One week after a disappointing season-opening loss to Indiana powerhouse Lawrence North, the Trinity Shamrocks looked to bounce back at home against the Manual Crimsons.

Despite the absence of injured quarterback Brad Kragthorpe, the Rocks were able to show poise on offense, racking up 276 yards on 45 plays. Trinity also intercepted two Manual pass attempts, leading to a 27-0 shutout of the Crimsons.

Ryan Frederick, who finished the game 4 of 6 for 115 yards in just his first varsity start, led the Rocks on the game’s opening drive. With just under five minutes in the first quarter, University of Louisville commit Nick Robertson put Trinity on the board with a 49-yard field goal, which would be the only score of the quarter.

With just over six minutes left in the second quarter, Frederick connected with Rob Melillo on a 51-yard screen pass for a touchdown, putting the Rocks up by 10. The Crimsons, looking to gain momentum going into halftime, put together an impressive 17-play drive led by quarterback Derek Woodmore but failed to connect on a 24-yard field goal, keeping the score at 10-0.
Following another disheartening Manual turnover, Robertson tacked up another field goal, extending the Trinity lead to 13.

“We need to cut down on our mistakes,” Manual head coach Joe Nichols said.

Frederick then continued to manage the offense, hitting Darick Nix on a long reception, followed by a clutch reception on third down and eight by Evan Morris, leading to a touchdown run by Jack Tencza, making the score 20-0.

Tencza, who finished the game with 116 yards rushing, continued to run all over Manual throughout the second half, including running all six plays of Trinity’s final drive for 44 yards and a touchdown, which would be the final score of the game.

The junior running back was quick to credit an important aspect of the offense that boosted his play.

Tencza said, “The O-line really stepped up and blocked well.”

Trinity’s solid defense came up huge in the second half, keeping the Rocks on offense. The relentless defense was powered by interceptions from Ben Brislin and Clayton Meyer.

The Rocks said the victory was extremely important, due to their opening-game loss to Lawrence North.

“We were much more disciplined,” said Tencza, who carried the ball 23 times. “Our O-line really stepped up and we played much smarter.”