Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
The Trinity Saints put on a dominant performance in front of their home crowd last night in Natchez and in doing so thumped previous unbeaten class-AA and 2nd ranked River Oaks 42-21. Trinity piled up 551 yards of offense fueled by senior quarterback Givonni Dent who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns as the single-A powerhouse won their 13th straight game dating back to last season.
River Oaks looked to strike early as they caught Trinity napping with an on-sides kick to open the game but the Mustangs didn’t have possession long as Givonni Dent intercepted a Ryan MacGregor pass on second down at the Trinity 34 yard line and returned it to the Mustang 35 yard line.
(Above) Trinity tailback Kent King (#22) after a 3rd quarter touchdown
Trinity capitalized on the River Oaks turnover as Dent’s 6 yard keeper capped off a six play, 35 yard drive that took just over three minutes. Zach Marshall added the PAT to give Trinity an early 7-0 advantage.
Alex Biedenharn’s 23 yard kick-off return set the Mustangs up at their own 42 yard line to start their second possession of the game. It took River Oaks just three plays to move down to the Trinity 28 yard line, one was a 28 yard pick-up on a screen pass from MacGregor to senior tailback Teshadi Talton. Two plays later it seemed as though Trinity had stopped the River Oaks drive as Tip McKenzie picked off MacGregor at the 13 yard line but Mustang tailback Teshadi Talton stripped the ball from McKenzie at the 16 yard line. Three plays later Henry Biedenharn ran in from the one yard line to put the Mustangs on the board at the 4:44 mark of the opening quarter. Brogan Brasseaux went wide on the PAT attempt as Trinity held on to a slim 7-6 lead.
(Above) Zach Wilson (#52) and Eric James (#11) of Trinity stop River Oaks tailback Teshadi Talton
Trinity increased their lead to 14-6 on the first play of the second quarter as Givonni Dent nailed a wide open Kevin Brown with an 11 yard hookup across the middle to complete a 53 yard drive that consumed 4:48 and eleven plays.
The Saints increased the lead on their next possession. Taking over at their own 15 yard line Trinity took just 1:40 to move 85 yards for their third score of the night. Givonni Dent picked up a quick six yards on the ground on first down but the senior ravaged the River Oaks secondary on the next three plays. Dent hit Tip McKenzie for a 25 yard gain to the Trinity 46 and followed that up with another strike to McKenzie to set the Saints up at the Mustang 37 yard line. Dent then hit senior tailback Kent King across the middle with a perfectly thrown pass and King did the rest as Trinity hit pay-dirt at the 7:39 mark of the second quarter. Zach Marshall’s PAT gave the Saints a 21-6 cushion.
(Above) Teshadi Talton (#9) of River Oaks had an 83 yard kick-off return for a touchdown
River Oaks committed to running the football following the Trinity score and the Mustangs moved methodically from their own 32 yard line to the Trinity 21 with just over four minutes remaining in the half. Facing a huge 4th and 14 Ryan MacGregor dropped back to pass and had to resort to scrambling to avoid a big Trinity pass rush. MacGregor hit Teshadi Talton with the equivalent of a screen pass at the 21 yard line and the senior tailback scampered 21 yards for a River Oaks score with 3:50 remaining in the first half. River Oaks then pulled back to within seven points as MacGregor pushed his way in for a successful two-point conversion.
(Above) River Oaks defenders slow Trinity tailback Kent King
Trinity put together an 80 yard, 9 play drive that took just under five minutes on their first possession of the second half. Following a 27 yard connection from Dent to McKenzie down to the River Oaks 1 yard line, Kent King punched it in and Zach Marshall converted on the PAT to give the Saints a 28-14 lead with 1:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Lightening struck on the ensuing kickoff as Teshadi Talton pulled River Oaks back to within seven points with an 83 yard kickoff return for a touchdown as the Mustangs closed out the third quarter down 28-21.
