JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trinity Christian spent most of Friday night flirting with danger in the Region 1-1A final, allowing University Christian to start six possessions on the Conquerors’ side of the field.
But with the short field, the Trinity defense reared up, led by an outside linebacker-turned-emergency-cornerback.
The Conquerors spotted the host Christians a 12-point lead and fired back. Temp cornerback Terrell Pinkney picked off two passes in the fourth quarter, one in the end zone to halt a drive and another one run back for a region championship-icing touchdown on the way to a 27-12 victory over its crosstown private-school rival in the Varsity 4 Game of the Week.
No matter how it was done, Trinity (9-4) is playing December football again, heading to next week’s state semifinals. The Conquerors are seeking their first state title game appearance since 2021, when they defeated Hialeah Champagnat in the championship game, capping back-to-back state titles.
The final four teams will be re-seeded based on the FHSAA points rankings so Trinity does not yet know whether it will host or travel or who its opponent will be but, as all the other regions had teams ranked ahead of the Conquerors playing Friday, it’s a safe bet they will hit the road.
And they’re just fine with that, just getting the opportunity to keep their season going.
“It feels good. I just feel like we need to go to state,” said freshman running back Micah Anderson, whose 46-yard scoring run gave Trinity a 20-12 lead with five minutes left in the game. “We ain’t finished yet.”
There were plenty of opportunities for UC (9-4) to finish off the Conquerors. The Christians were in Trinity territory 12 times but could only muster 12 points, all in the second quarter. But UC stalled out with turnovers and the inability to convert third and fourth downs.
The Christians had no success rushing the ball, with 34 yards on the ground on 33 carries. At the same time, a fierce pass rush with six sacks and the ability of two new cornerbacks shut down the passing attack.
Injuries took out the Conquerors’ two starting corners, including losing one before the game and the other during it. But freshman Camren Hall and Pinkey stood tall, with Pinkney getting his two picks, including one run back 59 yards for the game’s final score.
It wasn’t a totally new experience for Pinkney, who had filled in before. But the 6-foot-4, 196-pound junior stood out at corner, away from his outside linebacker position.
He felt comfortable out there, first blanketing Amare Mack, UC’s top receiver, and nabbing one from reserve quarterback Harrison Leddy while getting the first interception. Then grabbing the second one off of reserve Ty Keister and running it back.
“Stay deep, don’t get beat,” Pinkney said. “Play my technique. They kept doing short stuff but I knew the first one, I stayed deep and played the ball. The second one, I scoot, scoot. I see the ball, get the ball, like my coaches’ teach. I made the play, and I see nothing but green grass.”
Longtime Trinity coach Verlon Dorminey said there’s a reason Pinkney looked good out there.
“He hadn’t played much corner all year,” Dorminey said. “Terrell came in and played corner. He usually plays off edge. But he’s been playing some there and working at corner. But he’s long, and he’s been offered by Michigan, so he can play anywhere on the field.”
But there are plenty of things that need to be cleaned up by next week. Most of what the Conquerors did Friday night would get them bounced from the playoffs, especially from a region final.
Aside from the good field position gifted UC, Trinity had three punts blocked — though one went past the line of scrimmage — and another driven straight into the line. The Conquerors converted only two of 12 third-down attempts and went three-and-out eight times.
There were two fumbles, though one was recovered in the end zone by Marquez Hicks for the go-ahead score in the third quarter, an interception and 131 yards in penalties, which helped start and extend drives.
But the Christians couldn’t capitalize much. They had a 57-yard drive capped at the start of the second quarter when Trevon Burch took a sweep for a 6-yard score. Then, after Julius Larosa blocked a punt, quarterback Khalil Thompson hit Jacoby Walker for the touchdown and a 12-0 lead.
Those other forays into Trinity territory? Two punts, three turnovers on downs, two fumbles — both caused by Rashon Lewis — and Pinkney’s picks.
That was critical when the Conquerors drove 55 yards with 49 seconds left in the half, to the Christians 4 with six seconds left. Terel Dallas hit Hicks over the middle to trim the deficit to 12-7.
That was a big boost, Dorminey said.
“That gives you some momentum going into halftime,” he said. “I think that would be really tough on our kids if we hadn’t scored there. We were only one score down.”
After that, it seemed UC’s fate was sealed. The Christians mustered only 56 total yards in the final 24 minutes of play. Running back Jon Asbey left the game late in the first half with an injury with 27 yards rushing on 9 carries, and Thompson was knocked out in the fourth quarter — setting the stage for Pinkney’s picks — after completing 10-of-26 for 125 yards.
“It felt good out there,” Pinkney said. “With my guys all around me, I felt safe. I feel blessed.”
Trinity Christian 27, University Christian 12
Trinity Christian, 0, 7, 7, 13 —27
University Christian, 0, 12, 0, 0 —12
UC – Trevon Burch 6 run (run failed)
UC – Jacoby Walker 34 pass from Khalil Thompson (kick blocked)
TC – Marquez Hicks 4 pass from Terel Dallas (Jacob Landreth kick)
TC – Hicks recovered fumble in end zone (Landreth kick)
TC – Micah Anderson 46 run (kick failed)
TC – Terrell Pinkney 59 INT return (Landreth kick)
Category: TC -- UC
First downs: 7 -- 12
Rushes-yards: 37-159 -- 33-34
Passing: 71 -- 139
Comp-Att-Int: 8-16-1 -- 12-32-2
Fumbles-lost: 2-1 -- 2-2
Penalties-Yards: 12-131 -- 6-48
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — TC: Anderson 17-117, Dallas 11-48, Hicks Zarah 6-9, Hicks 1-5, Arryon Brookins 1-0, Team 1-(-20). UC: Xavier Billings 10-52, Jon Asbey 9-27, Burch 2-11, Zion Davis 1-2, Walker 1-(-5), Harrison Leddy 2-(-7), Team 1-(-16) Thompson 7-(-30).
PASSING — TC: Dallas 7-12-0-65, Zarah 1-4-1-6. SA: Thompson 10-26-0-125, Leddy 2-5-1-14, Ty Keister 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING — TC: Hicks 4-31, Brookins 1-28, Chris Grissett 1-7, Anthony Jones 2-5. UC: Zay Hilliard 4-45, Walker 1-34, Amare Mack 2-23, Burch 3-23, Carson Bergeron 1-9, Alex Skidmore 1-6.