Trinity win isn’t a snap, but Hillers take conference opener
By Joe Tuscano
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
MONONGAHELA – Trinity quarterback Jonah Williamson is a coach’s dream.
No matter how many problems your football team has, a player such as Williamson can make them go away.
Take Friday night at Joe Montana Stadium. Nearly every snap from center was an adventure. But Williamson handled the snaps with a deft touch and led the Hillers to a 48-14 victory over Ringgold in the Big Six Conference opener for both teams.
Williamson hit Braden Bedar with three touchdown passes and ran in two himself as the Hillers moved to 2-4. Ringgold fell 3-3 overall.
“He’s a better person than he is a player,” said Trinity head coach Dan Knause. “He’s a top-tier student. We’ve kind of grown in this thing together. It’s fun to watch him. He started as a freshman and he’s grown every year.”
Williamson passed for 227 yards to go along with his four touchdown passes.
The first 24 minutes exposed problems of both teams.
For Trinity, the problem was the snap from center. It was short, long, high, low, and rarely hit Williamson in the numbers. Fortunately, the Hillers have Williamson, who passed for 158 yards and ran for 110.
Williamson scored Trinity’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run in the first quarter and followed that up with a 32-yard scoring run in the second quarter.
Williams found Braden Bedar for two touchdown passes. The first covered 29 yards with 1:07 left in the first quarter and the second went 30 yards as time expired in the half.
For Ringgold, the problem was penalties. The Rams committed eight and some ruined good scoring chances.
“That’s the best player in our league,” said Ringgold head coach Robert Heller. “We had dumb penalties. Week in and week out, we commit these hurtful penalties. We quit in the second half. I told them don’t look at the scoreboard. That doesn’t mean anything.”
Demetri Lowe snagged a 40-yard pass from Dennis Hawkins for the first score of the game. Ringgold didn’t score again until 2:01 remaining in the half. Nick Stasko carried two Trinity defenders over half of the 10 yards needed for the score. That score would cut Trinity’s lead to 21-14.