Saunoa’s fumble recovery aid Trinity to first win of the season
Bedford, TX – As the momentum slipped away and leading by three-points, Euless Trinity could only wonder how could it stop a talented Redskins team, who were on a late role.
But big plays don’t always come in the form of a touchdown. Tupe Saunoa proved it Saturday night, as he recovered a game saving fumble at the Union 39 yard line with 1:31 left and Euless Trinity got a team effort to hold off the Tulsa Union Redskins by a score of 21-18 at Pennington Field.
“They are so well coached and play great defense. They had a big offensive line and great receivers. They have it all, and for us to find away to win this game, really is going to help our confidence”, Euless Trinity coach Steve Lineweaver said. We’ll be able to fix a lot of things, they showed our weaknesses and to be able to win, I’m real happy.”
It was the first time the two have met and it will be remember for years to come. Union, a state and national power from Tulsa Oklahoma have won the last four 6A titles, in the state’s highest classification.
With the win, the Trojans avoids an 0-2 start to its season.
With under two minutes to go. The Trojans (1-1, 0-0) were forced to punt while facing a 4th and eight from its 26 yard line. Union, moments ago, scored on its last series and had the momentum on its side leading up to the unthinkable.
Safety Dahlquist Chase bobbled the punt while loosing control of the ball as Saunoa who was covering, pounced on the loose ball at the 39 yard line of Union.
“It was a tough battle and we knew Trinity had a good team. But i felt like we ajusted as the game went on. Just too many crucial mistakes”, says Tulsa Union’s coach Kirk Fridrich. They (Euless Trinity) had mistakes they wished they had back, just as we did. You got to love the game. It was a fun tough battle. We wanted to win, but definately we will learn from it.”
The Trinity offense trotted back on to the field, took a couple snaps and ran out the clock in route to its first win of the season after dropping an overtime decision 31-24 to (Washington) Bellevue the week before.
With 3:16 left, Union (1-1) drew within three, marching from its own 38 yard line. Senior quarterback Atyia Hunter directed the drive, picking up 24 ground yards and completing four passes, including an 11-yard strike to slot receiver Chris hall to trim the deficit, 21-18 after tight end Meier Carson caught the two-point conversion.
“I think we had a great game, just some mistakes that turned out big. But we’ll improve. This loss gives us a wakeup call, letting us know, we need to work on this. But its not going to crush us, we’ll come back, we always do. Our coaches have confidence in us. We were confident coming in, though there a big team (Euless Trinity) but it didn’t change anything. Texas football is just like Oklahoma football, you just can’t cut block”, said Union’s TE/FB/HB Chris Hall, who is currently committed to the University of Tulsa.”
Trinity’s offensive line was a huge factor opening holes and providing a pocket presence for QB Matt Hawkins while battling an equally impressive Union defensive front. Running backs, Hunter Babcock and Kenneth Gonzales complimented the offense well, running behind its massive line, finding running room up the middle and outside, to help sustain crucial drives.
“We talked about being physical and secondly, about overcoming adversity”, says Euless Trinity’s right tackle Lem Galeai. This game was great and we learned a lot. Both teams (Bellevue and Union) are great teams and they brought it. Bellevue is fast. When asked about the week long school spirit before the game. Galeai said, just having faith that we would have a good game and not a blowout.”
“We knew they’d be a big physical team. A championship team that would fight for four quarters. We knew it would be a battle and thats exactly what it was. We just wished we would make two more plays than we diid. They (Trinity) did a great job of getting hats to the ball and offensively they out numbers us to the point of attack. They executed well”, said Union’s coach Fridrich.
The Trojans got on the board first, marching eighty-eight yards in seven plays. Matt Hawkins 46-yard pass to De’Andre Roberson gave the Trojans great field position at the Union 42. Five plays later, Hawkins scampered in from 23 yards out to give Trinity a 7-0 lead with 4:59 to go in the first quarter .
A couple of dropped passes stalled out Union’s first two drives before the Redskins received a momentum boost, stopping Trinity on fourth and two at its 49.
That led to Hunter guiding the Redskins on yet another long drive as he accounted for 14 ground yards before RB Silmon Justin finished off an 11-yard TD run. That locked the score at seven after junior kicker Austin Butler’s extra point kick.
As the game went on, Union found success spreading the field as Trinity with its power running game.
“We were finding that we needed to hit more quick hitters. So Homer Babcock is a good inside runner and Jason Reese with the lead blocks, did a good job”, says Lineweaver.
Union’s big play second quarter sent the game to intermission down four points, 14-10 when the ball bounced off a Redskins players as he loss site of the ball on the kickoff. Karnegay Kahid scooped up the ball and race down the field before being brought down on a shoe string tackled by the kicker Jose Martinez at the eight yard line. Eventually the Trojans would surrender a 22-yard field goal instead of a touchdown, thanks to Martinez heroics.
Both teams battled to a scoreless third quarter, before Trinity drove 71 yards to take 21-10 lead with 5:09 left.
When asked about not shying away from tough competition, Lineweaver said, “we have a lot of nerve when we make the schedule out. Its like a wild river ride, we get knocked off the boat, but we get back on. Thats how we learn.”
With every reason to believe that it could score, Union hopes were high after a defensive stance. It held the Trojans to two yards and forced a punt with under 2:00 left. But along came disaster when Chase fumbled the ball to seal the win for Trinity.