Patrick Granchelli, Ben Robinson, and Kyle Trella

#11 Trinity clinched a share of the SCAC Championship with a 20-14 comeback win over Centre College on Saturday afternoon.  The Tigers also secured the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs, putting Trinity into the postseason for the first time since 2007.

Patrick Granchelli…JR…RB…5-8…185…McAllen, Texas

Granchelli posted his fourth 100-yard rushing game of the season as the Tigers clinched a share of the SCAC title with a win over Centre.

Granchelli carried the ball 22 times for 101 yards and a touchdown in the game, averaging 4.6 yards/carry against the Colonels.  He also caught three passes for 33 additional yards from scrimmage.  His one-yard TD plunge in the third quarter gave Trinity its first lead of the game, and turned out to be the game-winning score.

For the season, Granchelli leads the Tigers with 703 yards rushing and six rushing touchdowns.  He has carried the ball 155 times for an average of 4.5 yards/rush, and he is averaging 78.1 yards/game this season.  Additionally, Granchelli has caught nine passes for 104 yards for the Tigers.

Ben Robinson…SR…LB…5-11…193…Coppell, Texas

Robinson led the defense in tackles on Saturday, as the Tigers clinched a spot in the NCAA Playoffs by defeating Centre.

Robinson posted a team-best 11 tackles, recording seven solo stops, and 3.0 tackles for loss of six yards.  He also had a QB sack in the game, and the Tigers did not allow any points in the second half. 

After giving up two scores in the second quarter, Robinson and the Tiger defense forced Centre to turn the ball over on downs three times in the second half – including stopping a drive that had advanced to Trinity’s 19 yard line in the final minute.

For the season, Robinson leads Trinity with 72 total tackles and 40 solo tackles this season.  He is also the team leader with 11.5 tackles for loss, and Saturday was his second sack of the season.

Kyle Trella…JR…P…5-11…175…Chandler, Arizona

Trella led Trinity’s special teams in a playoff-clinching win over Centre College on Saturday afternoon.

Trella punted eight times for 367 yards in the game, averaging 45.9 yards/punt.  The average is the third-best in Trinity history for a single game (he also holds the top two spots), and it is also the seventh-highest yardage total in school history. 

Trella had punts of 70 and 65 yards in the game, which are the longest in his career.  The 70-yard punt is tied for the fifth-longest in school history.

For the season, Trella has punted 51 times for 2,182 yards (42.8 yards/punt).  He has nine punts of 50 yards or more, and has knocked 19 punts inside the opponents’ 20 yard line.