Gallery: Trinity Catholic’s dream season ends with disappointing 21-3 loss in State Championship Game

Trinity Catholic fell to First Baptist Academy in the 2022 1S state championship at Gene Cox Stadium on Saturday Dec 10,2022

The Trinity Catholic Celtics football team earned the opportunity to play for their third state championship on Saturday against the First Baptist Academy Lions from Naples.

A chance at glory and a ring were on the line as the weather was warmer than usual for a mid-December day in Tallahassee. The action on the field was on fire from the opening snap as Trinity Catholic gained two first downs on the legs of running back Beau Beard.

Now in First Baptist territory, the Trinity Catholic ran into their first issues of the day as quarterback Preston Wright threw an incomplete pass on first and third down to force a 42-yard field attempt for Justin Arroyo.

Arroyo’s attempt was down the middle and had plenty of strength to give Trinity Catholic a 3-0 lead with 10 minutes left to go in the first quarter.

First Baptist moved the ball with ease on their opening drive as wide receiver Olsen Patt-Henry caught two passes that led to first-down conversions. Running back Jaden Booker continued the success with a 10-yard run to the Trinity Catholic 41-yard line.

After Booker’s run, First Baptist’s offense ran out of steam with an incomplete pass and a false start flag that led to them attempting to convert a fourth-and-6. First Baptist quarterback Ethan Crossan’s pass was well out-of-bounds and gave the ball back to the Trinity Catholic offense.

The ensuing drive for Trinity Catholic ended in a blur as two carries by Beard and an incomplete pass forced a punt. First Baptist put together another lengthy drive but a holding penalty put them into a situation of going for it on fourth-and-10. Similar to the previous drive, Crossan’s pass was incomplete and Trinity Catholic would have the ball at their own 26-yard line.

An eight-yard run by Beard and a facemask penalty by First Baptist put Trinity Catholic near midfield. The First Baptist defense would step up and stuff Beard for a loss and outside linebacker Dominic Martucci sacked Wright on third down to force another punt.

Arroyo came up with a big 45-yard punt that was downed at the 1-yard line and Trinity Catholic would force a punt when cornerback Jeremiah Rhem sacked Crossan on third down.

The First Baptist defense forced a third consecutive punt and would take their first lead of the game on the ensuing drive when Crossan hit Patt-Henry for a 70-yard touchdown pass. The senior wide receiver was running wide open down the middle of the field in what appeared to be a breakdown in coverage for the Trinity Catholic defense.

Things only got worse for Trinity Catholic as a fourth consecutive drive went nowhere and led to a punt. On the punt attempt, the snap was low, and Arroyo could not handle it. The senior kicker had to fall on the ball at his own 14-yard line.

On the very next play, freshman wide receiver Jayden Petit was by himself near the left sideline and Crossan connected with him for the touchdown to give First Baptist a 14-3 lead with three minutes left before halftime.

Trinity Catholic started the next drive at their own 25-yard line and Wright was stopped on Fourth-and-1 after trying to run the through the middle of the line. First Baptist could not take advantage of great field position and settled for a 25-yard field goal attempt, which was missed.

Trinity Catholic ran a couple of plays before halftime but could not do much and First Baptist maintained their 14-3 lead.

The third quarter opened with First Baptist getting the ball and starting at their own 8-yard line. After a short run by Booker and a false start flag, First Baptist faced a second-and-13 from their own 5-yard line.

Despite being deep in their own territory, First Baptist head coach Billy Sparacio took the risk of trying to pass and it almost turned the momentum of the game back to Trinity Catholic. As Crossan stood in the pocket, Trinity Catholic defensive lineman Jacob Arnold made a monster hit for the sack and forced a fumble, a melee ensued for the ball as multiple players on each team nearly recovered before Crossan came up with it and gained eight yards. At the end of the run, middle linebacker Omaryon Leslie was called for a 15-yard penalty for hitting Crossan after he was already out of bounds.

The chaotic play that almost gave Trinity Catholic all of the momentum seemed to be a sign that luck was not on their side on Saturday afternoon. The near disaster must have scared them straight as the offense drove 81 yards over the next six plays and scored on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Sam Sparacio.

Now down 21-3, Trinity Catholic knew they had to start making plays and scoring points. The offense started moving the ball with consistency for the first time since the opening drive of the game as Beard had a 12-yard run and tight end Mekai Griffin gained 10 yards on a reception.

A sack by First Baptist linebacker/running back/quarterback Richemard Mellien put the Trinity Catholic offense in a tough position. Beard would gain 12 yard on the next play but it did not matter as Wright’s pass on fourth down was inches shy from being a touchdown as Devontae Grant made a fantastic catch but could not get his feet in bounds.

With the turnover on downs, the First Baptist offense looked to start eating the clock and did so with an 11-play drive before Trinity Catholic cornerback Deshawn Shelton bullied his way through two receivers to get an interception.

Still trailing by 18 with less than 10 minutes left in the game, Trinity Catholic brought in backup quarterback Alan Means. The junior quarterback sparked the offense with a 32-yard pass to Gerald Lawton that put the offense at the First Baptist 33-yard line.

Unfortunately, the drive would end there as Means threw four consecutive incompletions for a turnover on downs. First Baptist could not do anything on offense and had to punt, Trinity Catholic tried with one last gasp to get back into the game but an incomplete pass to Lawton on fourth down sealed the 21-3 victory for First Baptist.

It was a historic day for First Baptist Academy as they won their first state championship in school history in their first attempt. As for Trinity Catholic, they are now 2-1 in the state championship game under head coach John Brantley III.