JACKSON — If there was any doubt as to which was the most dominant team in MAIS Class A this season, it was erased the first time a Trinity player touched the ball Friday afternoon.

Running back Tip McKenzie took a punt back 73 yards for a touchdown before Trinity had even run an offensive play, and the Saints rolled from there, routing Tri-County Academy 46-14 in the MAIS Class A state championship game at Harper-Davis Field on the Millsaps College campus in Jackson.

Trinity (15-0) won it’s second consecutive state championship and fourth in the past 10 years.

McKenzie’s run set the tone of a game that was never in doubt, as Trinity led 28-0 after one quarter and 40-7 at halftime before emptying the bench in the second half.

“That was a big game-changer,” McKenzie said of his punt return. “It took (Tri-County’s) confidence. Coach told me if I field the punt it’s going to be six (points). I listened to him and took it all the way in.”

Trinity quarterback Givonni Dent said McKenzie’s punt return was all Trinity needed to get going.

“Tip’s punt return gave us a lot of momentum,” Dent said. “After that, everybody was crunk and ready to play.”

McKenzie’s big play to start the game was no surprise to Saints coach David King, who has seen his junior receiver make plays all year long.

“Tip is an electric player,” King said. “He’s got a second gear a lot of people don’t have. I told the team we needed to make some big plays early in the game, and right off the bat we got one.”

McKenzie was also responsible for Trinity’s second touchdown on its next possession.

After a 15-yard penalty pushed Trinity back to fourth and 22 from the 31-yard line, quarterback Givonni Dent lofted a pass to McKenzie in the end zone. McKenzie leaped over a Tri-County defender and hauled it in to put the Saints up 14-0 with 7:08 still remaining in the first quarter.

Trinity’s defense would get the next score, as Dent intercepted a Tri-County pass and returned it to the 8-yard line.

Daniel Dunaway bulled into the end zone from 6 yards out two plays later and the rout was on.

Dent’s interception was one of six turnovers forced by the Trinity defense.

“We just came out ready to play,” Dent said of the Saints defense. “We executed on defense and made the plays we needed to make.”

Trinity continued the scoring onslaught when Dent found Jake Winston open for a 21-yard touchdown pass with 1:28 remaining in the first quarter.

After yet another Tri-County punt, Trinity scored yet again.

Dent had a 17-yard run down to the 3-yard line, and Kent King punched it in from there to give the Saints a 34-0 lead.

After Tri-County finally dented the scoreboard on a 5-yard run by Trainor Storey, the Saints put a cap on the first half thanks to another long fourth-down conversion.

This time, it was Trevor Faust who threw a jump ball to McKenzie on fourth and 13 at the 33-yard line.

McKenzie hauled it in on the 1, which set up King’s 2-yard touchdown run two plays later to give the Saints a 40-7 halftime advantage.

King put a capper on his three-touchdown performance on his first carry of the second half, when he took an option pitch and raced 47 yards for a touchdown just 53 seconds into the third quarter.

After that score, Trinity emptied his bench and the team celebrated for the next quarter and a half while waiting for the clock to run out.

And when it finally did, it signaled the end to not only the most dominant team in Trinity history, but one of the most dominant teams in the history of MAIS Class A.

“I knew this group was special when they were in the fifth grade,” King said. “Then you get a kid like Tip McKenzie who wants to be a part of the program and Huntington closes and we get four of their best players, which adds depth. But it’s not just talent. Nobody outworks us at Trinity.”