From staff reports

LAKE PROVIDENCE, La. — The Trinity Saints went to the air to stay with Briarfield in the first half and then to the ground to wear out the Rebels in the second half.

The combination of the two worked out pretty well as Trinity, ranked No. 2 in Class AA, used a 40-point second half to defeat Briarfield, 61-28, Friday night.

“We got just what we needed. They took it to us in the first half,” Trinity head coach David King said. “Kids were challenged. It was a wake-up call. But they rose to the challenge.”

Kent King and R.J. Fleming were among those on the Saints’ offense who rose to the challenge. King finished with 13 carries for 166 yards and two touchdowns, while Fleming scored three of his four touchdowns in the game-changing third quarter and ended up with 161 yards rushing on eight carries.

“Offensive and defensive lines were key in the second half. R.J. doesn’t need much of a hole, but he had plenty of holes tonight,” King said. “Givonni had some good looks early. It was close and that’s why we went to the running game.”

Coach King was referring to Givonni Dent, who threw two touchdown passes in the first half and completed eight of 11 passes for 169 yards. Trinity (6-0) finished with 580 yards of total offense.

King added that the assistant coaches on both sides of the ball did a good job of making adjustments to give Trinity a chance to win the ball game.

“Briarfield has a tough offense to scheme,” King said.

Leading the Rebels’ offense was quarterback Jacob Hopkins, who threw two touchdown passes. They also got a touchdown run from Nathan Brown in the first quarter and a defensive touchdown late in the second quarter when Blake Lovell picked up a fumble and ran it back 20 yards that would tie the score at 21-21 at halftime.