That would be the final score of the night for the Mustangs.
Trinity mounted another successful drive to start the final quarter. The Saints mixed the passing and scrambling skills of Givonni Dent with the running of Kent King and receiving of Tip McKenzie to produce a 10 play, 64 yard effort that consumed just over four minutes. King finished the drive with a 5 yard burst and an unsuccessful two point conversion gave Trinity a 34-21 lead with 9:16 remaining in the contest.
(Above) Trinity capitalized on River Oaks miscues
River Oaks answered when Henry Biedenharn set the Mustangs up at their own 46 yard line following a 30 yard kick-off return. River Oaks moved to the Trinity 17 yard line behind the running of Teshadi Talton but on a 2nd and three Givonni Dent killed the River Oaks drive as the senior picked off Ryan MacGregor at the 16 yard line and returned it to the Saints 25 with 7:34 remaining.
Dent would cap off a phenomenal performance five plays later when he sprinted around the left side and raced down the sidelines 56 yards for a touchdown to seal the deal for the Saints with 4:53 remaining. Tip McKenzie hit Daniel Dunaway for a successful two point conversion to give Trinity what would be the final score of 42-21.
Dent finished the night going 20/29 for 342 yards and two touchdowns passing and picked up 105 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns on the ground. The senior also
had two interceptions on defense.
Senior tailback Kent King had 53 yards rushing on 13 carries and a touchdown and caught four passes for 55 yards and a score.
Tip McKenzie racked up 124 receiving yards on 8 receptions and junior Daniel Dunaway had 80 yards on 3 catches.
With the win Trinity improves to 7-0 and will now prepare for a week eight matchup with the defending class AA state champion Brookhaven Cougars in Brookhaven.
River Oaks suffers their first loss of the season and falls to 6-1. The Mustangs will look to regroup as they host Riverfield next Friday night in Monroe.
Post game interviews below………
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The Trinity Saints put on a dominant performance in front of their home crowd last night in Natchez and in doing so thumped previous unbeaten class-AA and 2nd ranked River Oaks 42-21. Trinity piled up 551 yards of offense fueled by senior quarterback Givonni Dent who rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns and passed for 342 yards and two touchdowns as the single-A powerhouse won their 13th straight game dating back to last season.
River Oaks looked to strike early as they caught Trinity napping with an on-sides kick to open the game but the Mustangs didn’t have possession long as Givonni Dent intercepted a Ryan MacGregor pass on second down at the Trinity 34 yard line and returned it to the Mustang 35 yard line.
(Above) Trinity tailback Kent King (#22) after a 3rd quarter touchdownTrinity capitalized on the River Oaks turnover as Dent’s 6 yard keeper capped off a six play, 35 yard drive that took just over three minutes. Zach Marshall added the PAT to give Trinity an early 7-0 advantage.
Alex Biedenharn’s 23 yard kick-off return set the Mustangs up at their own 42 yard line to start their second possession of the game. It took River Oaks just three plays to move down to the Trinity 28 yard line, one was a 28 yard pick-up on a screen pass from MacGregor to senior tailback Teshadi Talton. Two plays later it seemed as though Trinity had stopped the River Oaks drive as Tip McKenzie picked off MacGregor at the 13 yard line but Mustang tailback Teshadi Talton stripped the ball from McKenzie at the 16 yard line. Three plays later Henry Biedenharn ran in from the one yard line to put the Mustangs on the board at the 4:44 mark of the opening quarter. Brogan Brasseaux went wide on the PAT attempt as Trinity held on to a slim 7-6 lead.
(Above) Zach Wilson (#52) and Eric James (#11) of Trinity stop River Oaks tailback Teshadi TaltonTrinity increased their lead to 14-6 on the first play of the second quarter as Givonni Dent nailed a wide open Kevin Brown with an 11 yard hookup across the middle to complete a 53 yard drive that consumed 4:48 and eleven plays.
