SAN ANTONIO – The 11th-ranked Trinity University football team closed out its non-conference schedule with a 24-6 win over Pacific Lutheran University (WA) on Saturday night, highlighted by another stifling defense performance and a 197-yard rushing night for the Tiger offense.
Trinity (3-0) took a shutout into the final minute of the third quarter, building a 24-0 lead that was too much for the Lutes (1-2) to overcome. The Tiger defense held PLU to just 217 yards of total offense – including just 24 rushing yards on 13 carries. The lone touchdown allowed actually came on a play that Trinity forced a fumble inside its own five yard line, but the Lutes recovered and ran it in for what proved to be its only score. Trinity dominated time of possession by holding the ball for more than 40 minutes of the game.
Luke Sams (Jacksboro, Texas / Jacksboro) led the team in rushing with 63 yards on 10 carries, with
Jamel Nickerson (Cypress, Texas / Cy-Fair) piling up 55 yards and a touchdown on 12 rushes.
Jason Love (San Antonio, Texas / Brennan) also had 52 yards on 13 carries, while QB
Welker Horn (Lubbock, Texas / Lubbock Christian) also ran for a score. Horn and
Hondo Franklin (Allen, Texas / Lovejoy) combined for 130 yards passing in the game and Franklin connected with
Chase Ravain (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's School) for a touchdown pass.
Diego Davila (Spring Branch, Texas / Smithson Valley) finished with eight tackles that included two sacks and a forced fumble.
TJ Scannell (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) led the team with nine stops and a pair of QB hurries.
Judson Crockett (Austin, Texas / Westlake) had his third blocked punt of the season while also recording four tackles and an interception.
The Rundown
The defense reigned supreme to start the game as neither offense was able to move the ball for the first several possessions, despite some good field position at times. Pacific Lutheran had the first real chance of the opening quarter after a third-down sack forced Trinity to punt from inside the five yardline. The Lutes took over near midfield and drove into the red zone, but the Tiger defense stiffened and forced a 33-yard field goal. The kick missed and Trinity took over with less than two minutes left in the first quarter. Horn converted a third down just before the quarter ended and the offense was finally getting some traction. The Tigers converted two more third downs and a fourth down from the PLU 19 yardline, carrying the momentum into the first score of the game. A penalty moved the ball inside the 10 and Horn powered to the end zone three plays later to make it 6-0.
Trinity's drive chewed up more than seven minutes in the second quarter, leaving the Lutes just two offensive drives the rest of the half. Pacific Lutheran answered Trinity's scoring drive with a good drive of its own, making its way into the red zone once again; but, the Tiger defense held up and the Lutes eventually turned the ball over on downs. Trinity took over at its own 29 with just under five minutes left until halftime. Horn connected with Love for a 26-yard pass on the second play and the Tigers were quickly across midfield. Trinity cashed in on another fourth-down play shortly after as Sams ran for a 28-yard gain to PLU's 12 yardline. Horn hit Ravain for a short pass on the next play, and Ravain powered his way through defenders to find the end zone. Trinity had a successful two-point conversion pass from Horn to
Bryce Altrudo (Austin, Texas / Vandegrift), and the Tigers led 14-0 with under two minutes left in the quarter. The Lutes went into their two-minute offense and marched to the Tiger 30 yardline, but essentially ran out of time and the teams headed to the locker room with Trinity leading 14-0.
Trinity got the ball to start the third quarter and promptly marched down inside the PLU 20 before stalling. The Lutes got a big third-down sack to end the drive and the Tigers settled fro a 37-yard field goal from
Jackson Runyan (Frisco, Texas / Rick Reedy) to push the lead to 17-0. Pacific Lutheran's first drive of the second half stalled near midfield and Crockett blocked the ensuing punt. The Tigers took over at the Lutes' 45 and took full advantage of the short field. Five different Trinity players ran the ball on the drive and Nickerson covered the last 12 yards - including a five-yard TD run that gave Trinity a comfortable 24-0 lead. Pacific Lutheran ran for a 20-yard gain to start its next drive and then had a long pass play that ended up as a touchdown. Davila forced a fumble inside the five yardline on the play, but PLU recovered the loose ball and took it in for the score. The two-point conversion failed and the score was 24-6 with less than a minute left in the quarter.
Trinity had just one play before the game shifted to the final quarter. The Tiger offense stalled just outside the red zone and Runyan's 39-yard field goal attempt was blocked. After a quick three-and-out, Trinity's offense took over again near midfield where the Lutes had a sack-fumble that could have changed the game completely. Pacific Lutheran took over at the Trinity 22 and immediately went for a big pass play, but Crockett stepped in front of the pass and intercepted the ball inside the 10 yardline. After narrowly escaping a costly turnover, the Tigers took over with 9:36 to go in the game. The Lutes never got another chance to cut into the lead as Trinity's offense ran out the clock from there to seal the victory.
Up Next
Trinity has its bye week next weekend, then will open Southern Athletic Association play with defending conference champion Berry College (GA). Berry is ranked 13th in last week's AFCA Division III poll and 15th in the D3football.com poll.
