PREP FOOTBALL: Trinity holds off ACA for key win
Trinity quarterback Patton Mitchell avoids the tackle of ACA’s Bryson Dabney in Friday’s game at John Mark Stallings Field at Faulkner University. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
After driving down the field with a punishing offensive attack, Alabama Christian took over on its 2-yard line following a punt, determined to take the lead.
Instead, Trinity linebacker Drew Sanders was there to punch the ball free from ACA running back Micah Merritt and fall on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown, one of six turnovers suffered by the Eagles in a 29-15 setback at John Mark Stallings Field on Friday night.
“To be honest with you, if they don’t turn the ball over, they probably win the football game,” Trinity coach Brian Seymore said. “I thought they outplayed us, I thought they outcoached us, I thought they did a good job of preparation, I didn’t think we were real physical, I thought they were more physical. I’m very disappointed in how we played for four quarters. Thank God we got the turnovers.
“We got two early touchdowns. We came out and did what we were supposed to do, then we started cadillacking and acting like we’ve arrived. We’re not a good-enough team to just think we can show up and beat people. Next week, it’s not about who we play, it’s how we prepare.”
Alabama Christian, coming off a beating at Montgomery Academy the previous week, was prepared to take on the Wildcats but couldn’t keep from making critical mistakes with at least one turnover in every quarter.
“What I saw from our team is we’re good enough and we’re good enough to win,” first-year ACA coach J.L. Dockins said. “The only thing that’s stopping us right now is our own mistakes. Trinity’s a very good football team, they’re well coached, they’ve got good football players. We lost tonight because of us and the sooner we can start believing in ourselves a little more and not play as timid, be more aggressive and understand we are good enough, we’ve got the guys in the locker room to win and win right now.”
Trinity executed its offense perfectly on the first possession, using a 55-yard pass from Patton Mitchell to Mackin Roth for a quick 7-0 lead. Three plays later, Land Sharpless stepped in front of a Mason Henry pass and returned the interception to the ACA 26 to set up Mitchell’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Roth to cap a two-play drive and give the Wildcats a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.
The rout was on, or at least it seemed. Both teams traded interceptions and a promising Trinity drive fizzled after a penalty and a sack early in the second quarter. From there, the game turned physical, at least on one side, as the Eagles lined up in Wildcat formation and pounded Trinity on an 11-play drive that featured 10 runs, including a Merritt 13-yard rumble to the end zone that ran through three sets of Trinity defenders.
“They hit us straight in the mouth,” Seymore said. “We’re going to get a lot of that the rest of the year until we understand how to step our game up and learn to take it on and be more physical.
Eight of the plays, including the touchdown, were in Wildcat formation, featuring a direct snap to the running back. A two-point conversion by Merritt followed as Trinity seemed incapable of slowing down the Eagles.
“We didn’t have any of their Wildcat set in practice,” Sanders said. “We hadn’t seen that all week so we came out here and they were just running it down our throat for a little bit there. We got bailed out a lot by turnovers throughout the game.”
Trinity’s next possession lasted just three plays, followed by a Sharpless punt that was downed on the ACA 2-yard line. On the next play, Merritt bobbled the snap, then lost the ball at the goal line as he was hit by Sanders.
“I was on a bliz and kind of slipped in the end zone,” Sanders said. “I looked up and the ball was sitting there on the ground. I jumped on it and scored a touchdown.”
The play gave the momentum back to the Wildcats, who now owned a 21-8 halftime lead.
“Huge,” Seymore said. “There’s no doubt the defense bailed us out. But I’ll be honest, I thought our rush defense at times was very, very shady and it’s very concerning, moving forward.”
After a scoreless third quarter, Trinity received another gift when ACA quarterback Mason Henry was sacked by Reed Bledsoe. Henry’s fumble was recovered by the Wildcats on the ACA 1-yard line and Bledsoe scored on the next play for a 29-8 lead.
ACA would score once more out of Wildcat formation, but the Eagles didn’t have the luxury of taking their time in a run-dominated offense.
“Once it got to be three scores, it was tough to stay in it because the clock becomes your enemy as well,” Dockins said. “We had some success in it, we also had some guys in that package that ended up having to take some plays off because of an injury fix on the sideline. But it was something we had success in and something the guys really enjoy getting into.”
Merritt led all rushers with 93 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Henry completed 8 of 14 passes for 60 yards, but was intercepted three times.Defensively, Mekhi Gardner, Levin Summers and LaDarius Walters all had seven tackles to lead ACA (1-3, 0-2 in region play).
Brandon Boswell and Tristan Wright each had 54 yards to lead Trinity (3-1, 2-0). Mitchell completed 3 of 12 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns but was intercepted once. Defensively, Wilson Cherry had 11 tackles and an interception, Sanders had 10 tackles and a fumble recovery and Sharpless had three interceptions.
Both teams will be home for region games next week, with ACA playing Prattville Christian and Trinity playing Fort Dale.
“We just need to go through practices not acting like we’re coming out here and beating a team just because we think we’re better than them,” Sanders said. “We need to respect our opponents more.”