Trinity must regroup in SCAC
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D3football.com
The sky is falling in San Antonio.
OK, maybe that is a little extreme, but the weight of the world must surely seem to be pressing down upon the campus of Trinity University.
After 35 consecutive regular-season triumphs, Tiger fans learn that all good things truly must come to an end. And unfortunately that end came at fellow Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Centre College.
It has been five years -- to the week -- since Trinity was last handed a home regular-season loss. And believe it or not, that defeat on Oct. 21, 1995 came at the hands of none other than -- drum roll, please -- Centre.
So the Colonels have been a source of much misery for all those who bleed maroon, and as a result of last week's loss, the Tigers plummeted to 15th in the American Football Coaches Association national poll.
Trinity had Centre down 21-18 with less than a minute remaining in the game last Saturday. But quarterback Drew Mildren fired a 15-yard touchdown pass to split end Joe Guthrie that put the Colonels on top 25-21.
Trinity wouldn't go down without a fight, however, as 37 seconds remained on the clock. But Trinity signal-caller Roy Hampton couldn't engineer a final touchdown drive after throwing two earlier in the game.
Thanks to Centre, Trinity is no longer the top team in the SCAC, as the University of the South moved to the top of the standings with a 3-1 mark. The two schools will face off in what could prove to be the conference title game on Nov. 4.
It's electric
There was a big game over in the American Southwest Conference this past weekend as well, as Howard Payne gave Mary Hardin-Baylor its first true test of the season on Saturday.
The Crusaders didn't let anyone down -- save for all the Yellow Jacket fans -- by storming to a 19-14 come-from-behind victory in a game that included a 50-minute lightning delay in the fourth quarter.
The win over Howard Payne set UMHB for a clash of the conference titans in two weeks against the only other undefeated team, Hardin-Simmons.
Games of the Week
Rhodes at Trinity, 2:30 p.m.
How will Trinity react to its first regular season loss in its last 36 games? It won't be a cakewalk by any stretch of the imagination when a good Rhodes team comes calling. But count on the Tigers to bounce back from last week's loss in a big way.
McMurry at Howard Payne, 2 p.m.
In any other year this could have been a matchup of unbeatens, but McMurry struggled through a rough start. The Indians seem to have righted the ship now, and are riding a three-game win streak. Howard Payne, on the other hand, started the season out 4-1 but have dropped two straight.