SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Dawson White rushed for three touchdowns and
Jacorin Thomas threw for 256 yards and one TD, but Sewanee fell behind 24-0 and dropped a 45-26 decision at Trinity University in football action Saturday in San Antonio, Texas.
Dyer Barnes caught six passes for 167 yards and one TD while Thomas completed 15-of-24 passes for 256 yards, but the Tigers (1-4, 0-2 SAA) got off to a slow start offensively and Trinity (3-2, 1-1) took advantage, jumping out to an early lead and holding off Sewanee.
Ryan Back tossed a 50-yard touchdown pass and Legend Grigsby and Xadrian Huerta each scored on rushing TDs, helping Trinity to a 24-0 advantage with 11:53 remaining in the second quarter. White's one-yard scoring run cut the margin to 24-6 at intermission.
The teams swapped touchdowns in the second half, with Back throwing a 60-yard scoring pass to Will Taylor and Maddox Morkovsky and Johnny Milo each rushing for TDs for Trinity. White scored from three and one yards and Barnes recorded a 75-yard touchdown pass for the Tigers.
Kaleb Seay intercepted a pass and
Kason Holder forced a fumble that was recovered by
Jaylen Mack for Sewanee, but Trinity racked up 589 yards of total offense, including 311 on the ground. Back finished 16-of-22 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns while Winston Hutchison paced the home team on the ground with nine rushes for 96 yards.
White gained 89 yards on 19 attempts with the three touchdowns for the Tigers.
Grigsby's 47-yard run down the left sideline set-up Trinity inside the Sewanee 10 on the home team's first drive of the game, but two incompletions forced a field goal, which Tyler Huettel made from 24 yards for a 3-0 lead for Trinity.
The Sewanee defense got a stop on 4
th-and-1 from the Trinity 35 on the next possession, but the Tigers offense went backwards and was forced to punt again. Back passed over the middle to Alejandro Tavarez for a 50-yard touchdown on fourth down for Trinity's first TD of the game.
The home team scored on a 21-yard TD run by Grigsby on the fourth play of the second quarter and Huerta scampered 51 yards on the next Trinity possession, the first play of the drive, extending the lead to 24-0 with 11:53 remaining in the period.
Thomas connected with
AJ McLemore for 46 yards on the second drive of the second quarter and the quarterback broke a tackle to get a first down on 4
th-and-1, pushing the ball inside the Trinity 20, but a sack and a fumble on fourth down by White gave the ball back to Trinity.
Holder forced a fumble near midfield on the ensuing possession and Mack recovered for Sewanee. Barnes caught a 40-yard pass on the second play after the turnover and White scored from the one on third down, but the two-point try was no good and the Tigers trailed, 24-6.
Back completed a 60-yard touchdown pass to Will Taylor to open the third period and Seay intercepted a pass near midfield on the next Trinity possession. Barnes made a 38-yard reception inside the Trinity 10 and White scored from three yards out three plays later, cutting the deficit to 31-12 (PAT failed).
Markovsky rushed three yards for a score late in the third quarter for Trinity, but the Tigers answered with a 75-yard catch-and-run from Thomas to Barnes on the first play after the TD.
Both teams scored again early in the final period, with Milo rushing 13 yards for a touchdown for Trinity. Sewanee put together a nine-play, 74-yard drive that included seven carries for 45 yards by White, including two runs of 14 and the final one from a yard out.
Sewanee drove to the Trinity 10-yard line late in the fourth quarter thanks to a 15-yard pass by White to
Garrett Gray and a facemask penalty, but Thomas' pass was incomplete on fourth down and Trinity ran out the final 2:15 on the clock.
Sewanee travels to Berry College next Saturday, the second of three straight road games for the Tigers.