Defending champions to take on 11-0 Tigers
In a city with three college football teams combining for a 30-3 record, it’s easy to overlook the historic campaign Jerheme Urban and his staff have put together at Trinity.
The Southern Athletic Association’s coach of the year brought the Tigers their first playoff victory in two decades last weekend against Hardinsimmons, adding an eleventh win to their spotless record and setting up an opportunity to dethrone last year’s national champion, Mary Hardin Baylor, on Saturday.
For all of Trinity’s accomplishments in 2022, Urban acknowledged the groundwork laid by his previous teams to
make a championship run possible.
“We wouldn't be here without the guys from years' past,” Urban said. “We had some guys take a chance on a young coach with very, very, very little coaching experience. Our facilities were really lacking in the early years, but they were willing to sign up for a vision and come in and do the things necessary to get that degree and set the course for a better football program down the road. We wouldn't be here without those guys beforehand.”
SAA first-team quarterback Tucker Horn has orchestrated a balanced Trinity offense to the tune
of 35.2 points and more than 400 yards of total offense per game. The senior has completed 67 percent of his passes this season for more than 2,500 yards and 22 touchdowns — solid numbers, but potentially shy of what some expected of last season's conference player of the year and Gagliardi Trophy semifinalist.
“I just kinda sit back and laugh when I hear people talking about ‘Oh, well it doesn't seem like things have clicked this year compared to last year,'” Urban said. “We had a national player of the year finalist at quarterback. Completed almost 70 percent of the passes we threw last year, we had incredible top-tobottom production from the quarterback position
and from the receivers last year.
Trinity's offensive approach has morphed into a more balanced attack, which Horn said doesn't mean running as often as passing, but is more about being able to take what the opposing defense provides.
The most prominent factor in Trinity's success this year has come on the defensive side of the ball, where the Tigers have limited opponents to seven or fewer points in more than half of the games played.
Last year's SAA Defensive Player of the Year, Caleb Harmel, has anchored the defense from the linebacker position with 67 tackles (6.5 for loss) and 1.5 sacks, in addition to two interceptions. He and fellow linebacker James
Ogunrin took up two of the four available linebacker spots on the allconference first team this year, while cornerback Trey King and defensive lineman Harris Good also earned first-team recognition.
“Every great defense from Pop Warner to the NFL and everything in between, you've gotta be able to play at the line of scrimmage,” Urban said. “We have very athletic, very football-savvy linebackers. All three of them are really, really, really talented at the positions that they play.”
The Cru enter Saturday's matchup ranked No. 3 in the nation, with a top-5 offense scoring 45.4 points per contest. Trinity's stout defensive front, ranked No. 5 in the country. “They're not the reigning national champs for nothing,” Urban said. “They have insane athletes at all their skill positions. They have I think pretty much an all-senior offensive line that's been playing together. They know their scheme, they do their scheme well, and they're going to try to force it down your throats running the ball and then they're going to try to stretch you deep throwing it. And they've got a very good quarterback as well.”