SAN ANTONIO – The No. 5/6 Tiger football team remained undefeated atop the Southern Athletic Association standings with a dominating 63-0 victory over Millsaps College on Saturday afternoon.

Trinity improved to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in SAA play with its seventh consecutive win of the season. The Majors fell to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in conference with the loss, which is also the fifth consecutive loss in the series with the Tigers, and the third in a row of at least 46 points.

Junior kicker Tyler Huettel (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) tied a school record with nine extra points in the game, connecting on each of Trinity's nine touchdowns. He ties the record set by PJ Hensley just two years again against Sewanee.

Trinity had eight different players score touchdowns in the game, with Johnny Milo (The Woodlands, Texas / Caney Creek) being the only player to score twice. Milo put the punctuation marks on the game with the last two touchdown runs of two and five yards to push the Tigers past 60 points in the game.

The Tiger offense was the definition of balanced with 258 yards rushing alongside 258 yards passing for a 516-yard day. Meanwhile, Trinity's defense redefined stifling after allowing a mere 79 yards on the day – 48 of which came on one drive in the fourth quarter. The Tigers held the Majors to negative yardage on four first-half drives that led to a 28-0 Trinity lead at the break.

Trinity scored on its first four possessions of the game, including a 21-point first quarter that knocked the visitors on their heels from the start. The Tigers started the second half with another scoring barrage that featured five straight scoring drives – highlighted by a 28-point third quarter alone.

Quarterback Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Graham) left the game after one drive in the third quarter, but still piled up 187 yards and four touchdowns on 18-of-26 passing. He surpassed 2,000 yards this season with today's effort, making him just the third player in school history to cross that barrier in three different seasons. Ryan Back (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) made a brief appearance in the third quarter, tossing a pair of touchdown passes and totaling 47 more yards. The dual signal-callers spread their six touchdowns among six different receivers.

Fifth-year linebacker Caleb Harmel (Burton, Texas / Burton) also had a huge impact in limited action due to the lopsided score. He finished tied with three others for the team lead with four tackles, mixing in 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Harmel also nearly intercepted the first pass of the game and blocked a punt in the first quarter.

Trinity's defense had six total sacks in the game, including a game-best 1.5 sacks for Carson Byrd (Waco, Texas / Midway).

Will Taylor (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) and Cam Herron (Abilene, Texas / Cooper) both had solid days in special teams as well. Taylor piled up 119 yards on six punt returns, while Herron exploded for 90 yards on a pair of returns. Taylor's total is good for the seventh-best in school history for a single game, while Herron also ranks in the top 15 all-time on his two chances.

Carter Self (North Richland Hills, Texas / Birdville) finished with four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown to lead a squad of 13 Tigers to catch a pass in the game, while Winston Hutchison (Round Rock, Texas / McNeil) and Legend Grigsby (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek) accounted for most of Trinity's rushing yards. Hutchison led the team with 79 yards rushing, while Grigsby finished with 61 yards and a touchdown.
 
The Rundown
Millsaps got the ball to start the game and converted an early first down after Harmel just missed an interception on the first play. The offense literally went backwards after that with a tackle for loss, a run for no gain, and an incomplete pass. The ensuing punt turned out to be a bit of foreshadowing for the entire game as the snap went over the punter's head. He recovered but was unable to get the punt away, then tried to throw the ball as he was being tackled. The result? A penalty for intentional grounding, a loss of down, and the Tigers took over at the Millsaps 16. Two plays later, Horn hit Caleb Crawford (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) for a seven-yard touchdown and the rout was on in full force.

Trinity's defense forced a three-and-out but a nice punt return by Taylor was negated by a pair of penalties and the Tigers were backed up to their own 15. In this case, the penalties gave Horn and the offense a long field to work with and he delivered an 85-yard drive that lasted 14 plays and lasted nearly six minutes. The Tigers converted a pair of third downs to keep the drive going and Grigsby finished it off with a six-yard run to make it a 14-0 game.

Another three-and-out on defense led to another punt for Millsaps and this time Harmel got his hand on it, resulting in just a three-yard gain on the kick. The Tigers quickly cashed in on the gift with a 32-yard TD pass from Horn to Self and a 21-0 lead late in the first quarter.

Back-to-back sacks ruined the next drive for the Majors and only a 46-yard punt kept the Trinity offense from getting the ball back in Millsaps territory as the first quarter came to a close. The Tigers covered 59 yards in nine plays and made it a 28-0 game just after the second quarter got underway. Justin Carmouche (Cypress, Texas / Cy-Ranch) caught an eight-yard pass out of the backfield for the score.

The game slowed down for Trinity's offense after that – at least temporarily; however, the defense was relentless. After both teams traded punts, another Tiger sack flipped the field and Trinity wound up taking over at the Millsaps 43 yardline. Trinity committed what might have been its only mistake of the day after that, though, as the Majors forced a turnover to keep the Tigers from another scoring opportunity.

Neither team did much the rest of the half, though Millsaps did have a pair of punts of 50+ yards to help the field position battle and keep the Trinity offense from any more cheap possessions. The Tigers had the only advantage that matters by halftime, though, which was a 28-0 lead.

Horn's final drive of the day covered 67 yards to increase the lead to 35 points, concluding with a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Merrifield (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift).

Trinity's defense was only slowed down by the halftime break, and opened the third quarter with just as much intensity as the beginning of the game. The opening play was a tackle for loss and the Majors offense never recovered. Combine that with a 44-yard punt return by Herron and the offense was back in business.

Hutchison popped a 25-yard run on the opening play of the next drive, then Back tossed a six-yard touchdown to Cole Monago (Houston, Texas / Klein Cain) on his first pass of the game to put Trinity up 42-0 with just under nine minutes remaining in the quarter.

Millsaps fumbled the ensuing kickoff and though the Majors were fortunate to recover, they were still backed up at their own 11 yardline. Even a 50-yard punt couldn't completely flip the field, as Herron had another long return – this time for 46 yards to give Back another short field to work with. The first play was another TD pass from Back, hitting Tyson Bope (Frisco, Texas / Little Elm) from 22 yard out for the score. Back's day at that point: two passes for two touchdowns, and Trinity leading 49-0.

Trinity forced another fumble on the first play of next Millsaps drive and the Majors were backed up again. The Tigers took over at their own 24 yardline after another punt of 50+ yards by Millsaps, but Trinity put together another successful drive anyway. A 40-yard run by Grigsby jump-started the drive, then Milo finished off the final 10 yards with a pair of runs that included a two-yard dive into the end zone that finished off an impressive 28-point quarter.

Jackson Williams (Manor, Texas / New Tech) ran three times for 21 yards on the drive, while new quarterback Collin Bishop (Childress, Texas / Childress) had a 24-yard pass to Cole Canaday (Austin, Texas / Anderson) that set up Milo's next touchdown – a five-yard scamper to close out the scoring early in the fourth quarter.

Millsaps put together its only significant drive of the day after that, making it inside Trinity's 30 yardline before a penalty knocked them out of possible field goal range. The Tiger defense forced a turnover on downs and took over at its own 31 yardline.

The biggest highlight late in the game was a 74-yard touchdown run that was called back for a Trinity penalty. Williams broke free on the first play of what proved to be the final Tiger drive of the day, and would have had the longest play of the day except for a holding penalty. Instead, Trinity chewed up the final three minutes with several running plays, and closed out the victory.

Up Next
Trinity will play its final road game of the regular season next weekend, traveling to Sewanee, Tennessee, to take on the University of the South. The game will kick off at Noon on Saturday, November 4. The Tigers finish the regular season at home against Hendrix College on Saturday, November 11.