SAN ANTONIO – The #14/18 Trinity University football team opened Southern Athletic Association play with a blowout 65-14 win over Southwestern University (TX) on Saturday afternoon, fueled by a dominating second half.

The Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SAA) overcame a lackluster first half of play by outscoring the Pirates (2-2, 0-1 SAA) 49-0 over the final two quarters. Despite recording a safety and returning a fumble for a touchdown, Trinity's defense gave up a long scoring drive that finished at the start of the second quarter and then gave up a long touchdown play that had Southwestern down just 16-14 in the final two minutes. Trinity's offense also struggled to finish drives, missing two field goals and scoring just one touchdown in the first two quarters.

Whatever happened in the locker room to turn things around did so in the most dramatic fashion. Trinity scored four touchdowns in the third quarter alone, beginning with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that set the tone for what would be a dominant finish to what was a close game. The Tiger offense also scored twice on its first two drives of the half, then another fumble return for a score made it a 44-14 game with 2:30 still left in the quarter. Trinity scored again early in the fourth, then had two more scoring drives that used just seven running plays for 72 total yards.

Trinity wound up with 463 yards of total offense, including a stunning 242 yards rushing overall and 6.2 yards per carry. Defensively, the Tigers caused three turnovers – two of which were returned for touchdowns – and forced a safety. After giving up 211 yards in the first half, the defense allowed just 71 yards in the second half to put the clamps on Southwestern's offense for good. The 66 points scored is the eighth-highest total in Trinity football history and the most for a Tiger team since 2021.

Judson Crockett (Austin, Texas / Westlake) had two fumble returns for touchdowns in the game, totaling 103 yards on the two scoring plays, and adding six tackles to his day's resume. TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) led the team with 10 tackles in the game, while also forcing one of the fumbles picked up by Crockett. Anthony Njoku (Richmond, Texas / Travis) and Dorien Hill (Buda, Texas / Hays) had seven tackles each and Hill also forced a fumble. Jonathan Nwobodo (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) had an incredible first quarter as he intercepted a deflected pass on Southwestern's first drive, then recorded a safety on a sack on the next drive to put up the first points in the game.

Luke Sams (Jacksboro, Texas / Jacksboro) tied a school record with his 100-yard kickoff return to start the second half of play, finishing with 121 yards on two returns. Jack Kayser (Austin, Texas / Westlake) piled up 81 yards of punt and kick returns on three total attempts. He had 52 yards on two punt returns and 29 yards on his only kickoff return. Kickers Hayden Rhoades (Grapevine, Texas / Grapevine) and Jackson Runyan (Frisco, Texas / Rick Reedy) went 9-for-9 on extra-point attempts as well.

 Xadrian Huerta (San Antonio, Texas / Jay) led a balanced rushing attack by the Tigers with 66 yards on eight carries. Jackson Williams (Manor, Texas / New Tech) carried four times for 53 yards, while Collin Bishop (Childress, Texas / Childress) scored a 35-yard touchdown on his only run of the game. Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) and Welker Horn (Lubbock, Texas / Lubbock Christian) three a combined three touchdowns to three different receivers, with Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) leading the team with 103 yards on five receptions and a score. Franklin was 13-of-21 for 170 yards and two scores, while Horn went 3-for-3 with 51 yards and a touchdown.

The Rundown
Southwestern took the opening kick and marched inside Trinity's 40 yard line before the Tiger defense made its first big play of the day. Crockett leaped up and deflected a second-down pass and Nwobodo wound up with the interception to interrupt what looked like a promising drive. The offense could not do anything with it, but punter Tyson Bope (Frisco, Texas / Little Elm) dropped a 46-yard kick inside the 10 to pin Southwestern under the shadow of its own goalpost. Just three plays later, Nwobodo was there again for a big play, swallowing up the quarterback in a sack that resulted in a safety and a 2-0 Trinity lead.

