Euless Trinity builds momentum, trounces Justin Northwest with overwhelming offense

A speedy and punishing running back tandem. An athletic and physical mammoth offensive line. An experienced quarterback directing the vaunted attack.

The Euless Trinity Trojans have all three, and they were on display in overwhelming the Justin Northwest Texans, 49-13, in a District 4-6A high school football matchup of playoff-bound teams Nov. 1 at Northwest ID Stadium.

Running behind an offensive line that averages over 300 pounds per man, senior Josh Bell ran for three touchdowns, and junior J.T. Harris added another as the potent Trinity ground game churned out 413 rushing yards.

“We have two outstanding running backs,” said Euless Trinity Head Coach Aaron Lineweaver. “We rotate them, and they both do a tremendous job.”

A UTEP pledge, Bell had been slowed by nagging injuries since the third game of the season and sat out the contest against Byron Nelson. He feels he is just now hitting his stride again.

“Feel better each week,” said Bell, who finished with 94 rushing yards. “The offensive line did such a great job opening holes. “

After an exchange of punts to start the game, Justin Northwest jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 29-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Ryder Norton to Mason Fritz with 3:12 left in the opening period. A 40-yard Norton completion to Tyler Singer at the Trinity 36 keyed the scoring drive.

Trinity then got its offense rolling, scoring TDs on four consecutive possessions. A Bell four-yard TD run as time expired in the first quarter ignited the scoring outburst.

A 14-yard shanked punt by Northwest gave the ball back to Trinity in great field position at the Texans 35. On the series first snap, quarterback TJ Tupou connected with Ethan Wright on a 35-yard scoring toss for a 14-7 Trinity lead, one it never relinquished.

The Trojan defense forced a pair of three-and-outs on the next two Northwest possessions. And Trinity’s offense capitalized on the opportunities. Michael Saafi scored on a 13-yard TD burst to cap a four-play 78-yard drive that took just 37 seconds off the clock.

Bell added his second TD of the half on a three-yard run that culminated a five-play 56-yard march with 4:22 left before halftime.

Northwest managed to add a 36-yard Ryan Schellenberg field goal with 35 ticks remaining. Trinity barely missed a 48-yard field goal attempt of its own as time expired, and the Trojans held a comfortable 28-10 advantage at the break.

Schellenberg recovered his own onside kick to begin the second half at the Trinity 49-yard line. However, the Texans had to settle for a Schellenberg 23-yard field goal. That would be the final points generated by Northwest.

“We had some opportunities offensively,” said Texans Head Coach Bill Poe. “We just could not cash in on them.”

Harris came into the contest averaging 12.1 yards per carry this season. The speedy back recorded a game-high 108 rushing yards on 10 carries, to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau on the season, having 909 before the Northwest matchup.

Senior signal-caller TJ Tupou continued his mastery in piloting the I-formation juggernaut that came in averaging 47.5 ppg. He completed five of nine passes for 114 yards and one TD, while adding another 45 on the ground in just three attempts.

“I think TJ is as good as any quarterback in the metroplex,” said Coach Lineweaver. “He directs the offense. He is just a ball player.”

Junior Ethan Wright had a notable all-around game for the Trojans. Wright caught three passes for 76 yards and one TD, ran for 77 yards on just four carries, and completed his only pass attempt for 37 yards.

No. 8 in the current Star-Telegram’s 6A poll, Justin Northwest, which moved up to 6A this season despite three consecutive losses, is playoff-bound.

“We have faced three tough district opponents in consecutive weeks,” noted coach Poe, referencing Southlake Carroll, Byron Nelson and Euless Trinity. “We were picked to be next to last in our district before the season. So making the playoffs is a big accomplishment for us.”

Euless Trinity is locked into the district’s second seed and is headed to the 6A Division I playoffs, while 4-6A champion Southlake Carroll is post-season bound in Division II.

Euless Trinity (8-1, 6-1) finishes its regular season hosting district rival Hurst L.D. Bell (2-7, 1-6) Nov. 7, with a 7 pm slated kickoff.

With the district’s seed locked-in, Coach Lineweaver’s squad has motivation for its upcoming matchup against L.D. Bell, which handed the Trojans a stunning 24-21 defeat in last year’s regular-season finale, the first time in 25 meetings Trinity had lost to L.D. Bell, going back to 1997.

“The game next week is personal,” said Bell. “We are looking forward to it.”

Justin Northwest (6-3, 4-3) ends its regular season next Friday night at 7 pm with a road game at Keller Timber Creek (4-5, 2-5). Timber Creek was eliminated from playoff contention following its 28-21 district loss to Haslet Eaton on Thursday night, which secured the final 4-6A post-season spot for Justin Northwest, regardless what happens next week.

Keller (4-5, 3-4) and Eaton (4-5, 3-4) face each other next Friday night. However, Northwest holds the tiebreaker by virtue of wins over both teams in head-to-head matchups.