PUYALLUP, Wash. – The #19/23 Trinity University football team celebrated its first flight trip and its final non-conference game of the season with a 45-8 victory over the Pacific Lutheran University (WA) Lutes on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (3-0) followed up last weekend's 49-0 home-opening win over Belhaven University (MS) with another standout performance. Trinity produced 476 yards on offense with 188 rushing yards and 288 yards through the air. Defensively, the Tigers were stifling once again in allowing just 49 yards rushing and a paltry 201 yards total in the game.
Jaden Powell (Denton, Texas / Guyer) turned in a career performance with three interceptions and 67 yards of returns. His first two picks came in the second quarter, and both led to touchdowns for the Tiger offense. Powell snagged the first at the Trinity five yard line and returned it for a 95-yard touchdown, though it was called back for a penalty during the return. On the very next play for Pacific Lutheran, Powell forced another turnover and put Trinity in position to take a 31-0 lead at halftime. He is the ninth player in Tiger football history to record three interceptions in one game and he is the first since Kenny Brunette accomplished the feat against Centre College (KY) in 2001.
Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) enjoyed another incredibly efficient game, completing 21-of-27 through the air for 225 yards and four touchdowns – all of which are career-high numbers. He accomplished this despite playing just one series past halftime and leaving the game with a 38-0 lead. His 77.8% completion rate is tied for the 12th-best in school history (min. 20 completions).
Tyson Hancock (Smithville, Texas / Smithville) was his favorite target as Hancock finished with a career-high nine receptions to go with 107 yards receiving. This marks his second career 100-yard game and the first of the season for the Tigers.
Alejandro Tavarez (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) caught a pair of touchdowns in the game, finishing with five receptions for 71 yards.
Jackson Williams (Manor, Texas / New Tech) led the rushing effort that nearly topped 200 yards total in the game, finishing with 50 yards on just four carries.
Luke Sams (Jacksboro, Texas / Jacksboro) nearly matched that with 48 yards on four rushes, while
Xadrian Huerta (San Antonio, Texas / Jay) had seven carries for 40 yards and a touchdown.
Trinity had another incredibly balanced game on defense with
TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) leading the team with five tackles.
Judson Crockett (Austin, Texas / Westlake) was second with four stops and both Tigers also had a pass breakup.
Delvin Gantt (Burton, Texas / Burton) finished with four breakups on the day, while
Azriel Ngatcha (Irving, Texas / MacArthur) had three total tackles, 1.5 for loss and a forced fumble to boost the defensive total to four turnovers forced in the game.
The Rundown
As they have done each of the first two weeks, the Tigers took the opening kickoff of the game and struck first to force the opposition to play from behind. Franklin opened his afternoon with three straight completions to move the offense inside the PLU 40 yard line. He connected with Hancock for a 19-yard gain on third-and-11 shortly after that, and then on the eighth play of the drive he found Tavarez for a six-yard score to take the early 7-0 lead.
Trinity's defense gave up just 18 yards on the first possession for the Lutes and Franklin was slinging the ball again for the offense before he knew it. The Tigers converted two third downs on the drive, but stalled when an offensive pass interference pushed them back to the 31 yard line.
Hayden Rhoades (Grapevine, Texas / Grapevine) lined up and nailed a career-long 48-yard field goal that is tied for the fourth longest kick in school history. That score made it a 10-0 Trinity lead that held through the end of the fourth quarter.
A penalty against Trinity's defense kept it from forcing a three-and-out on the next Pacific Lutheran drive, which gained just four yards over six plays. A 42-yard punt resulted in a 31-yard return by
Lamont Nickleberry (Childress, Texas / Childress) that gave the offense a short field. That drive seeped into the early part of the second quarter but wound up with another touchdown for a 17-0 lead. Franklin hit Hancock for another third down conversion to make it fourth-and-goal from the six. The defense for the Lutes stiffened so close to its own goal line and left Trinity to face fourth-and-goal from the two. Instead of a chip-shot field goal, the Tigers gambled for the big score, and Franklin hit
Christian Fosbenner (Schertz, Texas / Steele) for a short TD pass to extend the lead.
Another big stand for the Trinity defense resulted in another punt by Pacific Lutheran, but this time the home team had the Tigers pinned inside the 10 yard line. The momentum really began the shift, though, when the Lutes forced the first turnover of the game with an interception that set them up inside the 20. That's when Powell stepped up for his first interception of the day, racing 95 yards for the score that was called back for a penalty. That still left Trinity in PLU territory and an early third-down conversion led to the Tigers finding their way into the end zone once again as Franklin hit
Sebastian Trevino (China Spring, Texas / China Spring) from 15 yards out for the score.
Pacific Lutheran got the ball back with just under two minutes to go in the half, but Powell stepped in front of another pass for his second pick of the day and put the offense back on the field just 31 yards from paydirt. Four plays later, they found the end zone as Franklin hooked up with Tavarez for the 14-yard score that led to Trinity's 38-0 halftime lead.
Trinity's defense took full advantage of the break and came out with another three-and-out series to start the third quarter. The Tiger offense also showed no signs of slowing down as Franklin engineered his final drive of the day. The scoring drive covered 64 yards in eight plays, including a 21-yard run by Huerta, and a fourth-and-one conversion by Trinity as
Johnny Milo (The Woodlands, Texas / Caney Creek) plowed a head for seven yards. Huerta rumbled ahead for a five-yard score on the next play and Trinity had a commanding 38-0 lead early in the third quarter.
Pacific Lutheran accounted for nearly half of its total yards in the game on the next drive, going 73 yards on nine plays to break up the shutout bid by the Tiger defense.
Welker Horn (Lubbock, Texas / Lubbock Christian) took over for Franklin under center and didn't skip a beat. He connected with Tavarez for a 33-yard reception to move past midfield, then Sams rushed for 22 more yards just two plays later to move inside the 15 yard line. Horn then hit Hancock for a short gain and found Tavarez for a 10 yard score to make it a 45-8 lead.
Determined to cut into the lead, Pacific Lutheran continued to fight and its next drive spilled into the fourth quarter as the Lutes drove the field. After a 16-yard gain put PLU just outside the red zone, Ngatcha forced a fumble to spoil the drive and give the ball back to his offense. Unfortunately, the Tigers couldn't do much with the ensuing possession and the Lutes had the ball back with just over 10 minutes left in the game. That's when Powell put the finishing touches on the win with his third interception of the day.
Up Next
Trinity heads into its bye week on a high note and will begin preparations for Southern Athletic Conference play. The Tigers will begin the conference schedule at home against Southwestern University (TX) on Saturday, October 4, at 1:00 p.m.
