FOOTBALL: Trinity starts strong, but big plays by Brentwood break open close game after half

The Trinity Crusaders got off to an encouraging start as they opened their inaugural season under new head coach Bruce Lane Friday against Brentwood. 

The teams traded points on every possession of an almost dead-even first half, but some big plays and Trinity turnovers after the break helped the Eagles pull away to win the nip-and-tuck game 44-21. 

The Crusaders (0-1) will travel to Eatonton next Friday to face defending state runner-up Gatewood, as Brentwood (1-0) returns home to face Pinewood. 

Zach Denton rushed for a team-high 149 yards and three touchdowns, two of them among the Eagles’ four in the second half that took the game out of Trinity’s reach. 

But the Crusaders, led by Ben Castro-Poveda’s 146 total yards, held their own early.

Brentwood took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards on 10 plays for the opening touchdown.  Tristan Robinson punched it in from one yard out to give it he Eagles a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Brayden Tyson’s extra point sailed wide. 

Not to be outdone, the Crusaders answered the Brentwood drive with an even better one.  On their first possession of the season, Trinty went 82 yards on 11 plays for a touchdown of their own. Wade Register, ruled to have broken the plane with the football just before it popped out for a fumble, scored from three yards out and made the extra point to put Trinity into a 7-6 lead early in the second quarter.

Brentwood wasted no time regaining the lead on its next possession, going 80 yards on just six plays for another touchdown. 

Denton scored from four yards out and ran in the two point conversion to make the score 14-7.

The Crusaders again had a response, going 80 yards on nine plays for a touchdown. Castro-Poveda found a wide-open Brooks Barrs for a 13 yard touchdown pass on fourth and goal to knot the score at 14-14 late in the first half.

Brentwood was able to cobble together a last-minute drive late in the half, advancing to the red zone on two long runs by quarterback Baylor Cobb, though his two shots to the end zone with seconds remaining were both knocked away by plays from Trinity’s Hampton Grosch and Ben Polhill. 

The Eagles settled for a 23-yard Tyson field goal that just cleared the crossbar with two seconds left in the half to take a 17-14 lead.

The second half was not kind to the Crusaders, who struggled to hold on to the ball and to stop Brentwood’s big plays. 

Their first drive ended with a fumble, and Denton made them pay with a 54-yard touchdown to make it 24-14.

The next drive ended in a punt. Robinson would take a jet sweep 55 yards for another score to make the score 31-14.

Following another Crusader turnover, Cobb would connect with Abe Williams on a 66-yard catch-and-run to push the Eagle lead to 38-14.

A third Trinity fumble of the half would set Brentwood up yet again. Denton scored his third touchdown of the evening, this time from 24 yards away, to make it 44-14.

Castro-Poveda would connect with Polhill on a 17-yard scoring strike to later in the fourth period to make the final 44-21.

The Crusader offense was solid most the night, and racked up over 300 totalyards.  Castro-Poveda finished his night 8-for-12 for 101 yards and two touchdowns passing, while adding 45 yards rushing.  Register had 101 yards on 16 carries in addition to a key 25-yard catch-and-run for a first down late in the first quarter. 

The Eagles were nearly unstoppable on offense, with over 500 yards on the evening. 

Cobb rushed for 46 yards, and was 3-of-7 passing for 99 yards.