively. The Tigers only gave up 165 yards of total offense. The Tiger rushing defense was immaculate again, only allowing 49 yards rushing in the game. The Tigers were led by fifth-year
Mac Douglas who had 8 total tackles and a tackle for loss. The Tiger defensive line did what they do best, get after the quarterback. The Tigers totaled 12 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, and 2 quarterback hurries. Defensively for the Majors, they will lean on linebacker Nehemiah Coalson to get the majority of their tackles. However, the Majors' defense is giving up an average of 43 points per game this season.
Special Teams: The Tigers had a quiet day on special teams. The Tigers would not have to punt the ball and accumulated two kickoff returns for a total of 29 yards. Kicker
Tyler Huettel (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) put all 10 of his kickoffs back for touchbacks and went 6-7 on extra points. The Tiger return team will get more chances to make a big impact as the Majors have only notched two touchbacks on 25 attempts. Kicker EJ Escarfullet is 0-2 on field goals this season, missing one from 25 yards and the other from 45 yards.
Key Matchups
Monago & Merrifield vs Hall & Stallion: The Tiger receivers
Cole Monago and
Ryan Merrifield will line up against the Millsaps defensive backs of Jeremiah Hall and Tondarrius Stallion. The tall receivers will get a chance to make plays on the top shelf as the DBs are only listed at 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10. Also, experience will come into play. The Millsaps defenders both have less than 10 games played under their belt as the receiving duo of Manago and Merrifield have at least 25 games played. Overall, look for Horn to go to the outside to give these two receivers to make plays on the ball.
Tiger D-Line vs Majors O-Line: The Tigers have had the best defensive line in the SAA so far this season. The Tiger defensive line has been key to a defense that is among the best in the country in terms of rushing defense. The Tigers have amassed 33 quarterback hurries so far this season to go along with 16 sacks. The quickness of the Tiger defensive line will come into play as the Millsaps offensive line has allowed 22 sacks and 60 tackles for loss. Look for fifth-year
Jacob Munoz (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park) to be an issue, as the quick defensive lineman will be matching up against a first-year center for the Majors.
Looking Ahead - Tigers vs Tigers
Upon the conclusion of the game against Millsaps, the Tigers will travel to Sewanee, Tennessee to take on the Tigers of the University of the South (Sewanee) on Saturday, November 4th.
