Two-Way Players Lift Trinity Collegiate to 26-13 Victory

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>COLUMBIA |</strong> The return of 6-foot-5, 315-pound senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='473017' first='Kyler' last='Johnson'] </strong>was a welcomed sight Friday for Trinity Collegiate.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Even more impactful than his presence on the offensive line for the Titans was the play of his two-way teammates. Against Ben Lippen, that group contributed to more than one phase of the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1734471' first='Davidson' last='Lynch']</strong> accounted for two touchdowns – rushing and passing. He did this while getting sacked four times by Falcon defensive lineman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819457' first='Jonathan' last='Berlin'] </strong>and linebackers The group of attacking Titan linebackers also included <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821949' first='Stone' last='Porter']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165156' first='Drake' last='Porter']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819457' first='Jonathan' last='Berlin']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lynch also kicked a second half punt that backed Ben Lippen to its own 1-yard line and resulted in a safety.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“It creates energy for both sides of the ball,” Lynch said about the team's versatile players. “I don't know how many turnovers they got, but we scored off of them. So that helped us tonight.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1856861' first='Garrison' last='Copeland']</strong> had a 14-yard touchdown reception to open the scoring. Along with making dynamic runs after catches, he had one of the Titans' three interceptions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Playing on both sides of the ball, you want to be a dog on both sides of the ball,” Copeland said. “As a team, you have to work on both sides to win the game and execute.” &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When <strong>Robert Mack</strong> was not rushing for a touchdown, he was part of a hard-hitting Titan linebacking group. He intercepted a [player_tooltip player_id='1821936' first='Ben' last='Cole'] pass in the fourth quarter that led to a scoring drive capped by a 2-yard keeper by Davidson.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perhaps the two-way player of the night was (pictured) <strong>Jy'ell Preston</strong>. Playing wide receiver, defensive lineman and on special teams, the 6-foot 5, 190-pound senior left his mark in all three areas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Preston's biggest moment occurred after a touchdown reception by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821935' first='Michael' last='Traynum']</strong> – who also had an interception at defensive back. He fielded the onside kick and sprinted several yards to the Ben Lippen 31.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The next play saw Mack burst up the middle into the endzone to make it 14-13 after the PAT.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“I knew they would kick it to me because, of course, the shoulder had been banged up,” he said. “So, I just saw daylight and just took it. I knew I had to make a play to bring some momentum to our team.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“A lot of these guys made all the summer workouts and that translated into what you saw tonight,” Trinity Collegiate School head coach Shawn Fagan said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trinity Collegiate's starting linebackers also made a difference against Ben Lippen. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1639657' first='Walker' last='Willcox']</strong> was omnipresent throughout the game making stops and pressuring the Falcon quarterbacks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1165123' first='Mac' last='Burch']</strong> teamed with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1606402' first='Andre' last='Jackson']</strong> for the safety. He also accounted for a diving interception to set up a 26-yard field goal by newcomer <strong>Parker Fipps</strong> to close out the scoring. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their play was especially critical with the defensive line getting challenged by the physical play of Ben Lippen's offensive line of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1821942' first='Sam' last='Catoe']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1825035' first='Caleb' last='Scott']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819451' first='Asher' last='McGuire']</strong>, <strong>Thomas Yarborough</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1819448' first='Shep' last='Barnes']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I couldn't do it without the (defensive line) filling gaps good,” Wilcox said. “They make it easy for linebackers. When everyone does its job, it gets things done and that's what we saw tonight.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->