SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity University football team delivered an exceptional performance in its 2025 home opener, defeating Belhaven University (MS) with a 49-0 shutout.

The Tigers (2-0) were dominating on both sides of the ball, piling up 462 yards of total offense and the defense limited the Blazers (1-1) to a paltry 104 yards. The defense allowed just 21 yards rushing, forced three turnovers, and scored a touchdown on an interception return. That doesn't count another pick-six that was called back due to a penalty. Trinity scored 21 points in both the first and second quarters to take a 42-0 lead by halftime. This was Trinity's first shutout since defeating Millsaps College (MS) 63-0 in 2023, and the Tigers have won each of the two meetings with Belhaven by 45 or more points.

Quarterback Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) completed 16-of-21 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns despite playing in just the first half of the game. Xae Huerta (San Antonio, Texas / Jay) led the team with 61 yards rushing on just seven carries, while Johnny Milo (The Woodlands, Texas / Caney Creek) finished with 47 yards rushing and a touchdown on six totes, and Jack Kayser (Austin, Texas / Westlake) had 45 yards on eight rushes and scored the game's only second-half touchdown. Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) had five receptions for 60 yards and a score, and Lamont Nickleberry (Childress, Texas / Childress) and Tyson Hancock (Smithville, Texas / Smithville) also caught touchdown passes in the game.

Six different defensive players led a balanced Tiger effort with four tackles each. Diego Davila (Spring Branch, Texas / Smithson Valley) recorded his first career sack, but it was fellow freshman Kody Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Harlan) that really stood out. Brown recorded a pair of interceptions in the game, piling up 53 return yards, and scoring his first career touchdown.

The Rundown
After Belhaven won the toss and deferred, Trinity went 75 yards on just six plays on the opening drive, putting up a quick touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Huerta ran three times for 27 yards and also drew two facemask penalties to chew up another 30 yards. Franklin hit Nickleberry for an 11-yard touchdown to put the finishing touches on the scoring drive.

Despite going three-and-out, Belhaven thought they had Trinity pinned after their punter uncorked a 58-yard kick, but Nickleberry gained nearly all of the yardage back with a 53-yard punt return to flip the field back in favor of the Tigers. The offense took advantage of the short field, driving 46 yards in eight plays to score again near the halfway point of the quarter. Maddox Morkovsky (New Braunfels, Texas / New Braunfels) blasted through the middle of the line for a one-yard score to finish the drive.

Belhaven went for it on fourth-and-one to keep its next drive going and moved near midfield. That's when Brown intercepted a deflected pass and returned it into Belhaven territory. Another penalty moved Trinity even further into the visitor's end of the field, leaving the Tiger offense just 27 yards from paydirt. Franklin hit Huerta for a touchdown three plays later, but a holding penalty near the goal line brought the score back. Undeterred, Franklin found his favorite target one more time – this time from seven yards out and a score that counted, making it a 21-0 game with 37 seconds left in the quarter.

The Blazers had just one first down and 28 yards in the first quarter, but the second quarter would not be much better. The Tiger defense forced another three-and-out and then blocked the ensuing punt for good measure. Trinity scored again just over three minutes later, with Franklin completing three straight passes and Huerta breaking an 18-yard run to put the Tigers inside the 10. Franklin found Hancock open just across the goal line from eight yards out and the lead was 28-0 with more than 11 minutes still left in the half.

After another three-and-out put the ball back in Trinity's hands, the Tigers were stalled across midfield and had a rare empty possession. Belhaven punted again on its next drive and looked to have caught a break after causing a fumble on the return; however, Trinity fell on the ball albeit inside its own 20 and facing a long field for the first time since the opening drive. Franklin found Tavarez and Nickleberry for back-to-back third-down conversions on the drive and then Milo wrapped things up with a 30-yard scamper to make it a 35-0 game with less than a minute showing on the clock. The very next snap for Belhaven resulted in Brown's second interception of the night, which was returned 30 yards for another score just 12 seconds after Milo's long run. The quarter ended with just one more Belhaven first down and just eight yards gained.

The second half was only similar to the first in that the Tiger defense was unrelenting. Trinity pulled some of its starters after halftime and the offense slowed with the game well in hand. The final scoring drive of the night came on Trinity's first chance in the fourth quarter and was a masterful ground game drive that lasted 12 plays and burned 6:29 off the clock. Kayser did most of the damage with 32 yards rushing and put the finishing touches on the game with a two-yard plunge to account for the final 49-0 score.

Up Next
Trinity will be back on the road to take on Pacific Lutheran University (WA) at 12:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, September 20. That will take the Tigers into the bye week before returning home to begin the Southern Athletic Association schedule.