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| TJ Scannell leads Trinity (Texas) in tackles, is second in tackles for loss and sacks, and recorded his first interception of the season to seal the second round win vs. Hardin-Simmons on Saturday. Trinity (Texas) athletics photo by Kaleem Howard |
By Joe Sager
D3sports.com
It’s very rare for a sequel to be better than the original.
Trinity hopes this time is the exception when the Tigers (10-1) visit Berry (10-1) on Saturday for a third round matchup in the Division III NCAA playoffs.
The Vikings handled Trinity, 29-6, on Oct. 11 in a Southern Athletic Association battle. The Tigers were limited to 234 yards (56 on the ground) in that setback.
“They are a great team and we are super excited to play them again. We’ve kind of had a bad taste in our mouths after that first game,” Trinity quarterback Hondo Franklin said. “We don’t need to make it bigger than it is, though. They are the next team on the schedule. We just have to prepare really well and play some of our best football this week. If we go out and play our best football, it doesn’t matter who we are playing — we’ll beat anyone.”
The loss stung Trinity. It knew there was no margin for error after the loss so early in its SAA season.
“It was a good wakeup call — it put our guys on notice. We lost to a really, really talented Berry team and we knew we had to take care of our business and win out. We’ve kind of been in playoff mode since that game and I think our guys responded well.”
The Tigers closed the regular season with five wins and enjoyed a week off before stopping Hardin-Simmons, 34-24, last week.
“The bye week really helped us,” Trinity linebacker T.J. Scannell said. “I think last week was a great game. Hardin-Simmons is a great team and it was another great opportunity for us to protect our home turf and play in front of our fans in our stadium.”
Scannell put the game away when he grabbed a deflected pass and raced 70 yards for a score in the fourth quarter.
“It was a cool thing, but I think that play speaks to us as a defense,” he said. “We had guys in all three levels making an impact on that play. So, it was just a great play for the defense.”
The win guaranteed another week together as a team, which is the ultimate goal for Trinity.
“When you have a great team and a great coaching staff like we do, why wouldn’t want you to still be around and be one of the few teams still going? It’s great to see our hard work is paying off,” Franklin said. “Being the only ones on campus Thanksgiving break and having that extra time with the coaches and teammates was great. You got to know them on personal level.
“Winning a playoff football game is awesome, especially how we played,” he continued. “We played one of our best games as a team. I can’t wait to see how we play this week.”
Since nearly two months have passed since that first meeting at Berry, the teams are a little different.
“They are very well-coached and they have improved a lot,” Scannell said. “But, it’s a new season. It just comes down to them playing their best ball and same with us.”
Still, the familiarity factor is there in that the Tigers aren’t entering a totally unknown venue against a brand-new opponent.
“That’s a tremendous team. We know they are going to bring it for 60 minutes. We know how well-coached their guys are,” head coach Jerheme Urban said. “Whether it’s Week 1 or Week 13, at the end of the day, you have to do you well. They’ve done them well a whole lot. It’s not every day you get a second crack at a team. It’s just two teams that are very hungry with young men who leave it all on the field every day. It’s two great programs battling it out. Whoever wins will be a great representative of our conference in the quarterfinals. It will definitely be a battle this weekend.”