Trinity makes the plays, breaks into win column
Trinity players celebrate a touchdown against Ringgold Friday night at Hiller Field.
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Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Trinity’s Marquese Lacks makes the catch into the end zone for a touchdown as Ringgold’s Desmir Tyree is close behind Friday at Hiller Field.
trinityfootball
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
Ringgold QB Jacob Duncan gets sacked by Trinity’s Tyson Brophy during the game at Hiller Field Friday.
Ringgold’s Tyler Buzlka picks up yards against Trinity’s Tyson Brophy during the game at Trinity at Hiller Field on Friday Sept. 14, 2018.
Ringgold’s Wyatt Nicklow fights for the pass with Trinity’s Cameron Moran during the game at Trinity at Hiller Field on Friday Sept. 14, 2018.
Both teams are young and rebuilding and have taken their licks early on this season.
Entering Friday night, the Ringgold Rams had been outscored 158-0 in their opening three losses to Chartiers Valley, Thomas Jefferson and Indiana.
The Trinity Hillers had been outscored 88-13 in their opening two losses to Greensburg Salem and West Mifflin.
The good news about Friday night’s matchup is that one team was going to get a win.
On the backs of several big plays early on, the Hillers built a big lead and rode their defense to their first victory of the season, defeating the visiting Rams 47-6.
“We talked about wanting to come out and set the tempo and have some positive things happen,” said head coach Jon Miller. “I think it’s big for a young team to get off to a good start and we came out and made some big plays.”
Mistakes cost Ringgold (0-3,0-4) all night, whether it was penalties, turnovers or missed assignments.
“Mistakes summed it up,” said Ringgold head coach Mike Zmijanac. “We’re just not as good as the teams we have been playing. We aren’t afraid to go out and hit people, but we just aren’t as talented as the teams we are playing.”
After a first down on their first series, Ringgold was forced to punt, which rolled inside the Trinity 20-yard line. A procedure penalty forced Ringgold to punt again and Trinity’s Cameron Moran made the Rams pay with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown to make it 7-0.
Trinity (1-2, 1-2) forced a Ringgold three-and-out on the next series and on their first play from scrimmage, Hillers quarterback Kaden Kolson hit Marquese Lacks with a 47-yard touchdown pass to quickly make it a 13-0 game.
“We played well,” said Miller. “Other than a mistake here or there, it really was a complete 48 minutes for us. Getting the early lead helped us settle down.”
Trinity added on in the first quarter when fullback Peyton Thompson scored from two yards out on a dive play to make it 20-0.
On the ensuing possession, Ringgold got on the scoreboard for the first time this season when Tyler Buzalka took a pitch and raced 61 yards for a touchdown to make it a 20-6 game after one quarter. Buzalka finished with 90 yards rushing on 13 carries.
“We are appreciative of little positives right now,” Zmijanac said. “Getting in the end zone for the first time is a positive. Tyler ran the ball hard.”
Other than that, the Trinity defense held the Ringgold offense in check the rest of the night and made some big plays of its own, including a 75-yard interception return for a touchdown from Kolson to make it 27-6.
On the night, the Hillers intercepted two passes, recovered a fumble and sacked Ringgold quarterback Jacob Duncan twice.
Moran added a first-half interception, Kenny Ealy recovered a fumble and added a sack and Avery Kern also got a first-half sack for Trinity.
“For a group that’s been pretty bad the first couple weeks and given up a lot of points, I thought we played well defensively.” Miller said. “It was great to see them come out and play aggressively and have some fun. It says a lot about their attitude to come out here and give a performance like that after the way things went the first two weeks.”
Thompson and Michah Finley added third quarter touchdown runs for the Hillers. Finley finished with 151 yards rushing on 13 carries, scoring on runs of 25 and five yards.
“We ran the ball really well,” added Miller. “The offensive line was fantastic and both Michah and Peyton ran hard and were patient, which was big.”
The Hillers will look to make it two wins in a row when they travel to face Thomas Jefferson next Friday. Ringgold will look to get in the win column for the first time this season when the Rams host Gateway.