FB: Southern Athletic Association

[Etchglow]

Flosports broadcast has been rough thus far. Tons of technical issue breaks.

Yeah, I tried to watch for a few and gave up...

[tigerguy]

Anyone go to game? I basically gave up for several stretches of time trying to watch through app so I missed a bunch. Might try website next time.

Hindo/RB looked fairly good in 1H then what the heck happened in 2nd?

[nineohnine]

My initial thoughts after Trinity's 26-14 win over TLU:

First off, good job Trinity on getting your payback. A nice gritty win to start off the new campaign.

Outside of the INT (which I didn't actually get to see because of the poor streaming quality), I was very impressed with Franklin at QB. Early on I thought he was very decisive and looked very good navigating the pocket. He seemed to cool off in the second half but he looks like a gamer who can elevate Trinity's offense with his legs and being able to extend plays.

Huerta is legit. Enough said.

The pass protection looked suspect at times. To be more specific, it felt the edge protection was very weak. I think this was a big contribution as to why the offense cooled off in the second half. It seemed Franklin had to run it every time he dropped back.

Defensively, the run game was good. I would like to see more physicality and better tackling but overall the front 7 looked good.

The secondary left a lot to be desired. It just seemed like they lacked situational awareness at times and playmaking ability. Give credit to TLU though, that QB is good at throwing on the run and their receiving core was able to make some plays. Fortunately, majority of what I saw in the secondary is fixable. I'm interested to see how this unit performs throughout the season.

Shoutout special teams, I think this was the difference tonight. That snapping error by TLU that led to a safety was essentially a 9 point swing. Also the blocked field goal by Trinity was huge in keeping the momentum on their side late in the game. Shoutout Rhodes on that 47-yd field goal as well.

Go Tigers!

[Ron Boerger]

I think there were some adjustments made at half because the secondary did a much better job from that point on.  Defense also did a much better job containing Bosanko who absolutely killed them last year.  I hope that young man (as well as the other Bulldogs who left the game with injuries) is OK. 

Huerta's 120 yards marked the first time since 2021 (Hutchinson, 150+ v. Millsaps) that Trinity had a 100 yard rusher.  Hopefully that trend continues because it takes a lot of pressure off your QB.  And it was a solid first start by Hondo, who had a few balls dropped in the second half.

My first experience with Flo was, like all of yours, absolute trash.  The constant interruptions and buffering were among the worst streaming of a D3 game I've ever experienced.  Some of that may be on TLU but the fact of the matter is we were forced to pay Flo for something they failed to deliver. 

[Ron Boerger]

Oh, and it was also good to Collin Bishop pull off the fake punt.  One of the TLU announcers - maybe it was the color guy, who was pretty awful throughout - made some remark about Trinity not doing fake punts much and I was like tell me you don't watch Trinity regularly without telling me. 

[Bmo]

I'm pretty sure the announcers were Trinity announcers/students. 

[Ron Boerger]

I'm pretty sure the announcers were Trinity announcers/students. 

I can't see Trinity providing announcers for a TLU home broadcast that their fans have to pay to watch.  And they refer to Trinity throughout as "their" and "them".

[Bmo]

I recognized the voices from other Tiger Network presentations.  I had zero issues with the announcing; the stream experience, however, was terrible.

[tigerguy]

I didn't think the announcers were from Trinity, either, but who knows.

Based on what I heard about special teams from the scrimmage, I was pleasantly surprised to see Rhoades absolutely drill that 47 yarder. He had some extra distance to spare, too.

[D3Navy]

My initial thoughts after Trinity's 26-14 win over TLU:

First off, good job Trinity on getting your payback. A nice gritty win to start off the new campaign.

Outside of the INT (which I didn't actually get to see because of the poor streaming quality), I was very impressed with Franklin at QB. Early on I thought he was very decisive and looked very good navigating the pocket. He seemed to cool off in the second half but he looks like a gamer who can elevate Trinity's offense with his legs and being able to extend plays.

Huerta is legit. Enough said.

