Class 6A championship: ‘This is not the kind of defense you see every year.’
Having won the most state championships in Kentucky high school football history, Trinity has certainly fielded its fair share of great defenses over the years. After one last dominant performance, the 2020 edition of the Shamrocks’ defense has solidified its spot among the program’s best.
Trinity smothered Male 28-0 in the UK Orthopaedic/KHSAA Class 6A State Football Championship at Kroger Field in Lexington on Saturday night. It’s the Shamrocks’ 27th overall and second straight state championship, having also beaten Male in last year’s title game.
Opposing offenses struggled all season to move the ball against Trinity (10-0) and Saturday’s season finale proved no exception. The Shamrocks pitched their fourth shutout of the season, including their third straight in the playoffs. Trinity allowed just 48 points all year and allowed two touchdowns in a game just once — a 43-14 victory over Male in the second game of the season.
The Bulldogs didn’t sniff the end zone this time around, gaining just 141 yards and five first downs and penetrating Trinity territory just once.
“It’s one of the best defenses I’ve ever seen or coached against,” Male Coach Chris Wolfe said. “They’re just so disruptive up front, at the second level they’re long and fast, and at the third level they’re very physical. It’s hard to get any kind of rhythm ... This is not the kind of defense you see every year.”
One of the few blemishes for Trinity’s defense Saturday came on a huge play which led to the touchdown that effectively put the game out of reach. Trailing 21-0 and looking for any kind of spark late in the third quarter, Male tried a trick play deep in its own territory. Trinity blew up the flea flicker attempt, and defensive end DeAnthony Perry picked up a fumble and charged down the sideline with nothing but daylight and the end zone in front of him.
The big man juggled the ball, fumbling out of bounds at the 9-yard line. Perry laid on the turf and slammed his fists into the ground before making way for the Shamrocks’ offense, which found pay dirt two plays later on a 9-yard touchdown run by Brad West to make it 28-0 Trinity.
West was named MVP after rushing for 96 yards and three touchdowns. The senior paced a Shamrocks offense that compiled just 289 yards but converted 14 first downs. Trinity’s offensive approach was measured by design, according to head coach Bob Beatty.
“You can call a conservative game when you have a defense like we do. We’re not afraid to punt the football,” Beatty said.
Trinity’s defense allowed the Bulldogs to convert just one of 10 third-down attempts and held them to 0-for-3 on fourth down. That performance put the Shamrocks in line for an extra sweet reward via the wallet of defensive coordinator Jay Cobb.
“Coach Cobb, whenever they have a shutout he has to buy the defense doughnuts,” Beatty said. “So I’m gonna sneak in there and get one of those myself this time.”
Trinity wasted little time in setting the tone. On third-and-10, quarterback Nathan McElroy scrambled away from pressure and launched a deep ball down the middle to a wide-open Colin Book, giving the Shamrocks a 7-0 lead just 89 seconds into the game.
Two possessions later, Trinity was set up at the Bulldogs’ 40-yard line following a fair-catch interference penalty. McElroy found Gavin Simpkins for a 23-yard gain, then West ran for a 4-yard touchdown off the option to make it 14-0 Shamrocks.
The first sign of life for the Male offense came when Nic Schutte tossed a 20-yard pass to Brooks Harris, but Trinity’s defense buckled down and forced a fourth consecutive punt.
Male made its only incursion into Trinity territory late in the second quarter when Schutte tossed a beautiful deep ball to Vinny Anthony for a 37-yard gain, but Trinity linebacker Aiden McKinley broke up a fourth-down pass to kill the drive. A 44-yard pass from McElroy to Owen Francia set the Shamrocks up at Male’s 25-yard line. A 37-yard field goal attempt by Trinity’s Kellan McLaughlin went wide left, and Trinity took a 14-0 lead into halftime.
The third quarter began in familiar fashion, with Male gaining just 5 yards on the opening possession before Trinity’s Michael Patterson blocked a punt to set the Shamrocks up with prime field position. McLaughlin again missed wide left, this time on a 29-yard field goal attempt, to keep Male within two possessions. The Bulldogs failed to take advantage, gaining no yards on the ensuing drive.
A 37-yard punt return by Roman White set the Shamrocks up at the Male 19-yard line, leading to a 10-yard touchdown run by West on fourth-and-1 to make it 21-0 Trinity.
Beatty expressed pride in the resilience his team showed in working through a season filled with uncertainty, which included the cancellation of three games because of COVID-19 protocols. Beatty said the lessons the Shamrocks learned this year will help carry them into the future.
“The pandemic’s hard, football’s hard, life is hard. But, you know what, it feels a lot better right now,” Beatty said. “The prize is at Trinity where it belongs.”
This story was originally published December 19, 2020 at 10:51 PM.
