MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — From the opening play to the final whistle Friday night, Trinity Christian’s rushing attack just couldn’t be slowed.
The Warriors, hosting Class A foe Hannan, punched in a 9-yard touchdown on the ground with its first play from scrimmage and never looked back, accumulating 274 rushing yards as a team as they rolled the Wildcats 42-0.
“Looking at them defensively, we knew coming in that we had some matchups in the ground game we could run with,” Trinity head coach Marcus Law said.
“My linemen did a really good job,” Law said. “They played excellent, and my gaps were open for me,” Davon Eldridge said. “Brekken (Swafford) — I was running up right behind him all night — and those holes were wide open. I couldn’t do it without those guys.”
Eldridge paced the Warriors with 165 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
The Warriors jumped out to a quick start, but the Wildcats’ defense was able to compact the middle with a size advantage in the trenches and slow the Trinity run game. The Warriors (2-0) would adjust and stretch the field a bit more in the second half, tallying over 150 yards rushing in the final 24 minutes, including a pair of 40-plus-yard touchdown carries from Eldridge.
“What they were doing defensively was starting to hamper us, so we tried to spread them out a bit more,” Law said. “They had very big bodies in the interior, and it was hard for our lineman to get that movement and reach those linebackers who were just coming downhill. By spreading them out, we were able to open some more running lanes and create some space to work with for our offensive linemen and that was a big help.”
With the Warriors focusing on a run-first attack entering the game, Eldridge said the practice sessions leading up featured a heavy focus on stamina and toughness on the ground.
“At practice, we work hard. We’re up and down the field running the ball and working our conditioning,” Eldridge said.
