SEWANEE, Tenn. – The 22nd-ranked Trinity University football team secured its fourth straight win by defeating the University of the South 32-3 in Southern Athletic Association action on Saturday afternoon.

The TU Tigers (7-1, 4-1) scored in all four quarters to extend their winning streak, holding Sewanee (3-5, 1-4) scoreless until its final drive of the game. Trinity held Sewanee to just 218 yards of offense in the game, giving up only 104 yards through the air, and forcing three turnovers. Meanwhile, the offense piled up 482 yards overall and 324 yards through the air.

Quarterback Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) completed 16-of-23 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for another score, and catching a 51-yard pass from fellow QB Collin Bishop (Childress, Texas / Childress). Receivers Lamont Nickleberry (Childress, Texas / Childress) and Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) combined for 11 catches for 185 yards and a pair of scores. Nickleberry had six receptions for 90 yards and Tavarez finished with 95 yards on five receptions. Tyson Hancock (Smithville, Texas / Smithville) had two catches for 52 yards that included a 45-yard touchdown reception. Xadrian Huerta (San Antonio, Texas / Jay) rushed nine times for 45 yards to lead the team, with Johnny Milo (The Woodlands, Texas / Caney Creek) adding 37 yards on just four carries.

Defensively, Trinity was led by a career-high 12 tackles from Dorien Hill (Buda, Texas / Hays), which included 1.5 tackles for loss. TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) finished with 2.0 tackles for loss among his seven stops, while Jonathan Nwobodo (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point) had 2.5 tackles for a loss of 11 yards, and both players combined on a pair of sacks. Jaden Powell (Denton, Texas / Guyer), Delvin Gantt (Burton, Texas / Burton), and Kody Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Harlan) all had interceptions in the game. Powell and Brown lead the team with four picks each, with Gantt picking up his second of the season.

The Rundown
Trinity got the ball on the opening kickoff and Milo got the offense going with a 25-yard run on the second play from scrimmage. The drive stalled inside the Sewanee 40, though, and the home team got a fourth-down stop with a sack to take over. The teams then traded punts for most of the first quarter until Trinity took over at its own 22 with just over four minutes left. The drive started with a trick play as Bishop hit Franklin for a 51-yard pass play that put Trinity inside the Sewanee 30. After a short completion by Franklin, Huerta ran three times for 19 yards to the Sewanee one yard line. Franklin then punched it in from there for the touchdown and a 7-0 lead with less than two minutes left in the opening period.

After a couple of positive plays, Trinity's defense ruined the next drive with back-to-back negative plays. Nwobodo and Scannell combined for a sack to end the first quarter, then Nwobodo got another tackle for loss to start the second, and Sewanee had to punt. The Trinity offense stalled just across midfield after going for it on fourth down again, putting Sewanee's back on the field. Sewanee started with a long 44-yard pass play to reach the red zone, but three plays later Powell jumped the next play and snagged a drive-killing interception to swing momentum back to the TU Tigers.

The ensuing Trinity drive covered 30 yards on seven plays, but the team came up short on another fourth-down play. Neither team moved the ball much after that as both defenses took control. Trinity took over for its final drive of the half at the two-minute timeout and the offense was able to extend the lead. A third-down pass interference call kept the drive going, then Franklin hit Hankock for a beautiful 45-yard touchdown pass to make it 13-0. Nwobodo and Hill started the Sewanee drive with a tackle for loss and the home team went to the locker room facing a 13-0 deficit to Trinity at the half.

Sewanee took the opening kickoff and put together an 18-play, 73-yard drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes, but failed to produce any points. That's because the Trinity defense stood strong and held on first-and-goal from the nine. Sewanee made it to the three yard line, but was stuffed by Jackson Priesmeyer (Sugar Land, Texas / Strake Jesuit) for no gain on third down, and then dropped for a loss on fourth down to give the ball back to the Trinity. After two runs by Huerta, Franklin connected with Tavarez for a 51-yard pass play to move into Sewanee territory. Two plays later, the duo was at it again – this time for a 31-yard touchdown that made it a 19-0 lead following a failed two-point conversion attempt.

The ensuing Sewanee drive came up short of midfield and the TU Tigers took over with less than a minute left in the third quarter. A Sewanee sack on third down kept Trinity from moving the ball on its drive and Sewanee got the ball back with plenty of time to attempt a comeback. Trinity's defense had other plans, though. The opening play was a fumble and a seven-yard loss that was recovered by Sewanee. The next was an interception that was called back for a penalty, but then the relentless unit got its turnover as Gantt picked off a long pass that put the Trinity offense back on the field at its own 37. The result was a five-play drive that finished with Franklin hitting Nickleberry for a 35-yard score that made it a 26-0 game with 9:24 remaining.

Trinity's defense collected its third turnover of the game on the next drive as Brown picked off the first pass of the drive and returned it 29 yards to set his offense up 34 yards from paydirt. It took just three plays for another score as backup QB Welker Horn (Lubbock, Texas / Lubbock Christian) ran for 11 yards and a first down, Jackson Williams (Manor, Texas / New Tech) gained seven yards on the second play, and then Luke Sams (Jacksboro, Texas / Jacksboro) ran it in for a 16-yard score to make it 32-0. Sewanee ruined the shutout on its final possession, driving 64 yards on nine plays and settling for a 38-yard field goal to account for the final score. Trinity then picked up two first downs on offense to run out the clock and seal the win.

Up Next
Trinity returns home for its final regular season home game, hosting Millsaps College (MS) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 8.