No. 1 Trinity rocks No. 3 South Warren 28-14; three-peats in Class 6A Championship

The No. 3 South Warren Spartans (13-1) made the jump to 6A this year and adjusted as well as you can, coming into Saturday’s state championship undefeated. But they were confronted by the state’s biggest test: the No. 1 Trinity Shamrocks (13-2), which completed its quest en route to a third straight KHSAA Class 6A State Championship, defeating the Spartans 28-14 on Saturday at Kroger Field.

“If you’re a competitor, you like that. And these guys [senior class]…laid the foundation for future groups to have success,” said South Warren coach Brandon Smith on the jump to 6A.

Trinity was led by junior quarterback Zane Johnson, who has held the starting job since he first walked into the school. But it is Trinity’s run game and stout defense that built them a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. On the third snap of the game, freshman Ashton Taylor took a handoff 51 yards to the house. The next quarter, Jamaurion Berry weaved through the defense for a 40-yard score to ultimately seal the win.

Berry earned MVP honors, rushing for 78 yards and two TDs. He credited his performance to his teammates.

“It was mainly our wide receivers and o-line blocking for us, making the holes for us to cut through,” said Berry.

The Spartans were knocking on the door of their first score late in the second quarter, but surrendered a red-zone interception to the Shamrocks’ Jayce Duvall. This was a theme, as South Warren had three failed red-zone trips.

“It was mistake, mistake, mistake. Then we play,” said Trinity coach Jay Cobb. The Shamrocks’ defense came through when they needed it most. “When we’re [defense] in the red zone, we did a really good job,” he added.

Back to the second quarter, Johnson and Co. made quick work of South Warren’s defense, with Johnson finding Cross Watson up the seam for a 26-yard TD with under one minute left in the half. The Shamrocks went into the locker room with a 21-0 lead with what appeared to be the dagger.

With their backs against the wall, South Warren came out with a bang, as Isaiah Bridges took the opening kickoff to the house from 98 yards out, cutting Trinity’s lead to 14.

Trinity answered quickly when a costly Spartan penalty gave Trinity the ball at their 29-yard line as Berry rushed for his second TD of the game, trucking a defender to get into the end zone. We were not even a minute into the second half, and both teams had scored touchdowns.

The Spartans were not done, though, as Camden Page connected with Jake Carter for a 46-yard touchdown on the next drive, cutting Trinity’s lead in half. What was geared up to be a shoutout second half was halted right there, but that was the last score of the game.

Trinity would notch two more interceptions en route to holding off 6A upstart South Warren. The Shamrocks claimed their third straight 6A title, and their 30th of all time.