close

Trinity ends season on winning note

4 min read
article image -

The last week of the high school football season features plenty of matchups of teams trying to make the playoffs or trying to improve their postseason seeding.

That wasn’t the case Friday night when Laurel Highlands visited Trinity.

Though both teams were long out of the playoff race, each still had something to play for – simply to finish the season on a high note with some momentum to build upon for next season.

Because of a few big plays by its special teams and defense, Trinity will enter the offseason feeling a little better about itself after defeating Laurel Highlands 42-14 in a Big Eight Conference game at Hiller Field.

“This is the first time all season we’ve had our full complement of players,” Trinity head coach Jon Miller said. “I think we showed the growth the kids have made. They played hard and I’m really happy we could send the seniors out on a high note.”

The Mustangs (1-6, 3-7) got things started with an impressive 14-play, 86-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard run from Cheikh Dossou that gave Laurel Highlands a 7-0 first-quarter lead. Every play in the drive was a run as the Mustangs featured a heavy dose of quarterback Conner Basinger, who carried 11 times. Basinger finished the night with 137 rushing yards on 24 carries. Dossou gained 130 yards on 21 carries with a pair of touchdowns.

“We got off to a nice start, but mistakes killed us,” said Laurel Highlands head coach Jacob Just. “You can’t make mistakes over and over and expect to win a football game.”

After the first drive, it was all Trinity (2-5, 2-7) as the Hillers’ special teams made an impact.

Kyle Gonzales took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown to tie the score at 7-7. The Hillers forced a Mustangs three-and-out on their next possession and Gonzales made another splash play by blocking a punt that set up a Trinity first-and-goal at the five-yard line.

Two plays later, Trinity’s Drew Cain took a pitch and scored from three yards to give the Hillers a 14-7 lead.

“We changed our kickoff return coming into the week,” Miller said. “We thought we could hit one there. The special teams helped give us momentum.”

Cain found the end zone for the second time in the half, scoring from seven yards to make it 21-7. The drive was extended by a pair of personal fouls by the Mustangs, a pass interference and a roughing the passer call, each coming on third down.

The Trinity special teams struck again when Cameron Moran recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. A 42-yard pass from Kaden Kolson to Cole Bair set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Caleb Negley, which gave the Hillers a commanding 28-7 second-quarter lead.

Laurel Highlands put together a couple of second-quarter drives, but they ended with lost fumbles, recovered by Trinity’s Peyton Thompson and Austin Beels.

“We had a kickoff return for a touchdown a punt blocked and a ton of turnovers,” Just said. “We just aren’t going to win that way. They made plays when they had to, but it was more about what we didn’t do. We should never allow a kick for a touchdown. They don’t have a 4.5 speed guy back there. You have to make plays and play your position. When you don’t, things like that happen.”

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Kolson hit Moran with a 25-yard touchdown pass. Kolson completed only four of 19 pass attempts but threw for 101 yards. He threw a touchdown, was intercepted twice and caught a 42-yard pass.

Trinity’s Bair returned an LH fumble 15 yards for a touchdown that made it 42-7. It was the Mustangs’ fourth lost fumble.

“Our defense responded nicely,” Miller said. “They took it to us on that first drive, but we hung in there and forced some turnovers and made a lot of plays. That helped get the offense going. We are going to enjoy this tonight and sometime in the next couple of months we will start working on next season with this young group.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $3.75/week.

Subscribe Today