Gainesville FL- A game delayed was an end-zone denied for Buchholz, as Trinity Christian held the Bobcats to zero points on four red-zone trips as the Conquerors kicked off their 2020 campaign with a 14-0 win over Buchholz.
After Trinity forced a Buchholz punt on the first drive of the game, the Conquerors offense struck quick with a 60 yard bomb from senior quarterback JaCory Jordan to junior wide receiver Fred Highsmith. High Smith was tackled at the 4-yard line setting up a 4-yard touchdown run on the next play by sophomore running back Treyaun Webb. Tackle Austin Barber plowed his man into the back of the end-zone, giving Webb an easy waltz for six as Trinity led early 7-0 in the first quarter.
Trinity’s final touchdown of the game came in the second quarter when freshman running-back Darnell Rogers took the hand off and weaved his way up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown.
The play was set up by a beautiful pass and catch from Jordan to Marcus Burke for 53 yards. Burke (Florida Commit) put on a nice show for the Gainesville crowd, catching another ball and gaining 30 yards after the catch.
Although the Conquerors wouldn’t score anymore in the game, their defense proved enough, making play after play in the red-zone. In the first quarter, after several penalties backed Trinity up against their own goal-line, senior defensive back Jahron Williams hit Buchholz running back Quandarius Smith dislodging the football, and it was recovered by Defensive Tackle Niles Johnson for Trinity.
The next red-zone stop came after a fumble that put Trinity’s defense backs against the wall. Williams and linebacker Caden Morrell stuffed Quarterback Jack Hevesy at the 2 yard line and Morrell knocked the ball out as the quarterback attempted to reach over the goal-line. Morrell recovered the fumble as Trinity held once again.
On Trinity’s next red-zone stand, pressure from the defensive line and linebackers including Junior linebacker Julian Moore forced a turnover on downs for Buchholz in the 2nd quarter.
Finally, after a botched kickoff gave Buchholz excellent field position, Trinty’s defense stopped Buchholz four consecutive times from inside the 10 yard line. Harold Stubbs (DB), Lucius Lattimore (LB) and Tito Butler (DT) all converged on the stop.
It was that type of night for Trinity as they refused to give up points and position to Buchholz all game. Even between the twenties Trinity’s defense was staunch. Christian Ellis nearly grabbed a pick-6 stepping in front of a receiver to knock a pass down, and he also batted another ball in the air on a pass break up that was nearly intercepted by linebacker CJ Ross.
It was an impressive showing considering the players had not played tackle football in nearly ten months, in addition to that was the delayed start to their game due to lightning. Said quarterback JaCory Jordan after the win, “It just felt good to be on the field again after practicing for months not knowing if we would have a game or not”. Trinity will face Bolles next week for their first regular season game.
