When Sports Were Played: Trinity’s stunning upset is ‘best win ever’
Today’s “When Sports Were Played” takes us back to Oct. 28, 2005 and the first round of the WPIAL Class AAAA football playoffs. Trinity, a No. 15 seed, pulled off a stunning upset of a second-seeded Penn Hills.
PLUM – The Trinity football team could have been left regretting the mistakes it made in its first round WPIAL Class AAAA football playoff game against Penn Hills.
But Ben Jennings and placekicker Mike Wise had other plans.
Jennings enjoyed the game of his career with 264 yards and two touchdowns, and Wise booted two clutch field goals, lifting Trinity to a thrilling 20-17 upset victory over the No. 2-seeded Indians at Plum High School’s Mustang Stadium in one of the biggest upsets in WPIAL history.
“It was just a matter of us believing,” said Trinity coach Ed Dalton. “This is my best win ever at Trinity. We thought we could beat Penn Hills. This is a monkey-off-our-back win.”
Jennings agreed.
“It’s not every day a 15 seed beats a No. 2 seed,” Jennings said. “Penn Hills is the best team I’ve ever played, but our defense was incredible. Mike has one of the best legs in the WPIAL. We knew if we got the ball inside the 40 we would have a chance.”
With Trinity (7-3) trailing 17-14, Wise knocked through his first field goal, a career-long 48 yards, tying the game with nine minutes to play. The kick also tied the school-record.
The Hillers came up with a clutch defensive play later in the fourth quarter, turning the momentum around. Anderson Hutchinson blocked a 33-yard field goal attempt by Penn Hills (8-2), and Trinity took over with 5:47 remaining on the clock.
A heavy dose of Jennings, who carried the ball 34 times, and two third-down conversions put the Hillers in a position to win the game, setting up a 25-yard field goal attempt with 7.4 seconds remaining. Penn Hills attempted to ice Wise, calling three straight timeouts, but Wise didn’t let that affect him.
“I was just thinking, ‘Yeah, I’ll win it,'” he said. “It was nothing but an extra point, really. It wasn’t that long. I couldn’t have made either kick though without my blockers, holder and snapper. I just stepped up for the team. This is easily the biggest win I’ve ever been a part of.”
Once Wise – who has never been in a position to win or tie a game – finally had a chance to hit it, he knocked it through for the go-ahead points. The Indians attempted to lateral several times on the ensuing kickoff but never made it upfield, sealing the victory for the Hillers.
“We knew Mike can kick it,” said Dalton. “He did a great job in the kicking game. In hindsight, I should’ve kicked two other field goals earlier.”
In the first half, Trinity committed several costly penalties, stopping its own drives and extending Penn Hills possessions. A blocked punt resulted in the Indians’ first touchdown when it was recovered in the end zone.
But Jennings rolled over the Indians, scoring on runs of 31 and 45 yards for a 14-10 halftime lead. But the senior wasn’t immune to the mistake bug as he fumbled from the three-yard line shortly before halftime.
“I wasn’t ready to end my career,” said Jennings, who broke the school’s single-season rushing mark (1,770 yards) and career mark (3,146). “The fumble affected me a little, but you can’t let it keep you down long in a game like this. We rallied at halftime around that.”
And it was Jennings that put the Hillers on his back.
“We said before the game Ben would get 40 carries,” Dalton said. “He’s the best back in the WPIAL. He steps up in big games when he needs to.”