Trinity uses trademark defense, running to win
By Patrick Obley FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Correspondent
Village Christian knew what it was facing in Trinity Christian. For two weeks, the Knights prepared.
Even that wasn’t enough. The Crusaders then made the crosstown trip and did precisely what was expected of them on Friday night, and Village couldn’t stop them.
The final: Trinity Christian 40, Village Christian 6.
“We had 16 days to prepare for them,” Village coach Ray Stanifer said. “They lined up and did exactly what we thought they were going to do. It’s execution. We didn’t do it.”
Trinity Christian, meanwhile, did. The Crusaders’ defense stymied Village Christian while their elusive running game rolled up big plays en route to a 28-0 halftime lead. Cyier Foy ripped off an 80yard touchdown run on Trinity Christian’s second play from scrimmage. Malik Brown danced his way to a 25yard touchdown while toting the ball one-handed like a loaf of bread.
All of it was expected, for defense and running have been Trinity’s trademarks this season.
The Crusaders’ passing game, however, surprised Friday night.
Quarterback Rafe Moran completed 9 of 15 passes for 130 yards. Laman McGill gathered in four receptions for 68 yards and also caught a two-point conversion. Moran would tack on a pair of short touchdown runs in the third quarter to cap the Crusaders’ scoring. “The past two weeks, we haven’t executed well at all on offense,” Trinity coach Chuck Webster said. “We feel like we can run the ball, but we try to have a balanced offense. We needed to execute better in the passing game. We started off slow, but the quarterback caught some rhythm tonight so that was good for him, for the passing game to be a little more on point.”
Meanwhile, the Knights were terrorized by Trinity Christian’s defensive line. The Crusaders recorded four sacks, three of which came from Quewon Hilliard.
“I was just feeling it all week,” Hilliard said. “Coach was telling me just keep going hard. I just felt good tonight.”
Village Christian finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Caleb Russell scrambled on a broken play and found Jacob Eubank, who snatched up a low pass and darted back and forth across the field for a 59-yard touchdown.
“Caleb’s been doing that all year,” Stanifer said. “But it was another missed assignment by the offensive line. It’s execution. It’s been our thing all year. It’s errors and missed assignments. You’ve got to do your job. It’s my fault. I had 16 days to get them ready.”
Foy finished with 110 total yards for Trinity Christian, which totaled 371 yards overall. Jaylon Jackson had 13 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
“The passing game was in shambles, a lot of turnovers. We needed this,” Webster said. “A lot better as far as decision- making and execution and that was great to see.”
By Patrick Obley FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Correspondent
Village Christian knew what it was facing in Trinity Christian. For two weeks, the Knights prepared.
Even that wasn’t enough. The Crusaders then made the crosstown trip and did precisely what was expected of them on Friday night, and Village couldn’t stop them.
The final: Trinity Christian 40, Village Christian 6.
“We had 16 days to prepare for them,” Village coach Ray Stanifer said. “They lined up and did exactly what we thought they were going to do. It’s execution. We didn’t do it.”
Trinity Christian, meanwhile, did. The Crusaders’ defense stymied Village Christian while their elusive running game rolled up big plays en route to a 28-0 halftime lead. Cyier Foy ripped off an 80yard touchdown run on Trinity Christian’s second play from scrimmage. Malik Brown danced his way to a 25yard touchdown while toting the ball one-handed like a loaf of bread.
All of it was expected, for defense and running have been Trinity’s trademarks this season.
The Crusaders’ passing game, however, surprised Friday night.
Quarterback Rafe Moran completed 9 of 15 passes for 130 yards. Laman McGill gathered in four receptions for 68 yards and also caught a two-point conversion. Moran would tack on a pair of short touchdown runs in the third quarter to cap the Crusaders’ scoring. “The past two weeks, we haven’t executed well at all on offense,” Trinity coach Chuck Webster said. “We feel like we can run the ball, but we try to have a balanced offense. We needed to execute better in the passing game. We started off slow, but the quarterback caught some rhythm tonight so that was good for him, for the passing game to be a little more on point.”
Meanwhile, the Knights were terrorized by Trinity Christian’s defensive line. The Crusaders recorded four sacks, three of which came from Quewon Hilliard.
“I was just feeling it all week,” Hilliard said. “Coach was telling me just keep going hard. I just felt good tonight.”
Village Christian finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter when quarterback Caleb Russell scrambled on a broken play and found Jacob Eubank, who snatched up a low pass and darted back and forth across the field for a 59-yard touchdown.
“Caleb’s been doing that all year,” Stanifer said. “But it was another missed assignment by the offensive line. It’s execution. It’s been our thing all year. It’s errors and missed assignments. You’ve got to do your job. It’s my fault. I had 16 days to get them ready.”
Foy finished with 110 total yards for Trinity Christian, which totaled 371 yards overall. Jaylon Jackson had 13 carries for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
“The passing game was in shambles, a lot of turnovers. We needed this,” Webster said. “A lot better as far as decision- making and execution and that was great to see.”