NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The No. 4/6 Trinity football team was eliminated from the NCAA Playoffs with a 71-28 defeat at the hands of top-ranked and defending NCAA III Champion North Central College on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (10-2) came into the game with just five total turnovers this season, but North Central (12-0) forced four turnovers in the game and took advantage of all of them. The two teams were tied 14-14 late in the first quarter, but North Central scored two more touchdowns in the final two minutes of the quarter, then added two more in the second quarter to take a 41-14 lead at the half. Trinity scored first in the third quarter, but it was all North Central from there. It marks just the third time in school history that Trinity allowed 70 or more points in a game. North Central piled up 536 yards of total offense, which included 318 yards rushing. Trinity ran for just 22 yards in the game, but finished with 300 total yards despite the four turnovers.
Tucker Horn (Graham, Texas / Graham) completed 30-of-50 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns, but he did throw three interceptions – his first of the season.
Ryan Merrifield (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) had eight catches for 94 yards and a touchdown, while
Caleb Crawford (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) finished with seven receptions for 84 yards and a score of his own.
Caleb Harmel (Burton, Texas / Burton) had 11 tackles to lead Trinity's defense, including nine solo stops and 2.0 sacks for a total of 15 yards loss.
Jacob Munoz (Cedar Park, Texas / Cedar Park) had seven solo tackles and a total of 10 stops, as well as forcing a fumble.
Mac Douglas (Fairhope, Ala. / Bayside Academy) and
James Ogunrin (Katy, Texas / Episcopal) had eight tackles each, while Ogunrin had a fumble recovery.
The Rundown
North Central took the ball to start the game and used a 40-yard run to lead to an early touchdown and a 7-0 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Trinity committed its first turnover of the game to give the ball back to the Cardinals inside the 20. North Central needed just two plays to add to the lead, taking a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
Trinity's first drive was a successful one, though, as Horn completed 6-of-8 passes to lead the Tigers to a score. Merrifield had a 25-yard reception on the drive that put Trinity inside the 10 yardline, then Horn found
Cole Monago (Houston, Texas / Klein Cain) from seven yards out for the touchdown to make it 14-7. The Tiger defense forced a quick three-and-out to carry the momentum into the next drive, and a short punt put the offense back on the field just 40 yards from pay dirt. Horn connected with
Legend Grigsby (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek) on the first play for 21 yards, then hit Crawford from 13 yards out to tie things up with 5:13 left in the quarter.
The tie was short-lived as North Central answered on its next drive, scoring with just under two minutes left in the half to go back in front 20-14. The Cardinals then picked up their second turnover of the game – the first interception of the season for Horn – on the second play from scrimmage to get the ball right back. North Central took advantage once again with a 58-yard catch-and-run to take a 27-14 lead with just under a minute still left in the quarter.
Trinity's offense couldn't get going on its next drive either as a three-and-out put North Central's offense back on the field. The Cardinals then bled just over seven minutes off the clock in the second quarter, covering 61 yards in 13 plays to make it a 20-point game (34-14). The Tigers drove near midfield on their next drive but stalled short of midfield. Despite getting pinned inside its own 20, North Central was still able to put together another scoring drive before the half, scoring with just 24 seconds left to make it a 41-14 halftime lead.
After halftime, Trinity came out a 13-play drive that covered 86 yards and ended with a Horn touchdown pass to Merrifield from 18 yards out. Horn hit Crawford for a 28-yard pass play on third-and-nine to keep the drive going and move into the red zone. A sack put the Tigers behind the chains and eventually led to a third-and-18 play. Crawford caught a seven-yard pass that was well short of the marker, but Trinity went for it on fourth down. That fourth-down play wound up being the touchdown pass to Merrifield and it was 41-21.
North Central got its first chance with just over eight minutes left in the quarter, using a 33-yard run to convert on third down and then scoring from 26 yards out to answer the Tiger touchdown and go up 47-21. Trinity went for it on fourth-and-seven from its own 40 yardline on the ensuing drive, and North Central scored again three plays later to extend the lead once again with just over two minutes still remaining in the quarter.
Trinity drove to midfield on its next drive that spilled into the fourth quarter, but failed again on fourth down to put the ball back in the hands of North Central's prolific offense. The Cardinals offense was relentless and scored again to make it a 61-21 advantage. North Central's defense got another turnover on the first play from scrimmage and returned the interception 40 yards for another score.
With the big deficit, Trinity was forced to go for it again on fourth down – from its own 35 this time. North Central took over and then added to the lead with a 34-yard field goal. Grigsby took the ensuing kickoff 61 yards to set the Tigers up just 22 yards from the end zone. After a short rush, North Central forced yet another interception to keep Trinity from cashing in on the long return.
Trinity's defense forced a turnover on the next drive and the Tigers took over at the 26 yardline with just under two minutes to go in the game.
Justin Carmouche (Cypress, Texas / Cy-Ranch) caught the final pass of the game for Horn, which was a two-yard touchdown with just 29 seconds left to account for the final score.
