MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The 22nd-ranked Trinity University football team finished off its regular season schedule with a 31-14 Southern Athletic Association road win over Maryville College (TN) on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers (9-1, 6-1) scored twice in the first quarter and led 24-0 at the half over the Scots (7-3, 4-3). Trinity racked up 326 yards on offense, while the defense gave up just 258 total yards and a meager 66 yards rushing. This was the first meeting between the two schools.

Quarterback Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) completed 15-of-23 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown, while fellow quarterback Collin Bishop (Childress, Texas / Childress) led the Tigers with 71 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 17 carries. Running back Johnny Milo (The Woodlands, Texas / Caney Creek) gained 34 yards on 12 rushes and scored his third touchdown in the last two games. Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) finished with a team-high 88 yards receiving and a score on four catches, while Lamont Nickleberry (Childress, Texas / Childress) piled up 120 all-purpose yards with 67 yards receiving (on seven receptions), 34 yards on kickoff returns, and 19 yards on punt returns as well.

TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) led the defense with 13 tackles – his second straight game in double figures – and a forced fumble. Jaden Powell (Denton, Texas / Guyer) just missed double digits with nine stops of his own. Trinity's defense had 7.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks in the game, led by Wakil Mateen (San Antonio, Texas / Brennan) and his 2.0 sacks for a loss of 23 yards. Also picking up sacks were Azriel Ngatcha (Irving, Texas / MacArthur), Jonathan Nwobodo (Missouri City, Texas / Ridge Point), and Jackson Priesmeyer (Sugar Land, Texas / Strake Jesuit). Dorien Hill (Buda, Texas / Hays) picked up the only turnover of the day for the Tigers, recovering the fumble forced by Scannell.

The Rundown
The Tigers and Scots both went three-and-out on their first drives of the game, but Trinity drove 80 yards on just seven plays to get on the board on its next opportunity. Nickleberry caught a couple of passes for 26 yards early in the drive and a Maryville pass interference penalty moved the ball into Scots territory. Franklin found Tavarez for a 29-yard score three plays later to make it 7-0.
After the next Maryville drive, the home team had just -9 yards on its first two drives of the game. The Tigers made it to midfield before stalling, but had to punt and pinned the Scots at their own 12 yard line. That wound up being pivotal as the Trinity defense once again forced another negative-yardage drive and the ensuing punt traveled just 38 yards, then Nickleberry cut that in half with a 19-yard return to put the Trinity offense on the field just 27 yards from the end zone. Four plays later, it was 14-0 Tigers on a one-yard run by Bishop. Franklin also had a 24-yard run in the drive to set up first-and-goal from the three.

Maryville got a first down for the first time in the game on the next drive, but that drive also ended after just five plays as Scannell forced a fumble shy of midfield and Trinity once again took over in Maryville territory. The ensuing drive moved the game into the second quarter and it took less than three minutes for the Tigers to add to the lead. That came from the foot of Jackson Runyan (Frisco, Texas / Rick Reedy), who connected on a 47-yard field goal to make it 17-0 with 12 minutes left.

Another three-and-out for Trinity's defense gave the Tigers another shot to light up the scoreboard, which came after six plays and 63 yards. Franklin and Tavarez covered most of that with a 42-yard pass play that set up first-and-goal. Two plays later, Milo was in from four yards out and the lead ballooned to 24-0 with nearly half the quarter remaining.

Maryville moved into Trinity territory for the first time on its next drive, but Nwobodo ruined the momentum for the Scots with a seven-yard sack. Trinity committed its first turnover after that to put the home team's offense back on the field at the Tiger 35; however, the Tiger defense was up to the task after the sudden change, allowing just eight yards and ending with a missed field goal to end the half.

The second half began with Maryville finally finding some positive yardage against the stingy Trinity defense, covering 75 yards on 14 plays and taking up more than eight minutes of the third quarter. The first Tiger drive of the second half featured a steady diet of Bishop run plays. He carried eight times on the drive before the quarter ended with Trinity facing fourth-and-goal from the Scots six yard line. After the changeover for the final quarter, he ran it again for a first down, then added two more runs to cover the final four yards to make it a 31-7 game. By the end, Bishop had 11 runs for 47 yards and ran the ball for eight consecutive plays.

Trinity's defense employed the bend-but-don't-break style on the next drive for Maryville, which reached the Tiger red zone, but an incomplete pass on fourth down ended the threat. Trinity's second turnover of the day led to the second touchdown of the day for the Scots, making it a 31-14 game; but with less than three minutes left in the game, there wouldn't be time for a comeback. After two first downs, the Tigers were able to run out the clock and seal the victory.

Up Next
Trinity will await a possible bid to the NCAA Playoffs, which will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, November 16, at 5:00 p.m. (ET).