Trinity got the ball back after the safety and made it into the red zone before a sack pushed them back and forced a field goal. The 42-yard attempt missed to the left and Southwestern was able to turn that into a scoring chance. The Pirates drove 75 yards on 14 plays, eating up more than seven minutes off the clock. That drive spilled into the second quarter and the visitors took a 7-2 lead after scoring from a yard out.

After both teams traded punts, Trinity took over again on its own 10 yard line with just over 10 minutes left in the half. The Tigers put together a long drive of their own, covering 90 yards on 14 plays and taking almost seven minutes off the clock. Franklin hit three straight passes to start the drive and move the ball near midfield, then four consecutive runs piled up 22 more yards to move just outside the Southwestern 30. Franklin converted a third-and-13 with a 15-yard catch-and-run by Colton Schmid (New Braunfels, Texas / La Vernia), then hit Tavarez for 13 more yards to set up first-and-goal. Three plays later, Franklin snuck the ball in for a touchdown from one yard out to put Trinity back in front 9-7.

Southwestern took over with 3:31 left in the half, but just three plays into the drive, Scannell forced a fumble that was scooped up by Crockett for a 34-yard touchdown and just like that, the score was 16-7. The Pirates had a quick answer to that score, though, covering 75 yards in just over a minute, capped by a 59-yard scoring play that put the game back in reach at 16-14. Trinity drove 50 yards in the final 1:37 but missed a chance to add to the lead as another 42-yard field goal sailed to the left.

Fans had hardly made it back to their seats for the second half when Sams kickstarted the third quarter with his 100-yard return that quickly made it a 23-14 lead for the Tigers. The defense responded as only it could, forcing a punt after a three-and-out series that gave the offense its first shot of the quarter. Three plays later, it was a 30-14 game with just over three minutes elapsed in the second half. Huerta broke a 36-yard run to really get the drive going, then Franklin hit Tavarez from 15 yards out to light up the scoreboard.

Another three-and-out for Southwestern gave Trinity the ball back after just 94 seconds, and Franklin was more than happy to engineer another scoring drive. Huerta ran for 17 yards and Franklin ran for 14 yards of his own to keep the chains moving. After a third-down throw to Tavarez came up three yards short of the marker, the Tigers went for it on fourth down at the Southwestern 13. Franklin added nine more yards to his rushing total on the drive for the first down inside the five, then hit Maddox Morkovsky (New Braunfels, Texas / New Braunfels) for a short touchdown to make it a 37-14 game with nearly half the quarter still remaining.

Southwestern got its offense going a little bit after that, moving down inside the Tiger 40 yard line. That's when Hill got the forced fumble and that's where Crockett picked up the loose ball once again, returning it 69 yards for his second touchdown of the game and a 44-14 Trinity lead. Trinity's defense held the Pirates in check on the next drive as well and Trinity took over just before the third quarter ended.

Williams started Trinity's drive with two runs for 31 total yards to send the game to the fourth quarter. Horn then hit Tavarez for a 39-yard gain, before finding Lamont Nickleberry (Childress, Texas / Childress) from four yards out to produce yet another touchdown. Desperate to keep the ball out of the hands of Trinity's offense, Southwestern went for it on fourth-and-one from its own 34 yard line on the next drive, but Trinity's defense would not be denied its near-perfect half and stuffed the play for no gain.

The ensuing drive started with back-to-back 11-yard gains from Williams, then nine yards on two carries by Morkovsky, and the short drive was ended on a three-yard TD by Jason Love (San Antonio, Texas / Brennan) that made it a 58-14 game. After another fourth-down play came up short inside their own 40, the Pirates once again left the Tigers with a short field. Morkovsky went three yards on the first play after that for Trinity, then Bishop exploded through the line for a 35-yard run to finish off the scoring and put an emphatic bow on the victory.

Up Next
The Tigers hit the road next weekend to face Berry College (GA), which is receiving votes in both Division III national polls, in a huge SAA showdown. That game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, October 11.