SAN ANTONIO – Trinity quarterback Bryant Wilson threw five touchdowns in the first half and Tiger running back Chris Baer rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown of his own to help lead 20th-ranked Trinity to a 48-18 season-opening win over McMurry Saturday night at E.M. Stevens Stadium.
McMurry will look to rebound next weekend (Sept. 13) against Austin College, another Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference school.
It was a lopsided first half that doomed McMurry as Trinity took a commanding 34-10 lead into the break.
Trinity jumped on McMurry early as they first struck only three and a half minutes into the game when Baer caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Wilson. Trinity tacked on its second touchdown of the day with three minutes left in the first quarter as Caleb Urban caught an 18-yard touchdown strike from Wilson to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead. Trinity would score one more touchdown before the first quarter ended as Al Furlow caught a 16-yard pass from Wilson on the last play in the first quarter to give Trinity a commanding 21-0 lead after the first frame.
McMurry first got on the scoreboard with 11:36 remaining in the second quarter when sophomore placekicker
Josh Neaves nailed a 30-yard field goal to cut McMurry's deficit to 18 (21-3). But Trinity would answer with the next 13 points of the game (Trinity missed one of the extra points) as Wilson threw two more touchdown passes.
Things looked overwhelmingly bleak for McMurry as they trailed 34-3 with only 50 seconds remaining until halftime and the ball on their own 34. But McMurry sophomore quarterback
Taylor Penn orchestrated a six-play drive that covered 66 yards and culminated with sophomore wide receiver
Simeon Neal fighting off two Trinity defensive backs to make a highlight-reel catch in Trinity's endzone as the first half expired. Even though they played a sloppy first half, Neal's catch helped McMurry carry some momentum into halftime.
But Baer got the momentum back for Trinity in the third quarter as he scored on a 15-yard scamper with 5:05 remaining in the quarter to push Trinity's lead back up to 31 (41-10).
Penn answered back for McMurry as on the ensuing drive he marched McMurry 69 yards on seven plays for its second touchdown. This time Penn connected with junior tight end
Seth Waller from 11 yards out to make it a 41-18 game after McMurry converted a two-point conversion.
But that would be the last time McMurry would score points as they struggled to move the ball in the fourth quarter. Trinity scored one more touchdown late in the game to finish out the scoring.
Wilson finished the game completing 20 of 31 passes for 199 yards with five touchdowns and one interception. Prior to the game, Wilson had only thrown two collegiate touchdown passes in his career (McMurry was the first game Wilson, a senior, started).
Penn, who started on McMurry's JV squad last year, finished his first career varsity start completing 10 of 25 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw four interceptions in his debut.
McMurry sophomore running back
Evan Hearn led McMurry's rushing attack with 71 yards on 18 carries, while freshman wide receiver
Marcus Thompson led McMurry in receiving with 91 yards on three catches.
