FLAG FOOTBALL: Catholic wins 12th-straight with shutout of Trinity

Trinity quarterback Emory Causey tries to avoid the pressure of Catholic’s Zariyah Thomas in Tuesday’s game at Ragsdale-Boykin Field. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

Neither Catholic nor Trinity seemed mentally prepared for Tuesday’s flag football game at Ragsdale-Boykin Field.

The game quickly got out of hand as Catholic returned two interceptions for touchdowns and used an interception to set up another touchdown in a 33-0 victory over the Wildcats.

All of the points were scored in the first half of a game that was recently added to the schedule. And while the final score is similar to the 40-6 meeting between the two teams on Sept. 30, that game was 14-6 at the half as Trinity attacked with short passes to maintain possession and keep the game close.

This time, Catholic players knew what was coming and those short passes were often incomplete or intercepted.

“We knew who their ‘go-tos’ were and we’ve worked the last couple of days trying to take those options away,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said. “We started off slow and we’ve still got a lot to work out, but we also have been out for fall break. To have been off a couple of days and then come back and play, I’m content wit how they played.”

Catholic (17-4) won its 12th consecutive game and will have nearly two weeks off before returning to action on Nov. 4 in the first round of the 1A-5A state playoffs against Loachapoka.  

A 38-yard punt return to the Trinity 7-yard line by Haley Ishman set up Catholic’s first touchdown on the next play, a scramble by quarterback Hayden Fitts and a conversion pass to Avery Sadler for a 7-0 lead.

On the final play of the first quarter, Addi Little intercepted a Emory Causey pass to set up Fitts’ fourth-down touchdown pass to Ishman and the conversion pass to Sadler for a 14-0 lead.

Five plays later, Causey threw left for Marley Sharpless near the Catholic goal line but found Fitts instead, who returned the interceptiion 74 yards for a 20-0 lead.

Trinity’s next possession lasted just three plays before Ishman’s 11-yard interception return to the Trinity 21 set up Fitts’ 10-yard touchdown run four plays later.

On the next play from scrimmage, Maggie McNeely's 35-yard interception return gave the Knights a 33-0 lead with 1:46 remaining in the first half.

“For the last couple of weeks, this is how it’s been,” Trinity coach Clinton Adams said. “They’re not engaged in what we’re trying to accomplish. When you start off slow and a team (you’re playing) is locked in, it can get crazy real fast and that’s what happened today.”

Fitts rushed for 44 yards and a pair of touchdowns on four carries, completed 5 of 15 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown and returned an interception for another touchdown. Ishman caught three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown and added two tackles and an interception on defense.

Defensively, Zariyah Thomas had four tackles, including a pair of sacks, and broke up a pass, while McNeely had four stops, broke up a pass and returned an interception for a touchdown.

 Causey completed 13 of 35 passes for 163 yards but was intercepted four times. Emma Rose Meldrum had eight receptions for 88 yards, while Rebi McLemore had two for 46 yards and Sharpless had two for 18 yards.

Defensively, Maggie Stephens had four stops, including a sack, and Emory Harris had three.

Trinity wrapped up its inaugural season with a 5-5 record, which Adams described “like a crazy rollercoaster. One week, you’re up here and you’re like, ‘Man, I think we’ve got something figured out.’ Then the next week, you’re at rock bottom and it’s like, ‘We’ve got to try something different.’ I just think with the learning curve of the game, you can talk about stuff but when you get out here and they have to process what you’ve been talking about, it’s a lot different.”