BV thwarts Trinity’s upset bid
Trinity’s Nelson Jaden recovers a first-quarter fumble by Belle Vernon’s Nick Hall Friday night.
Trinity’s Dawson Leavines celebrates after scoring a six-yard touchdown Friday night.
Trinity’s Nelson Jaden celebrates after the Hillers forced a first-half interception Friday against Belle Vernon.
Belle Vernon’s Mike Fine looks to pass during the first half against Trinity.
Trinity’s Dawson Leavines is tackled by Belle Vernon’s Jake Herron.
Trinity’s Joey Koroly is tackled by Belle Vernon’s Elijah Johnson during the second half of Friday night’s game.
Belle Vernon’s Mike Fine hands the ball off to Nick Hall Friday night against Trinity.
Trinity’s Dylan Kern consults with coach Jon Miller during a stoppage in play Friday night against Belle Vernon.
Trinity’s Dylan Kern carries the ball Friday night against Belle Vernon.
The Trinity Hillers have never beaten a Belle Vernon team on the football field.
They might not have had a better opportunity than Friday night when the Trinity defense forced five Belle Vernon turnovers.
Trinity, however, turned those Belle Vernon mistakes into only three points, and one fourth-quarter miscue proved costly for the Hillers as Trinity couldn’t pull off the upset in a 21-15 Big Nine Conference loss to the Leopards.
“It was one of those nights where what could go wrong did,” said Belle Vernon head coach Matt Humbert. “But give the kids credit. They persevered and battled and somehow we were able to put 21 points up on the board.”
With Trinity leading 15-7, Hillers quarterback Dylan Kerr was intercepted by BV’s Tim Labuda, who returned it for a 47-yard game-tying touchdown.
On the Hillers’ next drive, they attempt a fake punt that didn’t work, instead of punting the football and playing the field-position game.
That’s exactly what Humbert did after the Leopards couldn’t convert off the fake punt.
BV (6-0, 6-0) pinned the Hillers (2-3, 2-4) at their own nine-yard line and forced a Trinity punt that netted the Leopards great field position.
“A couple plays here and a couple of plays there and it might be a different story,” Trinity head coach Jon Miller said. “This was a game that not many people gave us a chance to win and it was a game that we probably should have won, but we let one go.”
Belle Vernon quarterback Michael Fine shook off a tough night throwing the football and gained 31 yards on five carries, eventually scoring on a one-yard sneak to give the Leopards a 21-15 lead.
Fine didn’t complete a pass and threw three interceptions, but he gained 63 yards on 13 carries, making plays down the stretch with his legs.
“With the rain it probably wasn’t the best day to be throwing the ball, but we had to,” Humbert said. “After halftime we had to make some adjustments and keep the ball in Mike’s hands using some misdirection.”
With yards hard to come by for both teams for most of the first quarter, the Leopards changed that when Nick Hall broke loose with an 80-yard run to set BV up with a first-and-goal situation.
Hall, who rushed for 164 yards on 15 carries, found the end zone on the next play to give BV a 7-0 lead.
Both defenses did a solid job as the Belle Vernon defense, which has allowed only 9.0 points per game on the season, limited Trinity running back Joey Koroly to 111 yards on 31 carries, with most of his production coming in the fourth quarter.
“They are a very good defensive team,” said Miller. “They made it tough on us all night.”
The Hillers answered with an 11-play drive that ended with a Dawson Leavines’ six-yard touchdown run.
However, a penalty on the extra-point attempt moved the ball back and Trinity missed the kick, which proved costly as they went into halftime trailing 7-6.
Missed opportunities were the story of the night for the Hillers.
The Trinity defense gave the Hillers offense plenty of opportunities, but the Hillers couldn’t take advantage.
Trinity forced three consecutive turnovers when Jaden Nelson recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass. Dausen Marry followed that with an interception.
Trinity also forced a pair of second-half turnovers when Brett Shaver recovered a fumble and Jesse Pinkerton snagged an interception, but the Hillers couldn’t turn them into points.
Despite starting three consecutive drives inside the Belle Vernon 40-yard line, the Trinity offense turned the ball over on downs each time without mustering a first down.
Penalties were costly to the Hillers.
“You have to score,” Miller said. “We just keep having untimely penalties. I really don’t have an answer on why there are so many.”
Trinity took a 12-7 lead in the second half when Kern hit Robert Nelson with a two-yard touchdown pass on a fourth-and-goal play early in the third quarter.
Kern completed 12 of 25 passes for 107 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Nelson hauled in six receptions for 91 yards.
Belle Vernon, who has already punched its ticket to the playoffs, has a tough test next week in Thomas Jefferson, but Humbert saw a lot in his defense tonight.
They had their back against the wall numerous times, but never broke.
“That is the frustrating part,” Humbert said. “We gave them great field position over and over. You can’t turn the ball over five times. But we found a way to dig in defensively and did a great job of not allowing any points off all of the turnovers.”