MEMPHIS – The Trinity University football team pitched a second-half shutout to pull away for a 38-14 Southern Athletic Association road win over Rhodes College (TN) on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers improved to 4-2 this season with the win, which includes a 2-1 record in conference play. Rhodes falls to 2-4 with the loss and 1-2 in the SAA. The win marks the 25th in 37 meetings in a series that dates back to the 1983 season. Trinity's defense gave up just 70 yards in the second half of today's game, as the Tigers turned a narrow 17-14 halftime lead into 28 unanswered points and a 24-point victory. Overall, Trinity yielded just 258 yards of total offense and a paltry 70 yards rushing.

Jonathan Nwobodo (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) recorded 3.0 sacks for a total loss of 20 yards in the game, becoming the ninth Trinity player to record three or more sacks in a game. He is also the first to do so since Luke Packard accomplished the feat in 2016, picking up all three of his sacks in the second quarter. Cade Rabson (The Woodlands, Texas / College Park) led the Tiger team with nine total tackles in the game.

Trinity's offense passed for more than 300 yards – most of which came from the arm of starting quarterback Ryan Back (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift), who finished with a career-high 296 yards through the air on 23-of-35 passing and three touchdowns.

Will Taylor (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) led the receiving corps with five receptions for 76 yards and a score, while Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) finished with four receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Tyson Hancock (Smithville, Texas / Smithville) not only had four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw a 26-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

The Rundown
Trinity took the opening kickoff down inside the Rhodes 30 yard line before stalling, and the 40-plus yard field goal attempt was no good. Rhodes, on the other hand, quickly moved down the field on its first drive. A 34-yard reception after crossing midfield put the Lynx into the red zone. The first touchdown was brought back because of a holding penalty, but the opening score came three plays later anyway to put Rhodes in front 7-0.

The Tigers couldn't get much going on their next drive, but a 38-yard punt went out of bounds and pinned Rhodes back inside its own 10. Rhodes gained just 10 yards, and a short punt gave Trinity the ball back just 43 yards from paydirt. On the first play of the second quarter, Back found Tavarez for a 38-yard reception to set up first-and-goal. Maddox Morkovsky (New Braunfels, Texas / New Braunfels) plunged in from two yards out on the next play and the game was tied 7-7 less than a minute into the second quarter.

A holding penalty on the first play of the drive, along with Nwobodo's first sack of the day, derailed the next Rhodes drive. Trinity's offense took advantage of the three-and-out and was again set up in Rhodes territory at the start of the possession. The Tigers got into the red zone on third-and-long, but came up three yards short and had to settle for another field goal try. This time Tyler Huettel (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) banged in a 32-yard field goal to give Trinity the 10-7 lead midway through the quarter.

The lead change got the attention of Rhodes, which scored on a 70-yard touchdown pass just two plays later to reclaim the lead at 14-10. After exchanging punts for the next two drives, Trinity got the ball back with just two minutes left in the first half of play. A short run put the Tigers across midfield, then Back connected with BJ Rainey (Cedar Hill, Texas / Cedar Hill) on back-to-back passes that covered 31 yards. That set up a 15-yard touchdown pass from back to Tavarez, and Trinity was back in front 17-14 with just 47 seconds left. Nwobodo got his third sack of the quarter on the first play of the next drive, ensuring that Rhodes would not pull off any late magic before halftime.

Rhodes got the ball to start halftime but would end up with just 29 yards of offense during the third quarter as Trinity pulled away. The second drive was a turnover on downs after the Lynx gambled and went for it on fourth-and-four from its own 38. The Tigers took over on their second drive of the quarter and turned it into a 24-14 lead. Johnny Milo (The Woodlands, Texas / Caney Creek) caught a 19-yard pass out of the backfield on third down, then Back found Rainey from eight yards out for the score.

Trinity's defense stopped Rhodes for negative yardage on the next drive and the offense was ready for a quick strike. Xae Huerta (San Antonio, Texas / Jay) started it by busting a 27-yard run, then the Tigers pulled out a trick play with a reverse pass for a 26-yard score. Hancock took the pitch on the reverse and threw on the run to Taylor to make it a 31-14 lead with 4:14 still left in the quarter.

Less than two minutes later, the Tiger defense had forced another three-and-out, and the offense was back to work to close out the third quarter. Trinity drove 60 yards on 11 plays but came up short on fourth-and-two from the Rhodes three yard line, and the Lynx took over there. With the fourth-down stop, Rhodes needed a big drive to keep the momentum going, and the offense started making its way downfield. The Lynx went for a big pass play down the left side, but Delvin Gantt (Burton, Texas / Burton) came up with an interception to ruin any chance of a comeback.

The offense made the interception count with a 78-yard drive that ended with the final score of the game. Jackson Williams (Manor, Texas / New Tech) broke a 22-yard run on the first play of that drive to put Trinity near midfield, then Back found Taylor for a 31-yard pass on third-and-long. Two plays later, Hancock caught a pass at the 15 yard line, then turned upfield and made his way in for a 26-yard score.

After the Tiger defense held again near midfield and forced Rhodes to punt, the home team got one last chance to get on the scoreboard as Trinity fumbled and gave the ball back to the home team just 21 yards from the end zone. The first play was another touchdown that was nullified by a holding penalty, then the Trinity defense held once again on fourth-and-short to seal the win.

Up Next
Trinity returns home next Saturday, October 26, and will face off against Berry College (GA) at 1:00 p.m. The game will be a part of Trinity's Alumni Weekend and the 2024 Trinity Athletics Hall of Fame class will be inducted during halftime.