Friday, December 2, 2011

Trinity stakes claim to 'best team ever' and National Championship with 62-21 romp over Scott Co.

Herald Leader


Trinity not only won a Class 6A state football championship Friday night, it may have won a mythical national title, too.

The Shamrocks, rated No. 1 in America by Sports Illustrated and Rivals.com, put the finishing touches on a 14-0 season by smashing Scott County 62-21 in the Russell Athletic finals in WKU's L.T. Smith Stadium.

The 62 points are the most ever scored in a title game, eclipsing the mark set by Trinity in its 59-56 win over Male in 2002.

Trinity has won nine state titles in the last 11 years under Coach Bob Beatty, and owns a record 21 championships overall. (Highlands can tie with its 21st title if it beats Franklin-Simpson in the 4A finals on Saturday).

Are the Rocks No. 1 in the nation this season?

"I don't have any control over that and don't worry about that," Beatty said. "All I know is we'll take a trophy home tonight. Everything else is somebody's opinion. But if you take a look at our schedule, I think it sells itself."

Scott County Coach Jim McKee proclaimed Trinity the best team in the history of Kentucky high school football — and that was before the Rocks rolled his Cardinals.

He didn't change his opinion after Friday night's game.

"There's no close second," he said. "I watched Highlands when they had Jared Lorenzen and Derek Smith, and Male when they had Montrell Jones and Michael Bush. (Trinity) is just so complete."

The Rocks, who beat powerhouses from Tennessee, Ohio and Indiana's 4A champ Indianapolis Cathedral this year, were at their devastating best on offense in the finals. They piled up 600 yards with a balanced attack.

Junior quarterback Travis Wright completed 15 of 19 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns.

Junior running back Dalyn Dawkins ran for 152 yards and four TDs.

Junior receiver James Quick had six catches for 120 yards and two scores.

Scott County, which never trailed in winning its first 14 games this year, gave the Rocks a fight early on.

The Cards stunned Trinity — and the crowd — by taking the opening kickoff and scoring in just two plays. Quarterback Ben Lawler had a 62-yard run on the first snap, and Dierrius Dumphord blew up the middle for an 18-yard touchdown on the next one.

But the thrill didn't last long. Trinity's Big Green Machine went to work and built a 42-14 halftime lead.

Scott County did have another highlight in the first half. Scott Daniel returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score to give the Cards' fans something to cheer about.

Trinity needed less than two minutes to score in the second half, and the snowball continued to turn into an avalanche of points.

The Rocks' Garrett Sauer had a 62-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter to make it 62-14, and that meant a mercy-rule running clock the rest of the way.

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