No. 21 Tiger Football heads to Georgia for a rematch against Berry College in the third round of the NCAA III Football Playoffs.
Last time out, the Tigers (10-1) defeated Hardin-Simmons 34-24 at home. Trinity pulled in front 20-7 late in the first half, but Hardin-Simmons rallied with a score with less than two minutes to the break and then scored again midway through the third to make it a 20-17 lead. The Tigers answered with a score of their own in the final minute of the third quarter, but the Cowboys continued to put the pressure on with another touchdown to make it a 27-24 game with over 12 minutes left. The defenses took over from there as both teams were unable to get on the board again until the final minute. That's when linebacker
TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) snagged a deflected pass and returned it 70 yards for a game-sealing touchdown with just 59 seconds to play. Quarterback
Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) had his best game for the Tigers, accounting for more than 350 yards of offense and three touchdowns. He completed 17-of-26 passes for 226 yards and a pair of scores, then ran 12 times for 125 yards and another TD.
Preview - Rematch
The Tigers will head to Mount Berry, Georgia to play against Berry College with kickoff set for 12:00 PM (ET) on Saturday, December 6th.
On the Berry Vikings: Berry enters the quarterfinal matchup with a 10-1 record after narrowly advancing past LaGrange College in round two, edging out an 18-14 victory. The Vikings' only loss came early in the season against nationally ranked Carnegie Mellon, a 17-9 setback on September 20—just their third game of the year. Since that defeat, no opponent has come within two scores of Berry, including Trinity in the regular-season meeting.
The Vikings have been dominant statistically, outscoring opponents 419-133 while holding teams to just 101.3 rushing yards per game. Offensively, senior running back Colby Sikes leads the ground attack with 576 yards and seven touchdowns. Berry's rushing threat expands further with backup quarterback Andrew Hunter, who has been one of the most productive red-zone runners in Division III. Hunter has recorded 107 carries for 513 yards and an eye-popping 17 touchdowns this season. Starting quarterback Christian Lewis directs the offense, completing 107-of-148 passes for 1,370 yards and nine touchdowns. His top target is Nate Lyons, who has hauled in 31 receptions for 445 yards and six scores.
Defensively, the Vikings rely heavily on their linebacker corps. Senior Christopher Lewis leads the team with 59 tackles and 7.5 tackles for loss, while fellow linebacker Cole Carver is close behind with 51 tackles and eight tackles for loss. In the secondary, defensive back Chaz Pope has been a turnover machine with four interceptions, and cornerback Steven Pickett anchors the coverage unit with seven pass breakups. Expect Pope and Pickett to prioritize bracketing Trinity receiver
Alejandro Tavarez, especially in passing downs.
In the regular-season meeting, Berry defeated Trinity 29-6, holding the Tigers to just 56 rushing yards and 178 passing yards. Historically, Trinity maintains a narrow 5-3 advantage in the all-time series, adding extra weight to this postseason showdown.
Looking Ahead
If the Tigers win, they will play the winner of John Carroll and Mount Union on December 13th.
