CONWAY, Ark. – The Trinity football team continued its winning ways with a 26-7 Southern Athletic Association road win against Hendrix College (AR) on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers (6-2, 4-1) have now won four consecutive games overall and also four straight in the series with the Warriors (3-6, 1-5). Trinity took a 14-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter and never looked back. Hendrix got its only points just before halftime, but Trinity snuck in a field goal in the final two minutes to take a 17-7 halftime lead. Trinity was held to just three field goals over the final two quarters of play, but the Tiger defense shut down Hendrix and allowed just 43 yards in the second half. The stingy defense allowed just 168 yards total in the game and snagged a pair of interceptions.

Tyler Huettel (McKinney, Texas / McKinney) tied the Trinity school record with a career-high four field goals made in the game. He is the third Tiger kicker ever to make four in a game, following Garrett Biel (2009) and Colby Doyal (2015). One of those field goals was a season-best 49-yard bomb that is tied for the fifth-longest in school history, and Huettel is now the only player in school history with three career field goals of 49 or more yards.

Tiger quarterback Ryan Back (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift) completed 19-of-24 passes for 199 yards and a career-high 79.2% completion rate. His top target was BJ Rainey (Cedar Hill, Texas / Cedar Hill), who finished with career-highs of eight receptions and 76 yards receiving. Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) also piled up 64 yards receiving on three catches. Cade Rabson (The Woodlands, Texas / College Park) led the defense with seven total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss in the game. John Kohl McAdams (New Berlin, Texas / McCallie School) finished with six tackles, while Delvin Gantt (Burton, Texas / Burton) collected his second interception of the year to go with two pass breakups.

The Rundown
Trinity got the opening kickoff and went 60 yards on seven plays to take a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Rainey had three catches for 30 yards on that drive alone and Legend Grigsby (Houston, Texas / Cypress Creek) ran for 26 of his team-leading 47 yards as well. Maddox Morkovsky (New Braunfels, Texas / New Braunfels) finished it off with a touchdown plunge from three yards away.

After driving past midfield, Hendrix was pushed back by a tackle in the backfield on a first-down run, then a six-yard sack on third down to kill the drive. Rabson and Jackson Priesmeyer (Sugar Land, Texas / Strake Jesuit) combined for the first negative play, then Steele Herndon (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) shared the sack with Rabson to slam the door shut.

Despite being pinned back at its own 12 to start the next drive, Trinity's offense was able to move the ball near midfield before being forced to punt. A penalty on the kick put Hendrix at the 40, but Trinity's defense came up with a huge three-and-out that was capped off by another sack by Herndon to end the opening quarter. The second quarter began with a bang as Will Taylor (Houston, Texas / Strake Jesuit) returned a punt 69 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead just seconds into the period. Taylor's previous career-high punt return was a 38-yarder last season and the score was also his first career special teams touchdown.

The teams traded empty drives after that, jockeying for field position. The Warriors took over with less than five minutes left before the half and covered 71 yards on seven plays and cut the Tiger lead in half at 14-7. Hendrix also left Trinity with just 1:44 to answer, but Back executed one last scoring drive to extend the lead. The Tigers scored on a 10-yard run by Grigsby, but it was called back for a holding penalty, and Trinity settled for a 37-yard field goal by Huettel to make it 17-7.

The third quarter began with Trinity's defense forcing a three-and-out, and the offense driving deep into Hendrix territory in hopes of another score. After moving into the red zone, the Tiger drive was interrupted by a costly penalty and Huettel was called on for a 39-yard field goal to take it to a 20-7 lead. Hendrix chewed up nearly seven minutes of the third quarter on its next drive, though Trinity's defense allowed just 52 yards on 12 plays before Gantt snagged his interception at the Tiger 30 and returned it to near midfield to set up Back and the offense. Trinity moved inside the Hendrix 30 to close out the third quarter, then had another touchdown called back for offsetting penalties just two plays into the fourth period. A penalty and a sack pushed Trinity further back and nearly out of range for Huettel. Instead, the senior kicker blasted a 49-yard field goal to salvage points once again and make it a 23-7 game.

Trinity's defense continued to stymie Hendrix after that, forcing a negative-yardage three-and-out drive to send the offense back on the field with under 12 minutes remaining. The Tigers drained more than five minutes off the clock but had to punt the ball back to the Warriors for a drive that started at 6:35. Needing a quick scoring drive to make it a game at the end, Hendrix dropped back for a long pass on the first play of its drive. Instead, Xadrian Moore (Schertz, Texas / Clemens) leaped up for Trinity's second interception of the day and returned it inside the Hendrix 10 to essentially seal the win. Huettel kicked his record-tying field goal after that as Trinity's offense was held out of the end zone once again. This time, it was a chip-shot 21-yard kick to etch Huettel's name into the record books and give the Tigers a three-score lead at 26-7. Trinity's defense refused to accept that the game was in hand after that, pushing Hendrix into another three-and-out that ended with another sack for the Tiger defense. Trinity ran the clock out from there to finish off the victory.

Up Next
Trinity returns to San Antonio for its final home game of the regular season next weekend and will celebrate Senior Day. The Tigers host Southwestern University (TX) on Saturday, November 9, at 1:00 p.m.