Trinity (Texas) 40, Hardin-Simmons 33
Dec 04, 1999
SAN ANTONIO — The long-anticipated battle to determine the best Division III football team in Texas went down to the wire, but homestanding Trinity held on to defeat a game Hardin-Simmons squad 40-33 at E. M. Stevens Field. The victory extended Trinity's home winning streak to 24 games in a row and gave the Tigers the right to host Pacific Lutheran next Saturday in the national semifinals.Dec 04, 1999
By Ron Boerger for D3football.com
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Hardin-Simmons
The Cowboys (12-1) had a chance to win the game, starting 65 yards away from the end zone with 1:06 left. On third-and-20 from the HSU 40, quarterback Brad Boyd completed a 44-yard pass that put the ball on the TU 16. Boyd spiked the ball to stop the clock with 5 seconds left but a pass into the end zone with time expired was long and outside of the intended receiver.
For the second consecutive week, Trinity (12-0) had trouble offensively after the opening kick as a penalty and a sack put the Tigers in a deep hole at their 9-yard line. A short punt gave the Cowboys the ball on the Trinity 33 and a 42-yard Mark Smith field goal spotted Hardin-Simmons an early 3-0 lead.
Trinity took the ensuing kickoff at their 19, driving to the HSU 16 before two incompletions and a HSU sack by Johnny Golden left Chris Ulmo to attempt a 43-yard field goal into the wind that was no good. Wideout Adam Coffman caught two passes from Michael Burton totaling 40 yards in the drive.
Hardin-Simmons went three-and-out on the next drive, but cornerback Andy Howard picked off Burton's pass on the first play of the resulting Trinity drive to give the Cowboys the ball on their own 32. Two plays later, the Cowboys gave the ball right back on a fumble. Aided by a 15-yard penalty, it only took five plays for the Tigers to score on a 3-yard pass from Burton to Bo Edwards. Burton was in the grasp of a blitzing HSU player but slipped out to make the play and give Trinity a 7-3 lead.
"[They were giving] pressure quick and early," said Burton. "The DBs stepped up, Bo makes huge catch."
Starting at its 27, HSU mixed a strong running game with a 40-yard completion to flanker Kirk Edwards, giving HSU its first penetration of the TU red zone. On the next play, running back Tim Pharo lost the ball after a short gain, which cornerback Andy Peoples scooped up and rambled 84 yards for a score. The PAT was wide left, and Trinity led 13-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Behind strong rushing from Patrick Baca and sharp passing from Boyd, the Cowboys put together a 10 play, 75-yard drive culminating in a 2-yard run by Paxton Hurst which closed the gap to 13-10. HSU's offensive line totally dominated play, and the Tiger defenders found themselves on their heels as huge holes were opened for Baca and Hurst. Trinity immediately answered on their next drive, with Burton going 4-for-5 for 80 yards and scoring on a 22-yard TD to wide receiver Canaan Factor.
Trinity's 'Black Flag' defense held the Cowboys to 1 yard on the ensuing series, getting the offense the ball back on their own 14. After long catches by Travis Munro and Factor, the drive stalled at the Cowboy 27. Ulmo was successful on a season-long 44-yard FG.
HSU once again had success with the running game, with Baca picking up yardage in chunks along with Boyd on scrambles. However, on 1st and 15 at their 48, Boyd threw an out pattern -- unfortunately, the receiver ran an out-and-up, and the pass was picked off by cornerback Logan Ramirez, who juggled the ball before returning it to the HSU 1. Burton later punched the ball over on a sneak.
Head coach Steve Mohr raved about Ramirez's performance: "He did a fantastic job on receivers ... played his best game in his three years as a Trinity Tiger."
The teams would go to halftime after an interception by Peoples deep in Trinity territory with time running out with the score 30-10. HSU outgained Trinity 220-207 in the first 20 minutes, and had held Trinity's rushing attack to 3 yards net.
