Trinity Football Rallies to Defeat LaGrange College

LaGrange, Georgia - The 17th-ranked Trinity Tigers rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat the LaGrange Panthers 14-10 in a non-conference NCAA Division III game at Callaway Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Trinity remained undefeated at 7-0, posting its best record since the 2008 season. LaGrange, which played the Tigers for the first time, dropped to 2-5.
 
LaGrange used a 16-play drive that ate up more than nine minutes in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead over the Tigers. Early in the second quarter, the Panthers led 10-0 after a 33-yard field goal.  That lead held into the intermission.
 
Tiger running back Desmond King put Trinity on the board with a 27-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter, as Garrett Biel kicked the first of two extra points. The Tigers first scoring drive of the game covered 73 yards in just three plays, beginning with quarterback Nyk McKissic's 16-yard rush to the Trinity 43. McKissic then completed a 30-yard pass to Mason Lytal to the Panthers 27, before King found the end zone.
 
The momentum of Trinity's fourth-quarter touchdown began late in the third stanza, highlighted by 24 and 30-yard rushes by King and McKissic, respectively. The Tigers had first-and-goal from the two, but needed all four plays to take the lead, as McKissic's third straight QB sneak finally put Trinity in the lead with 13:43 to play.

The Panthers were not finished, though, driving into the red zone with a chance to take the lead, and hand the Tigers their first loss. Trinity defensive back Tyler Barrett intercepted a pass in the end zone to stop LaGrange short. Barrett made five tackles (four solo), and a pass breakup to go with his interception - his fifth of the season.
 
McKissic completed 9-17 passes for 143 yards, and had nine rushing attempts for 69 yards. King rushed for 75 yards on 13 carries. Lytal led the game with three receptions for 73 yards.
 
Linebacker Ben Robinson led the game with 12 tackles (six solo), and Nick Darling added 11 (six solo). Tom Puskarich, also a member of the linebackers corps, produced 10 tackles (five solo), along with two tackles for a loss, and a quarterback hurry.
 
The Panthers quarterbacks were sacked twice by the Tigers defense, with Kerr, Bradley Drenon, and Justin Crow sharing the honors.
 
Trinity's offense chalked up 144 yards rushing and 143 passing, for 287 total yards. The Tiger defense, ranked seventh in the nation (total defense), allowed 187 yards on the ground and 113 in the air, for 300 total yards.

Prior to the final drive by LaGrange, the Tiger defense gave up just 33 yards of offense in the second half.  The final drive went 73 yards before the game's only turnover, which still left the Panthers with just 106 yards in the critical second half.
 
The Tigers resume their Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule by hosting Birmingham-Southern College at noon next Saturday. Trinity stands at 3-0 in SCAC play, tied for the top spot in the standings.