‘Be hungry to get better’: Euless Trinity pulls away, hands Crowley first loss of season
Euless Trinity’s size was too much for Crowley to handle.
Trinity pulled away to defeat Crowley 77-34, handing the Eagles their first loss of the season. The Trojans scored five 40 plus yard touchdowns.
“We’ve got some explosive guys on offense,” Trinity head coach Aaron Lineweaver said. “If they can make somebody miss, they have a chance to take it to the house. They were able to do that tonight.”
Crowley head coach Carlos Lynn said his team was “out manned” and needed a next man up mentality while dealing with injuries. He said the loss was disappointing but that they’ll “flush it and move on.”
“They’re a good ball club,” Lynn said. “They’ve got some size. They’re overwhelmingly bigger than us, and they used it to their advantage tonight.”
The size of the Trojans helped their ground game thrive. Trinity tallied 531 rushing yards to Crowley’s 124. Crowley quarterback Caleb Williams, who finished with 491 total yards and 4 touchdowns, couldn’t maintain the success without an established ground attack.
At the half, Trinity led 35-27. The Trojans made defensive adjustments to limit Crowley’s production and the offense kept rolling.
“We had to get better leverage on the perimeter,” Lineweaver said. “Get off blocks a litte bit better. Be smarter on our pass rush and just stay calm. The kids did great and the coaches did great too.”
Running back Josh Bell said the team knew Crowley wouldn’t back down and that they had to come out with the same firepower in the second half.
“They were an undefeated team, so we had to come out and hit it hard,” Bell said.
Crowley won its first seven games of the season in Lynn’s first year at the helm. In the 2022-2023 season, the Eagles won four total games.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” Lynn said. “Even tonight in a losing effort. They were giving us everything they had. Sometimes in the game of football you meet your match in some areas.”
Trojan and Eagles go back and forth
Both teams started slow with a punt. After, both offenses found a groove. Williams started the scoring with a 34-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Antayvious Ellis, who bobbled the ball but was able to re-secure it.
The Trojans got the ball back and the ground game was thriving. Running back Josh Bell handed the ball off to wide receiver Jarvis Heimuli, who found open grass and gained 46 yards. Bell finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown, shaking off a few tackles along the way.
In its next drive, Crowley was stuffed on 4th-and-1. The Trojan offense capitalized with a quick, two play scoring drive. Heimuli was on a streak route with one defender in his way; the defense bit on the play action and Heimuli, who finished with 115 yards and 2 touchdowns, had a wide open 47 yard score.
Crowley was able to respond. On third and long, running back Caleb Pope absorbed contact, trucking his way through multiple Trojans for a 26-yard gain. He finished the series with a 1-yard touchdown.
Pope’s score started a stretch in which four of five plays were touchdowns. Trinity running back JT Harris found a wide open hole for a 78-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive. Crowley bounced back with a 15-yard gain and Ellis’ second touchdown of the game, a 62-yard reception.
Trinity had its own 62-yard score in its next offensive play. Quarterback TJ Tupou, who finished with 151 yards and 3 touchdowns, found Heimuli for another wide open touchdown. Both team’s secondary was struggling to contain the deep ball.
Crowley embarked on a 9-play scoring drive. Wide receiver Jacque Overton used his size effectively, hauling in three consecutive receptions including a 7-yard touchdown on a fade route facing double coverage.
The final score of the half was a wide open 28-yard reception by running back Ethan Wright.
Trojans pull away
The Trojans started the second half with a three play scoring drive capped off by a 5-yard touchdown run from Harris. Crowley responded with a six play scoring drive finished by a 25-yard connection from Williams to wide receiver Derrick Tasby with 9:02 left in the third quarter.
Tasby’s touchdown was the last time Crowley would score in the contest. It was all Trojans from that point on, and they scored five more touchdowns.
First, Bell had a 1-yard score and Harris had a long 67-yard breakaway touchdown. Next, it was Bell’s turn for a big score, and he notched a 41-yard touchdown run. To close things out, fullback Buddy Leota had a 10-yard touchdown and Oliver Barnhill had a 1-yard score.
“We knew we had to score a lot of points,” Bell said. “And we did that.”
Harris finished with 219 yards and 3 touchdowns on only six attempts while Bell had 166 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 attempts.
“It’s amazing to watch because you don’t know what to expect,” Bell said of the Trojan ground game. “Every play can be something big.”
To build on the win, Lineweaver said the Trojans need to focus on themselves. He mentioned they’ll have to compete against a “really good Weatherford team” next week.
“Keep getting better,” Lineweaver said. “Focus on us. ... Be hungry to get better.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2023 at 12:51 AM.
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