On the first possession of the third quarter punter Kirk Rogers ran for a 62-yard touchdown after picking up a low snap. "It was not a planned play," said Rogers. "I got a low snap, looked up, they were all turned around (on defense)." Ulmo answered with a field goal to make the score 33-17
Feeling increasingly secure about making a comeback attempt, HSU drove from its 29 to the TU 7, thanks to 37 yards from Baca. However, under pressure on 2nd and goal, Boyd let go an ill-advised floater, which was corralled by Ramirez in the end zone.
On the ensuing drive, Trinity was pushed back by two penalties totaling 37 yards. On second-and-43 from the 20, Burton threw a perfectly executed screen to Garza, which went 80 yards for the score. Lineman David Coney made the play by flattening one defender, getting free, and blocking a second would-be tackler downfield to spring Garza. After the extra point, the score was 40-17 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.
That would be the last time Trinity would score in the game while Hardin-Simmons refused to fold. Driving 89 yards in six plays, the Cowboys scored on a 36-yard pass from Boyd to Rogers. Key during this drive was a combined 30-yard penalty on Trinity (late hit/unsportsmanlike conduct) after the Tigers had held on third-and-9 deep in HSU territory. Boyd slipped on the two-point conversion attempt, making the score 40-23.
Almost immediately, the Cowboys scored again, as on the ensuing series, a Burton pass on third down was picked off by strong safety Corbett Boone, who returned the pass 25 yards for a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 40-30.
"I was going up the sideline saying 'You gotta believe'," said Boone. "All the coaches said [at halftime] we'd been here before."
The Cowboy defense, combined with conservative play-calling from the Tigers and penalties at inopportune times, combined to squelch the Tiger running attack and increasingly even the passing of Burton. It only took five plays for the Cowboys to get the ball back on a punt, but Boyd turned the ball over on his fourth interception, and third by Ramirez.
The Cowboys seemed to ignore the running attack which had served them so well to this point, focusing almost exclusively on the passing game. After an exchange of punts, this approach finally paid off with a short drive resulting in a 37-yard FG by Smith to make it a seven-point game.
"We thought they could move the ball with their big offensive line," said Mohr. "Turnovers may have forced them to throw the ball more."
Trinity got the ball back with 4:50 left in the game, needing only to reel off a few first downs to preserve the win. After one first down, a short run (followed by a timeout) and two incomplete passes, HSU got the ball back with 3:00 left on their 37. Boyd drove the Cowboys to the Tiger 29, but Chris Evatt fumbled after a short reception, giving the ball back to the Tigers on their 29 with 1:41 left. But the Tigers failed to get a first down, and on third down Garza went out of bounds on a sweep after HSU had used its last timeout. That set up Hardin-Simmons' last-ditch effort.
"[It was a] great season," said HSU head coach Jimmie Keeling. "I'm in charge of turnovers -- that's my responsibility.
"I thought we were going to win it … all our guys did. That's the way our guys think."
Hardin-Simmons racked up 553 net yards on the game (278 rushing, 275 passing) but turned the ball over seven times (4 interceptions, 3 fumble), leading to 28 of Trinity's 40 points. Trinity managed 430 yards, primarily in the first three quarters, but was held to 51 yards rushing (389 passing).
Boyd finished 21-for-42 for 275 yards and a touchdown, while Baca led all rushers with 15 carries for 119 yards before leaving with an injury late in the game. Rogers had six catches for 138 yards and a touchdown to go with his long TD run, while Barry Donham added eight catches for 65 yards.
Burton was 18-for-39 for 389 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Garza led Trinity rushers with 29 yards on 16 attempts and added 101 yards receiving on four catches. Edwards led the receiving corps with eight catches for 156 yards and a touchdown while Canaan Factor had two catches for 59 yards and a score.
Defensively, linebacker Jared Sanderson led the Cowboys with 12 tackles (9 solo), one for loss. Defensive end Johnny Golden added 6 tackles, 4 solo and three for a loss including one sack, while defensive tackle Link Harris added three sacks (23 yards) among his six tackles. Safety Joel Reichling led the Tigers with 16 tackles, (six solo), while fellow safety Mike McSpadden had 15 (4 solo), one for loss.