Trinity Catholic eases past Forest
Celtics defense paces win over Wildcats.
Trinity Catholic’s Wyatt Lucas (29) powers past Forest’s Tevin Hargrove (19) and a host of other Forest defenders during a football game at Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Trinity Catholic won the game 16-10. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.
Trinity Catholic senior fullback Wyatt Lucas rushed for a game-high 127 yards and scored a touchdown, while the Celtics’ defense had two interceptions and a safety in a thrilling 16-10 win over Forest High on Sept. 5.
The highly anticipated matchup drew a large crowd eager to see former Trinity Catholic head coach John Brantley, Forest High class of 1975, lead his alma mater against the Celtics for the first time.
The physical and emotional game lived up to the hype as both teams battled to the end with the outcome in doubt until a Forest fourth-down pass fell incomplete to seal the hard-fought victory for the Celtics.
“It feels good to get the win with some of the former coaches from Forest on our staff,” said first-year Trinity Catholic head coach Clint Hart, who took over the Celtics’ program after Brantley resigned after last season. “I think it means a lot to them and our players. Forest is a good team with a legendary coach and he’s doing a good job over there.”
For Forest, which saw its record drop to 1-1 on the season, the two turnovers, sloppy tackling, numerous penalties and missed opportunities proved too much to overcome.
“It is what it is,” coach Brantley said. “We had two weeks off but that’s no excuse, we should have been ready. You have to win close games. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves because we had our chances, but this team has to learn how to win. We’re a young football team and we’re going to improve. Give Trinity Catholic credit, they did a great job, had a good game plan and played a solid game.”
The game started off well for Forest as the Wildcats marched down the field on their opening possession with precision as quarterback Caleb Sanford ripped off a 22-yard run and found junior wide receiver Trent Richburg open down the right sideline for a 43-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by senior kicker Kevin Morales made it 7-0.
The teams exchanged punts before Trinity Catholic, which improved to 2-0, took possession at the Forest 26-yard line. Lucas picked up a first down inside the 10 and looked to be going in for a score before he was stripped of the ball. Forest safety Ethan Godin pounced on the loose ball at the Wildcats’ 1-yard line.
The good fortune was short-lived for Forest as running back Keziyrehun Rivers was tackled in the end zone by a swarming Trinity Catholic defense for a safety to pull the Class 1A Celtics within 7-2 late in the first quarter.
A good return on the Forest kick gave Trinity Catholic excellent field position at midfield. Celtics senior quarterback Carter Schofield completed a pair of passes and Lucas did the rest with his legs. Finishing off the drive by scoring from five yards out. The powerful Lucas finished the game with 127 yards on 24 carries. The point after gave the Celtics a 9-7 lead with 43.1 seconds left in the first period.
“Wyatt is a monster,” coach Hart said. “We did a lot of good things, but there are a lot of things that we can improve on and get better.”
The Forest offense struggled to get past midfield and Trinity Catholic took over at its 32 after a Wildcat punt. Schofield, who completed 7 of 13 passes for 94 yards, connected on four consecutive passes to move the ball to the Forest 14-yard line. Freshman running back Amont Cadette gained eight yards on first down and found the end zone on the next play. The point after gave the Celtics a 16-7 lead midway through the second period.
The score remained the same through the third quarter after Forest had a pass intercepted after reaching the Trinity Catholic 5-yard line. The pass from Sanford was tipped and Celtics’ linebacker Kayman Poole made the pick to end the threat.
Trinity Catholic missed a long field goal attempt early in the fourth quarter. Forest had another promising drive end with an interception at the Celtics’ 20-yard line by safety Christian Neal.
Forest finally put some points on the scoreboard when Morales nailed a 27-yard field goal to pull the Class 6A Wildcats within 16-10 with 3:37 left in the game.
Trinity Catholic ran the ball with Lucas forcing Forest to use its three timeouts The Wildcats’ defense forced a punt and their offense took possession at their 47-yard line with 1:17 remaining to play.
Sanford, who completed 7 of 22 passes for 162 yards, hooked up with Ethan Collins for a nice gain to the Trinity Catholic 35. But four consecutive incomplete passes, including one just off the fingertips of a Forest receiver in the end zone, turned the ball over on downs.
Trinity Catholic took a knee to seal the hard-fought victory. The Celtics return to action on Sept. 12 with a home game against Gainesville Eastside. Forest is on the road at Horizon the same day.
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