Warriors rusty out of hiatus, fall to Madonna 32-6

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – It was a shaky night for the young Trinity Warriors (2-3), falling to the visiting Madonna Blue Dons (5-1) 32-6.

“I think the first half was nerves, we’ve got a lot of freshmen out there,” coach Marcus Law said. “We talked before the game, you’re going to have those butterflies – it’s natural – but those nerves got the best of them. The second half, they got some plays in and it really got rid of those nerves. You saw what they can do. It’s still about getting that football IQ up and getting them to play and practice hard.”

After forcing Trinity’s offense to a 3-and-out on its first drive, the Blue Dons put up the first points of the contest in less than 10 plays on their first drive. Quarterback Santino Arlia and running back Roman Baird worked the ball easily down the grid in tandem for 37 yards before Baird punched into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.

The Warriors had more to work with in their following drives, but a sack on Drew Boczek and a false start on the following snap count took away any momentum the Warriors had – a major problem that plagued the Warriors through the night, costing them 95 yards. Madonna proceeded to take over but was forced off the field after a fumble by Thomas Sessi and recovery by Trinity. Two possession changes later and another near-fumble recovery by the Warriors, Arlia connected with Lucky Pulice on a 4-yard pass for the second Blue Dons touchdown of the half.

After trading interceptions and forcing a turnover on downs on Madonna, Davon Eldridge picked up 33 yards on a three-play series to put the Warriors within striking distance at the 45-yard line. The Warriors didn’t manage the clock, however, and the halftime buzzer sounded.

After a Blue Don 3-and-out, Eldridge picked up 41 yards on a big run and Boczek and Levi Teets had two huge first downs to put the Warriors in the red zone. With a banged-up Eldridge resting on the sideline, Calvin Blunt Jr. took a handoff to the house for 12 yards and the Warriors’ first and only touchdown.

The Blue Dons responded by charging down the field once more. Resting at the 3-yard line, Arlia rolled out of the pocket looking for a target in the end zone but instead found a direct path to the goal line to push the lead to 20-6. Shortly after, a punting gaff by Fletcher Hartsock gave Madonna the ball on Trinity’s 11-yard line. Trinity held the Blue Dons to 3rd-and-10, but Pulice took a quick pitch from Arlia and bruised his way into the left-front pylon to deliver the final dagger to the Warriors. Arlia and Pulice connected a few minutes later for the final touchdown of the game, a toss over the middle for a 12-yard score – the capstone of a 24 completion, 386-yard air raid.

“We’re going to keep teaching (this week in practice),” Law said. “We’re not going to give up on these kids, and we’re not doing an overall change in our offense or defense. There’s a lot of young guys in there that still need developing.”

“I’m proud (of their success). A lot of teams that are in their first year don’t win. So to that point, they’ve stepped up and have done things that people are saying we’re not supposed to. We just keep that momentum going. I’m absolutely proud of them, I think when we gave up the big play (on the punt), that was the one that got us, but we bounced back from it.”

Despite getting sacked multiple times, the freshman signal caller Boczek went 10 for 20 for 119 yards. His favorite connection of the night was fellow-freshman Levi Teets who had 82 yards on five receptions. After starting slow for -6 yards on three rushes, Eldridge was strong from the backfield with 95 yards.