NATCHEZ &045; It’s a bittersweet thing, senior Tres Atkins said.

After the Trinity Episcopal Saints notched a 33-19 win over Tallulah Academy for the MPSA Class A South State championship, Atkins and the rest of the team’s group of seniors had to let the emotions fly. Even though the Saints earned a spot in the state championship game Thursday at Mississippi College, those seniors got a lump in their throats.

Now, however, it’s on the state championship game against Heidelberg, a 34-20 winner over Briarfield, in a quest of their second title in three years.

&uot;It feels bad because it’s our last home game,&uot; Atkins said. &uot;It hurts a lot &045; no more games here and our careers are over, except the guys going to college (to play). But ever since the Glenbrook game when we came back like that and beat them by one point, we knew it was fate. And we know it’s fate to go back again. Hopefully we can pull it off.&uot;

Fortunately for Atkins and the Saints, they played a better game than the first two playoff wins, and quite possibly the emotions set in well before the horn sounded when the Saints took a 14-point lead with over four minutes left.

The Saints didn’t have the miscues it had in the previous games &045; they piled up 451 yards rushing and 515 total offense with just one fumble. The Trinity defense put the clamps on Tallulah’s ground game, although the Trojans got back into it in the third courtesy of passing game.

&uot;I think it was a typical South State championship game,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;They had a good game plan. They found some holes on us and were able to convert. But they are a great football team with great tradition, and so are we. We made big plays when we had to, and it was just guys making plays all over the field. That’s what we’ve done all year.&uot;

Leave it to the same playmakers who helped turn the game around early in the fourth quarter after the Trojans cut the lead to two. Gregory and Walt Ketchings took turns moving the ball on the team’s first drive of the fourth &045; Gregory 14 yards, Walt 22, Gregory 10 and Walt 14 &045; before Walt Ketchings finished it off with a 1-yard TD run with 9:21 left for a 27-19 lead.

The Trojans had a chance on their next drive when Cole Grissom broke a 27-yard run, but part of it was wiped off on a penalty. The drive stalled out and the Trojans punted, leaving the Saints to take over at the 20.

On the third play Gregory Ketchings popped a 74-yard run for a touchdown with 4:24 left to put the lead at 33-19 and essentially put the game away.

&uot;That speed of Trinity’s &045; that hurt us,&uot; Tallulah head coach Jacky Thames said. &uot;We’re blessed with some speed, but they’re so quick. They busted some big ones, and it’s hard to keep coming back. We played well, and that’s all you can ask. I give my congratulations to Coach King and the Trinity boys. They’ve had a great year, and we wish them well next week.&uot;

The Saints had an early lead by two touchdowns and were on the verge of breaking it open before the Trojans ventured to their passing game. A 1-yard touchdown run from Ryan Rachal capped a 96-yard drive for a 21-7 lead with 3:47 left in the third, and that forced the Trojans to try and score quick.

Preston Walker hit Cole Grissom on a 70-yard pass on the third play of the drive for a score to cut the lead to 21-13.

Tallulah then capitalized on the game’s only turnover when Charlie Purvis recovered a fumble, and on the third play Walker hit Grissom again on a 33-yard TD pass with 14 seconds left in the third to cut the lead to 21-19.

&uot;We’re a running team, and we’ve done that because we’re a good running team with great backs,&uot; Thames said. &uot;He was putting nine or 10 in the box. We’re very capable of throwing, but we haven’t had to use it much this year.&uot;

It forced the Saints to adjust late in the game, and the Trojans had just two completions on eight attempts in their last two drives.

&uot;We didn’t see that on film,&uot; King said. &uot;But we’re in our third ball game without (Chase (Brown) in the defensive backfield, but you can’t say anything negative about this team. I’m just going to dwell on the positives, which were so many.&uot;

The Saints got on the board quick when Gregory Ketchings broke a 33-yard run for a score to wrap up the team’s first drive of the game.

Tallulah was forced to punt on after that, and the Saints scored again when Dudley Guice Jr. ran 37 yards on a reverse play for a score for a 14-0 lead with 9:06 left in the second.