The Saints increased the lead on their next possession. Taking over at their own 15 yard line Trinity took just 1:40 to move 85 yards for their third score of the night. Givonni Dent picked up a quick six yards on the ground on first down but the senior ravaged the River Oaks secondary on the next three plays. Dent hit Tip McKenzie for a 25 yard gain to the Trinity 46 and followed that up with another strike to McKenzie to set the Saints up at the Mustang 37 yard line. Dent then hit senior tailback Kent King across the middle with a perfectly thrown pass and King did the rest as Trinity hit pay-dirt at the 7:39 mark of the second quarter. Zach Marshall’s PAT gave the Saints a 21-6 cushion.
(Above) Teshadi Talton (#9) of River Oaks had an 83 yard kick-off return for a touchdownRiver Oaks committed to running the football following the Trinity score and the Mustangs moved methodically from their own 32 yard line to the Trinity 21 with just over four minutes remaining in the half. Facing a huge 4th and 14 Ryan MacGregor dropped back to pass and had to resort to scrambling to avoid a big Trinity pass rush. MacGregor hit Teshadi Talton with the equivalent of a screen pass at the 21 yard line and the senior tailback scampered 21 yards for a River Oaks score with 3:50 remaining in the first half. River Oaks then pulled back to within seven points as MacGregor pushed his way in for a successful two-point conversion.
(Above) River Oaks defenders slow Trinity tailback Kent KingTrinity put together an 80 yard, 9 play drive that took just under five minutes on their first possession of the second half. Following a 27 yard connection from Dent to McKenzie down to the River Oaks 1 yard line, Kent King punched it in and Zach Marshall converted on the PAT to give the Saints a 28-14 lead with 1:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Lightening struck on the ensuing kickoff as Teshadi Talton pulled River Oaks back to within seven points with an 83 yard kickoff return for a touchdown as the Mustangs closed out the third quarter down 28-21.
That would be the final score of the night for the Mustangs.
Trinity mounted another successful drive to start the final quarter. The Saints mixed the passing and scrambling skills of Givonni Dent with the running of Kent King and receiving of Tip McKenzie to produce a 10 play, 64 yard effort that consumed just over four minutes. King finished the drive with a 5 yard burst and an unsuccessful two point conversion gave Trinity a 34-21 lead with 9:16 remaining in the contest.
(Above) Trinity capitalized on River Oaks miscuesRiver Oaks answered when Henry Biedenharn set the Mustangs up at their own 46 yard line following a 30 yard kick-off return. River Oaks moved to the Trinity 17 yard line behind the running of Teshadi Talton but on a 2nd and three Givonni Dent killed the River Oaks drive as the senior picked off Ryan MacGregor at the 16 yard line and returned it to the Saints 25 with 7:34 remaining.
Dent would cap off a phenomenal performance five plays later when he sprinted around the left side and raced down the sidelines 56 yards for a touchdown to seal the deal for the Saints with 4:53 remaining. Tip McKenzie hit Daniel Dunaway for a successful two point conversion to give Trinity what would be the final score of 42-21.
Dent finished the night going 20/29 for 342 yards and two touchdowns passing and picked up 105 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns on the ground. The senior also
had two interceptions on defense.Senior tailback Kent King had 53 yards rushing on 13 carries and a touchdown and caught four passes for 55 yards and a score.
Tip McKenzie racked up 124 receiving yards on 8 receptions and junior Daniel Dunaway had 80 yards on 3 catches.
With the win Trinity improves to 7-0 and will now prepare for a week eight matchup with the defending class AA state champion Brookhaven Cougars in Brookhaven.
River Oaks suffers their first loss of the season and falls to 6-1. The Mustangs will look to regroup as they host Riverfield next Friday night in Monroe.
Post game interviews below………
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**Trinity head coach David King
**Trinity defensive coordinator Richie Spears
**Trinity senior quarterback Givonni Dent