The pass protection looked suspect at times. To be more specific, it felt the edge protection was very weak. I think this was a big contribution as to why the offense cooled off in the second half. It seemed Franklin had to run it every time he dropped back.

Defensively, the run game was good. I would like to see more physicality and better tackling but overall the front 7 looked good.

The secondary left a lot to be desired. It just seemed like they lacked situational awareness at times and playmaking ability. Give credit to TLU though, that QB is good at throwing on the run and their receiving core was able to make some plays. Fortunately, majority of what I saw in the secondary is fixable. I'm interested to see how this unit performs throughout the season.

Shoutout special teams, I think this was the difference tonight. That snapping error by TLU that led to a safety was essentially a 9 point swing. Also the blocked field goal by Trinity was huge in keeping the momentum on their side late in the game. Shoutout Rhodes on that 47-yd field goal as well.

Go Tigers!

Great recap 909.

Some additional thoughts/observations:

- Huerta has speed and power.  Waste's little energy, finds holes quickly, and runs downhill.  Caught only one pass but in the scrimmage against Blinn was VERY capable with the ball on several swing passes.  He'll now get more attention from defenses.  I was surprised to not see Nickerson in the backfield (traveling squad number restrictions?).  He was also pounding the ball effectively in the scrimmage.  Size really matters and TU should emphasize use of their big backs.  Superb performance from Huerta.

TLU read the play from the beginning on Hondo's interception.  He shouldn't have thrown it.  A learning experience.  He was a cool customer in the backfield and his legs (and awareness of the first down marker) were very effective.  TLU recognized this, however, and he was bottled up more effectively as the game went on.  A good passer.  Although a small sample size, Welker Horn (Tucker and Raider's younger, but not littler, brother) attempted two passes late in the game.  One, a long sideline route that drew a pass interference penalty.  A perfectly thrown 40-yard toss.  The second throw was a rollout sideline pass that was on a rope and perfectly placed while on the run.  Three other very solid QBs on the roster, as well.  Very reassuring.

Rushing defense was OUTSTANDING.  Allowed less than three yards/carry and nearly half of TLUs production (77 yards) came on three runs of just over 10 yards.  Even with linebackers TJ Scannell (Captain) and newcomer Dorien Hill (UMHB transfer) not playing in the 2nd half, they stopped the run.

The secondary got better as the game went on.  Judson Crockett (transfer from TCU) had an interception and a couple of breakups and led the team in tackles.  Trinity starts a freshman at one corner position (Kody Brown) and he played very well.   

Special teams was a question mark given the scrimmage with Blinn.  They were terrific in this game.  Blocked FG, 47-yard FG, fake punt, great kickoff returns and great KO coverage as well.  Superb.

Great resilience at the beginning of the 2nd half.  Three suspect penalty calls moved TLU into the redzone quickly, but Trinity held and then blocked the field goal attempt (Jackson Priesmeyer).  That probably effectively sealed the win as TLU lost momentum.

Also, it was 100 degrees at kickoff and as the game wore on the players on both sides were obviously affected.  Even the fans were dead quiet at times as even cheering was a chore. 

Closing comment: TLU needs to expand the visitor section bleachers.  My kids' middle school has three times the capacity and given the number of Texas schools that TLU plays, added capacity would be well used.

Great game from both squads.  Hope all of the injured players recover swiftly.

[awadelewis]

First game for the first Saturday of the 2025 season in the books as Sewanee gets the road win at Bethany College, 41-6.

Only other game in the afternoon is Maryvile at Hendrix, with the Scots leading 12-7 at 6:09 mark in the Second.

All other games are tonight.

[awadelewis]

League goes 6-2 in non-conference play in week 1 with Trinity, Sewanee, Maryville, Southwestern, Berry, Centre in the win column.   Rhodes and Millsaps both got thumped hard, with Millsaps dropping their main rivalry game.

[tigerguy]

BJ Stewart tore it up in his first official game at UMHB. He had a fantastic scrimmage, too. Sucks to watch.