‘Focus on getting better’: Euless Trinity builds more momentum with win over Weatherford

BEDFORD – Josh Bell rushed for 170 yards on 11 carries and three touchdowns, all in the first half, to lead Euless Trinity past Weatherford, 38-7, at Pennington Field Friday night.

Trinity (6-3, 4-2 in Dist. 3-6A) had already secured a playoff berth in last week’s win. Another win against Hurst L.D. Bell will assure a second place seed in final district standings.

Trinity, ranked fourth in Class 6A among area high schools in the Star-Telegram poll, scored on its’ first three possessions to take a 21-0 lead in halftime. Bell had touchdown runs of 25, 4, and 6 yards. The 4-yarder came on fourth-and-goal.

The Trojan defense, meanwhile, held the Kangaroos to 215 yards of offense and seven first downs. This included a 75-yard catch-and-run by Colton McClure from quarterback Keats Bohannon with 3:50 left for the final score.

Trinity Coach Aaron Lineweaver was pleased with his team’s performance overall in light of the short notice to start the game at 6 instead of 7:30 p.m. due to threatening inclement weather. The decision to move the game up was made at about 10 a.m. the same day.

This was also notwithstanding a couple of lost fumbles early in the second half that could have let Weatherford back into the game. The first came on the kickoff to open the second half.

A successful onsides kick was recovered by the Kangaroos at the Trinity 48-yard line. But a subsequent pass at the 41 on fourth-and-three went incomplete.

From there, the teams traded punts but Weatherford’s was mishandled by the Trinity punt returner and recovered by the Kangaroos’ Cameron Davis at the Trinity 44. Four plays later, however, on fourth-and-one from the 35, the Weatherford running back was brought down at the line of scrimmage by Trojan lineman Gordon Mohetau to stifle the threat.

It was not the first time Weatherford was held on fourth down. The Kangaroos on occasion moved the ball but were frustrated by drives they were unable to sustain. On their second drive of the game, they went from their 23-yard line to the Trojan 20 in 13 plays only to turn the ball over on downs.

But the Kangaroos were handicapped by the loss earlier in the season by their top running back, JoJo Polk. They were also missing their first and second string quarterbacks, C.J. Thornton and Cutter Kennedy, also due to injury.

Regarding the two lost fumbles, Lineweaver did not fault his return man, Ethan Wright.

“There’s no better kid than Ethan who returns our punts,” the coach said. “Sometimes you get a tough bounce and it was a tough wind.”

In any event, the junior made amends by scoring the Trojans’ first touchdown of the second half with an 11-yard touchdown up the middle off of a direct snap. Coming with 1:15 left in the third quarter, it gave trinity a 28-0 lead.

“I just hope we focus on getting better,” Lineweaver added. “There are always things we could do to get better. So far, we’ve done a pretty good job. We just need to improve on some things starting tomorrow and Monday. We just need to win (against Bell).”

Something one of the referees said at the end of the game made Lineweaver’s day.

“I got a nice complement from the referee about discipline,” he observed. “You work on those things by discipline and it’s nice to see it come to fruition sometimes. It made me feel good.”

Following Wright’s touchdown run, the Trojans’ pushed the advantage up to 31-0 with a 37-yard field goal by Andrew Gutierrez. The senior kicker was also good on five of his PATs.

The field goal came four plays after Lemariea Smith intercepted at the Weatherford 35 off of a deflected pass and returned it 11 yards to the 24.

Trinity’s final score came midway in the final stanza when J.T. Harris went off-tackle left from 8 yards out. Coming at the end of a seven-play, 53-yard drive, it was Trinity’s shortest touchdown drive.

Trinity quarterback T.J. Tupou completed nine of 14 passes for 161 yards. Hs favorite target was Jarvis Heimuli with six receptions for 125 yards.

Counterpart Bohannon for Weatherford was seven of 13 passes with and interception and touchdown for 113 yards.

Weatherford will next host Paschal Thursday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. CT.

Trinity will return to Pennington Field to face Bell the same day and time. Both are regular season finales.