No. 6 Tiger Football comes back to Tiger Stadium to compete in more Southern Athletic Association (SAA) play as they take on the Centre College Colonels on Saturday. The Tigers stroll back into Tiger Stadium to take on the Centre College Colonels for an 11:00 AM kickoff.
 
The Tigers (4-1, 3-0 SAA) had a thrilling come-from-behind victory against conference rivals Berry College last Saturday by a score of 46-37. The Tigers went into the half down 16 points but out-scored the Vikings 26-8 in the second half to secure the victory. The Tiger offense was on fire, notching 520 total yards. Fifth-year quarterback Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Graham) would lead the Tigers to victory, passing for 363 yards and four touchdowns. Kicker Tyler Huettel (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) hit a 52-yard booming field goal. Both of their performances awarded them Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Player of the Week, Huettel would also be named to D3football.com Team of the Week. 
 
D3football.com Rankings
 
The Tigers now sit 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 18th spot and UMHB occupies the 22nd spot. Conference foe Berry jumps into the rankings at the 25th spot. 
 
SAA Player of the Week - Tucker Horn, Offensive
 
Horn led the Tiger offense to a huge comeback win against previously unbeaten Berry to keep the Tigers at the top of the conference standings. The All-American compiled 363 yards through the air, tying his career high. Horn also added four touchdowns while completing 75 percent of his passes. His play helped the Tigers complete a 16-point comeback, and his arm would sling a 25-yard touchdown pass to bring the Tigers the lead with 6:41 left in the fourth quarter.
 
SAA Player of the Week & D3football.com Team of the Week - Tyler Huettel
 
Huettel had another perfect day kicking, hitting 3-3 field goals and going 5-5 extra points. After making two short field goals in the first half, Huettel bombed a 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that tied the game at 37 all. That 52-yarder tied the all-time record for the longest field goal in Trinity football history, dating back to 1900. This is the second time Huettel has been named SAA Player of the Week and D3football.com Team of the Week this season. 
 
Preview - No. 6 Trinity vs Centre
 
The Tigers will match up with the Colonels for the 30th time in school history. The Tigers hold an 18-11 record against the Colonels since the first matchup in 1989. During the 2022 matchup, the Tigers dominated the Colonels by a score of 41-21, only allowing 77 yards of rushing in the game. Centre brings in a 1-3 record (1-1 SAA) into Tiger Stadium, after dropping their most recent matchup against Berry College on September 23rd. The game is slated for an early 11:00 AM kickoff. 
 
Offense: The Tiger offense had another 30-plus point outing last week, putting up 46 points against Berry. Horn led the way with 363 yards passing and four touchdowns. Running back Justin Carmouche (Cypress, Texas / Cy Ranch) led the ground game for the Tigers with 84 total yards. Legend Grigsby (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek) added another touchdown to his ledger. Wide receiver Ryan Merrifield (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) notched his third-consecutive 100-yard receiving game and added two touchdowns, while Caleb Crawford (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) added 70 yards receiving. The Tiger offense will look to take advantage of a Centre defense that has given up 119 points in four games. The Colonels are averaging 18 points a game and 4.7 yards per play. The Colonels will rely on a heavy passing attack led by sophomore quarterback Jack Gohmann who will try to get the ball to leading receiver Blake Busson.
 
Defense: The Tiger defense struggled early against Berry, but settled in and only allowed eight points in the final half of play. The Tigers notched six tackles for loss and a sack. Linebacker Caleb Harmel (Burton, Texas / Burton) led the way for the Tigers with nine total tackles, with two of those being tackles for loss. Ryan Arnold (Austin, Texas / Vandergrift) was the second-leading tackler with five total tackles. The Tiger defense held Berry to just nine minutes of time of possession in the second half. It could be a good day for the Tiger defensive line as the Centre offensive line has allowed nine sacks and 13 quarterback hurries on the season. The Centre defense is led by junior linebacker Evan Elder, who leads the team with 24 total tackles. The Colonels have struggled to get to the quarterback this year, only collected two sacks and six quarterback hurries. 
 
Special Teams: Kicker Tyler Huettel remains perfect in kicking for the season, going 3-3 on field goals and 5-5 on extra points. Punter Eli Gehman (Cedar Park, Texas / Leander) only needed to punt twice against Berry, but made them both count. Gehman averaged 43 yards per punt and sent one punt soaring for 52 total yards. Returner Lamont Nickleberry (Childress, Texas / Childress) was fantastic on kickoff, taking six returns for 182 yards, including a 71-yard return. Nickleberry will get another chance to impact the return game as Centre kicker Cam Tegge only has three touchbacks on fourteen total attempts. Tegge is also shooting 71 percent in his field goals, missing two field goals from 30-39 yards. 
 
Looking Ahead - Set Sail to Pirate Town
 
After their game against Centre, the Tigers will have a bye week. After the bye, the Tigers will travel to Georgetown to take on the Southwestern Pirates on October 21st.