Trinity Catholic uses big plays to ease past Forest

Trinity Catholic junior quarterback Carter Schofield tossed two touchdown passes and senior running back Austin Holder scored twice to lead the Celtics to a 34-14 win over Forest High on Friday night at Mikey Kelly Stadium.

The game was tied at 14 late in the second quarter before Trinity Catholic scored 20 unanswered points to earn its first victory of the season to improve to 1-2.

The win was extra special for Trinity Catholic head coach John Brantley because the Forest 1974 state championship team, of which Brantley was the starting quarterback, was celebrated and honored at halftime.

“It’s real sweet,” said an emotional Brantley. “Coming back here on our 50th anniversary and seeing my guys and knowing we went undefeated and won a state championship is a special night. But it’s not about me it’s about these kids who hung in there and stayed with me after some kids left the program. We don’t have great numbers, but this is an over-achieving bunch, and they’ve bought in to what we’re teaching them. We’re young and we know we have an uphill battle, but I’m proud of this coaching staff and proud of this team.”

Trinity Catholic took the opening kick and marched smartly down the field, mixing a strong running game and accurate passing by Schofield. The drive moved inside the 10-yard line where Holder scored on a six-yard sweep around right end. The extra point by Andrew Leonard was good to give the Celtics a 7-0 lead.

After an exchange of punts, Forest put together a six-play, 46-yard drive with sophomore quarterback Caleb Sanford connecting with Ethan Collins on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The point after by Jack Belcher tied the score at 7 late in the first quarter.

Midway through the second period, Trinity Catholic was backed up at its 10-yard line, but Schofield found sophomore wide receiver Joey DeRiso behind the Forest secondary for a 90-yard touchdown pass. The extra point gave the Celtics a 14-7 lead.

The lead didn’t last long as Forest answered with a 10-play, 65-yard drive capped off with Sanford hitting Desean Freeman on a 16-yard slant pass for a touchdown. The point after tied the score at 14 with 2:36 left in the quarter. Sanford completed 18 of 25 passes for 223 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

An unsportsmanlike penalty against Forest after the touchdown gave Trinity Catholic great field position at the Wildcats’ 46. The Celtics scored in four plays with junior running back Wyatt Lucas breaking several tackles on his way to a 30-yard scoring scamper. The extra point gave Trinity Catholic a 21-14 lead at the end of the first half.

Forest, which dropped to 0-3 on the season, went nowhere on its opening possession of the second half and was forced to punt. The Wildcats’ defense forced a Trinity Catholic fumble which was recovered by Cedric Brigham.

Forest moved down the field as Sanford found a bevy of open receivers. The drive stalled and a 35-yard field goal attempt was no good.

Trinity Catholic marched 80 yards in seven plays with Schofield hooking up with DeRiso on a 28-yard scoring strike. The extra point put the Celtics on top by a score of 28-14 with 2:05 left in the third period. Schofield finished 12 of 21 for 221 yards and two touchdowns.

Forest had its next drive stalled by back-to-back sacks by the Trinity Catholic defense. The Celtics sealed the win with a time-consuming drive capped off by Holder’s scoring plunge from a yard out for the final margin of victory. Holder finished with 86 rushing yards and two scores.

“It was a good win for our program,” coach Brantley said. “We’re going to keep working to get better because there’s a lot of football left to be played.”

Trinity Catholic is back on the gridiron on Thursday night with a road game at Gainesville Eastside. Forest will look for its first win when the Wildcats host Horizon on Friday night.