MOUNT BERRY, Ga. – The Berry College Vikings gifted Martha Berry a dominant win against the No. 16 ranked Trinity University Tigers on Mountain Day, the final score 29-6. The defense headlined by
Brooks Thompson played phenomenally preventing Trinity from reaching the end zone at all for the day. On offense,
Christian Lewis had an exceptional day through the air, ending the game with a touchdown and completing 81% of passes. The Vikings swept a four game losing streak against the Tigers and delivered their biggest ever win against them.
The Vikings won the coin toss but elected to kick off, setting the Tigers up with the ball first at the 21. Trinity got off to a solid start, finishing their first set of downs, but the Vikings' defense rallied to stuff Trinity at the 40 on 3
rd & 1. Beginning their first drive of the game, the Vikings worked the ground game to Trinity's 44. On third down and four
Christian Lewis threw a laser down the middle to
Nate Lyons for a touchdown, putting six on the board for the Vikings.
Andrew Hunter stepped in for the point after and punched it in, giving Berry two more. The Berry defense was insatiable, swarming the backfield to prevent the Tigers from responding with
Cade Petty getting a sack to stall the Tigers. However, the Vikings couldn't get off the field after the Tigers kept it following a roughing the kicker penalty. The Tigers immediately capitalized, earning a huge gain to put them in striking distance at the Vikings' 13. Berry's defense stepped up to keep them out of the end zone, but Trinity didn't leave empty-handed completing a kick for three points. The Vikings gave the ball to John Turner to earn another first down going into the second quarter.
The Vikings kept the ball on the ground to start the second quarter with
Josh Rogers setting the tone with an 11-yard gain. Berry moved away from the run as
Christian Lewis once again looked downfield and found Cam Coleman, who pulled it in through double coverage setting the Vikings up at the Tigers' 13. Trinity recovered well after that explosive play however, forcing the Vikings' first turnover of the year, setting them up at the 17. The Tigers moved the ball down to their own 45, but
Dawson Livingston threw a wrench in their plans earning a tackle for loss to push them back four yards.
Brooks Thompson was instrumental in forcing the Tigers to four, invading the back field to stuff a screen pass and limiting the Tigers' gain to just five yards. There wasn't much offense in the second quarter; both defenses played elite to prevent either team from sustaining a drive. Entering the two-minute warning, the Tigers had possession. The Tigers got things going by creating a hole up the middle for a first down. They kept rolling, gaining 10 yards following a comeback route. Despite the fluidity of the Tigers' offense, the Vikings' defense applied crushing pressure, collapsing the pocket with every rush. The Tigers QB didn't go down easy, scrambling to keep the chains moving.
Alex Mincey slowed Trinity's progress, finally containing the QB for a sack and forcing a Trinity timeout. Coming out of it, Trinity kept moving the chains and got to the 22 with eight seconds left. Trinity snapped the ball looking to make something happen entering the half, but the Vikings contained the QB and forced him to get rid of it, leaving two seconds on the clock. The Tigers stepped up to kick and the Vikings crowd roared, attempting to psych out their kicker, but he sent it straight through the uprights to make the score 6-8 entering the half.
The Tigers kicked off to start the third.
Cade Petty's return put Berry on the 31 to start the drive. The Vikings got their running game going with
Colby Sikes carrying the Vikings down the field himself. At Trinity's thirty, the Vikings decided to go for it on fourth and one. The Tigers forced
Andrew Hunter to roll out right, where he found who other than
Colby Sikes for an amazing one-handed grab to keep the drive alive for the Vikings. Following the catch, Berry kept it on the ground; John Turner and the Alabama native took turns rumbling to the endzone to give the Vikings their second score of the day. Down two scores, the Tigers tried to put together a drive to cut the deficit, but
Jaden Melville came up with a sack to create a third-and-long situation, leading to a punt, setting them up at their own 34. The Vikings made small gains through the rest of the third to set themselves up at Trinity's 28 to end the third.
Picking up where they left off in the fourth, the Vikings kept the ball in Andrew Hunter's hands, the poor man's Josh Allen taking it the rest of the way to give the Vikings their third touchdown of the day. The Tigers had a long way to go for a score to keep their hopes alive, starting with the ball on their own 16, but a holding call on first down put them back at the 8. Trinity couldn't cover the difference and punted the ball once again, setting the Vikings up at their 30. Looking to make a statement, the Vikings elected to keep the ball on the ground and ended the drive by punching in the ball with
Jay Kanazawa to make it 29-6. Trinity had two more drives before the game was over, but the Vikings' defense prevented them from making the score look better as the Vikings upset the Tigers 29-6.
Next Saturday, the Vikings head to Sewanee, Tennessee, looking to extend their win streak against the Tigers on October 18th.
