‘That’s the way this program is.’ Trinity rallies, cruises to 29th state football title.

Defeating Trinity remains the ultimate measure of one’s ability to win championships in Kentucky’s large-school division, in large part because the Louisville juggernaut is so often in the title bout.

Up 14-0 after a quarter of play and driving for another touchdown Saturday night in the Class 6A UK HealthCare Sports Medicine State Football Finals, Ryle looked like it might become just the fifth team to beat the Shamrocks in 33 championship games.

But Trinity is Thanos. The Shamrocks’ inevitability revealed itself through the final score at Kroger Field: 42-23.

“Our guys have done what we’ve done all year,” Shamrocks coach Jay Cobb said. “We grind. We get behind, we don’t hit the panic button. We just kept playing, and when you do that good things will happen to you.

“And good things happened to us tonight.”

Trinity’s first good thing, after a listless first quarter by both sides of the ball, was a fourth-down stop early in the second frame. The Shamrocks (13-2) followed that with their first touchdown drive, then another defensive stop, then another touchdown drive before halftime.

Ryle (12-3) regained momentum out of the break, recovering a fumble and then forcing a three-and-out that gave way to a go-ahead field goal. But Trinity answered the Raiders’ three points with 28 straight to build an insurmountable lead, 42-17, with 3:15 remaining.

Sophomore Zane Johnson, starting his second straight championship game at quarterback for Trinity, took MVP honors. He finished 18-of-24 for 195 yards with two TD passes, including a 40-yard toss to Jason Hagan to put the Shamrocks ahead for good with 1:35 left in the third quarter.

A pair of Trinity interception return TDs — a 35-yarder by Caleb Ricks and a 15-yard sprint by Bailey Vance — sandwiched an 11-yard TD run by Jamaurion Berry in the final period. Ryle finally stopped the run on a TD catch by Landon Lorms with just 1:03 to play.

“We came out and played really, really well,” Ryle coach Mike Engler said. “They made plays in the fourth quarter at the end of the game and we didn’t. You take away two turnovers that were pick-sixes, and it’s a different football game.”

Alas, for the Raiders, it was the same kind of football game that’s happened to so many others who’ve lined up against Trinity in the state finals. Ryle joined Bryan Station — a 41-20 loser last year after building a 14-3 advantage — as the runners-up to Trinity in Cobb’s short tenure in charge.

Cobb, hired as Trinity’s defensive coordinator in 2014, took the reins in 2021. He won five rings while leading the defense but didn’t take Trinity to the final game until last season.

“We have an assembly at school, and the St. Matthews mayor and (city) council comes in,” Cobb said. “The guy literally hands me this plaque and he said, ‘I didn’t think it’d take this long.’ I’m serious. Two years, dude. That’s the way this program is. They really don’t care who your players are. They don’t care who you’re playing against. They expect a ‘W.’”

Their fans expect what their challengers dread: the inevitable.

Notes

▪ With 3:05 left to play, Ryle senior Jaden Galicia went down on the field after a collision while returning a kickoff. He was eventually carted off the field; a caravan of teammates followed him to the tunnel. Play resumed after about 10 minutes. Engler after the game declined to comment on the nature of Galicia’s injury but said “he’s doing fine.”

▪ Ryle fell to 0-2 in state finals. The Raiders last made it in 2006, when Class 4A was the state’s largest division. Trinity defeated them that year, too, 41-7.

▪ Berry scored two TDs for the Shamrocks and led them with 81 yards on 13 carries. He, like Johnson, is a sophomore.

This story was originally published December 7, 2024 at 9:59 PM.