SUWANEE, Ga. - Nationally ranked Trinity, on the road, survived an upset minded LaGrange Panthers team Saturday. The Tigers rallied from a 10-0 third quarter deficit to post a 14-10 win. Trinity quarterback Nykolas McKissic ran a QB sneak on fourth & goal for the winning score early in the fourth quarter.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College fell to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in conference play with a 48-17 loss against Rhodes over the weekend in Memphis. The 'Roos trailed just 10-3 with just under five minutes left in the first half, but 31 unanswered points from the Lynx made it a 41-3 game in the fourth before Brogan Funderburg scored a four yard touchdown and Sean Sweeney returned a kickoff 80 yards for another touchdown to make it a 48-17 final. Funderburg finished with 82 yards on 17 carries, his highest output of the season, and Noah Jesko completed 9-of-21 passes for 89 yards with an interception. Braydon MaQuar made five catches for 46 yards, and Sweeney had a big day returning kicks, taking five for a total of 174 yards, an average of 34.8 per return. Tanner Martin made 17 tackles, including 3.0 for loss and a sack and also blocked a kick to lead the defense and Kenneth Eneh had five stops and an interception. The 'Roos are home this weekend for Homecoming as they host DePauw University at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.
Birmingham-Southern was off this week but returns to action this Saturday against No. 14 Trinity in San Antonio, Texas. The Panthers are led by junior tailback Shawn Morris, who leads the conference and is ranked 11th in the nation in rushing yards (809), and leads the conference and is ranked 13th in touchdowns with 12. On defense, junior safety Andrew Shannon leads the team and the league with four interceptions, and has recorded 36 tackles, ranking him third in the conference.
Centre improved to 6-0 for the second time in three years with a 28-14 win over visiting Sewanee. After falling behind 7-0 early in the game, the Colonels scored 28 unanswered points. It's only the third time since 2001, Centre has started the season 6-0. The Colonels have not started 7-0 since the 1989 season when they finished 8-1 overall and 4-0 in the College Athletic Conference. The Centre defense allowed only 202 total offensive yards, the second lowest by an opponent this season. The Colonels will travel to Millsaps this weekend.
Millsaps (4-3 overall, 3-1 SCAC) had the week off. The Majors prepare to host Centre in a key SCAC game on Saturday, Oct. 29 at Harper Davis Field. Millsaps will look to hand the Colonels their first loss of the season and stay in contention for a share of the SCAC title with a win. Last year, the Majors rode the strength of a 16-6 halftime lead enroot to a 30-18 win over Centre. Offensively, Millsaps was led by quarterback Garrett Pinciotti. Pinciotti completed 23 of 34 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Additionally, Shane Bowser added 153 rushing yards and a touchdown for the Majors. It marked the fifth straight win in the series for the Majors dating back to the 2006 season.
Led by a career best 437 yards passing performance from senior Quarterback Brett Stoots Rhodes beat Austin College 48-17 in Rhodes' homecoming contest. It marks the first Rhodes victory over Austin since 2007 and head coach Dan Gritti's first conference win. With the win, Rhodes has won three of their last four and moved to 3-3 on the season and 1-2 in the SCAC. Stoots currently leads the SCAC in passing yards per game at (269.4). The Lynx also have the three top receivers in the SCAC in receptions per game. Senior Buddy Legens leads the SCAC in receptions with 50 (8.3/game), Jack Lartigue is second with 47 (7.8/game) and Jake Jackson is 3rd with 29 (4.8/game). Rhodes host Sewanee in the annual Orgill Cup game on October 29th. Rhodes has won the last five contests against Sewanee and seven out of the last eight.
Sewanee opened its two-game road trip with a 28-14 loss at Centre. The Tigers had touchdowns from senior fullback Zeke Wilson and sophomore running back Barrett Goodson. Overall, the Tigers struggled offensively. After committing two turnovers on the afternoon Sewanee was held to 180 yards rushing. This week Sewanee will play its most tradition-rich game of the season at Rhodes. The battle for the Orgill Trophy has resided with the Lynx the last five years. Despite Rhodes winning on the Mountain last season - by a 20-16 score - the Tigers led the overall series 41-35-3.
No. 14 Trinity finished off its non-conference schedule with a 14-10 comeback win over LaGrange College on Saturday afternoon, improving to 7-0 on the season. The Tigers fell behind 10-0 early in the game, and trailed by the same score into the third quarter. Trinity finally got on track in the second half, allowing just over 100 yards of offense for the final two quarters, and scoring two touchdowns to pull out the win. The Tiger defense forced an interception in the end zone with less than two minutes to play. Trinity resumes SCAC play this weekend, taking on Birmingham-Southern College at home. The Tigers are 4-0 all-time against the Panthers, including last year's 38-28 win. Trinity is currently tied atop the SCAC standings with Centre College, as both teams hold 3-0 conference records.
For the complete SCAC Gridiron Weekly for Week 8, click here.
