Jacksonville FL- From the first tick of the clock, the Trinity Christian Academy Conquerors set the tone for what turned into a championship-caliber performance as the Conquerors shut out an Episcopal Eagles team that averaged 31.5 points per game and topped 40 four times in eight games coming into play Friday night. Trinity dominated both sides of the ball on route to a 35-0 shutout in the Class 3A, Region 1 semifinal at Episcopal.
Caleb Stevenson’s opening kickoff found the ground after a forced fumble from Trinity’s Caden Morrell, and Riley Bennet recovered the miscue at the Episcopal 14. It took only two plays – Marcus Burke’s 12-yard reception and Treyaun Webb’s 2-yard touchdown run – for the Conquerors to take a 7-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game.
From that early moment on, it was all Conquerors.
Burke played only sparingly in Trinity’s win over Baldwin in the quarterfinal, and Webb missed that entire game as both have battled injuries all season. Both SEC commits looked – and played – completely healthy Friday night.
The Conquerors added another score just five minutes later on a 13-yard pass from Jacory Jordan to Burke, and the defense – one of the best in the state, if not the nation – made that lead hold until quarter’s end.
Burke led Trinity receivers with 4 catches and 61 yards, including the touchdown. Jordan had his best passing game of the season: 13 for 20, 239 yards, 2 TD’s, and 0 INT’s for a quarterback rating of 138. Although sacked twice, he escaped several more potential sacks for completions on the run and out of the pocket.
Freshman Darnell Rogers rushed into the end zone twice: a 3-yard burst in the second quarter that made the score 21-0 and a four-yard end-around for the game’s final tally. Stevenson’s extra point (5 for 5 on the night) after that final TD made it a 35-point margin and started a running clock at the 5:13 mark of the third quarter.
Rogers led all rushers with 70 yards and 2 TD’s on 8 carries; Webb carried 7 times for 37 yards and score.
Sandwiched in between Rogers’s TD runs was Jordan’s second scoring pass of the night, a 13-yarder to Fred Highsmith in the third quarter. Highsmith (41 yards) and Xander Ross (49) each caught three passes. Four other receivers, including junior Travis King with his first varsity reception, caught passes, and 8th-grader Colin Hurley completed two passes in his third varsity QB appearance and first in the postseason.
Defensively, the Conquerors held Episcopal to 93 total yards: 81 passing and 12 rushing. Tucker Tomberlin was 7 for 10 for 70 yards until leaving the game late in the second quarter. Ryker Tomberlin finished the game. Trinity’s offense tallied 426 total yards.
Trinity’s Harold Stubbs intercepted one pass, and Terrell Jackson defended three. Morrell led the way with 5 tackles, and 12 teammates also made defensive stops.
Episcopal finishes the season at 6-3, including two playoff wins.
The Conquerors (9-1) advance to the Class 3A, Region 1 final, and they will face and undefeated Seminoles team (10-0) from Tallahassee’s Florida State University High School. The Seminoles defeated Pensacola Catholic 34-27 in Region 1’s other semifinal.
FSU High averages 40.6 points per game while allowing only 8.8. The Seminoles have allowed only single digits in 8 of 10 games, including two shutouts, while Trinity’s defense has held its opponents to single digits in eight consecutive contests (three shutouts).
These two teams will meet head-to-head for the Region 1 title at Trinity on Friday, November 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.
Statistics: Larry Withers, TCA Statistician
