GEORGETOWN – Tate Taylor ran his way to becoming the first Southwestern University football player to eclipse 100-yards on the ground this season as the Pirates fell to Trinity University 30-0 in non-conference action at Birkelbach Field Saturday afternoon.
Southwestern (0-7) got another outstanding defensive performance allowing only two offensive touchdowns while the offense worked to find its groove in the second half.
Trinity (4-3) was able to take advantage of several favorable bounces including an 85-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown, as Austin Lee raced to pay dirt just before the first half ended. The defensive touchdown pushed the Trinity lead to 24-0 with just eight second remaining before halftime.
The Pirates were able to manage just over 20 yards on the ground in the first half; however the offensive line took control of the line of scrimmage opening holes for Taylor as he finished the afternoon with 126 yards on 23 carries. The 126-yards rushing were the most by a Pirate this season and the first in 63-years to cross the century mark.
Although the Pirate defense continued to answer the call, two late drives into Tiger territory saw the Pirates come away empty handed. A fumble and an interception ended both of Southwestern's drives while the Pirate defense was able to hold Trinity to a field goal on three trips into the red zone.
A trio of Pirates finished with a game-high nine tackles as Zach Cole and Alex Lee each added a tackle for a loss, while Lee picked up one sack. Quinton Thompson joined the pair with nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss.
Kevin Wise connected on a 22-yard field goal to put Trinity on the board early in the first quarter as the Pirate defense held strong before a deep pass gave the Tigers the first of only two offensive touchdowns.
A 43-yard pass from Stephen Smith to Matt Kennemer pushed the Trinity lead to 10-0 as Smith found Kennemer, who had snuck behind the Pirate secondary. The second touchdown pass from Smith to Kennemer went for 20-yards as Smith finished the day 18-of-32 for 262 yards passing – 129 of which went to his junior receiver.
Southwestern held strong two more times as Trinity drove into the red zone looking to break the game wide open. However each defensive stand saw the Tigers settle for a pair of Wise 22-yard field goals coming in each of the final two quarters giving Trinity the eventual 30-0 spread.
The Pirates and Tigers will meet again in three weeks in the scheduled conference meeting between the schools. Sandwiched between the second date with Trinity is a bye week for Southwestern, followed by the final regular season home game on Nov. 2 and Homecoming. The Homecoming contest will see the Pirates host Austin College with kickoff from Birkelbach Field set for 1 p.m.