By Will Martin,
For D3football.com

SAN ANTONIO — Trinity won its first-ever Division III semifinal game this afternoon, topping St. John's 41-34 at home. The Tigers (14-0) had to withstand a furious 21-point second half swing by the Johnnies (12-2), but were able to break a 34-34 tie with just over two minutes left in the game to secure the victory. The loss was the second consecutive semifinals defeat for St. John's, who lost to Mount Union 35-14 on the road in 2001.

"They say it's a bitter pill," Johnnies head coach John Gagliardi said after the game. "You coach long enough, you swallow a lot of pills."

Everything seemed to go right for Trinity in the first half. After deferring on the coin toss, the Tigers gave the Johnnies the ball on their own 35 after the kick by Greg Genung went out of bounds. St. John's would give the ball right back, however, as quarterback Ross Denne fumbled the snap and Trinity defensive tackle Michael Perez recovered the loose ball. Trinity needed eight plays to go 34 yards to the end zone, capped off by a 3-yard scramble by quarterback Roy Hampton to put the Tigers ahead 7-0.

On the ensuing possession for St. John's, Trinity's defense came up big again, forcing a three-and-out and getting the Tigers the ball back on their own 45. Trinity kept the ball on the ground for the majority of the drive, rushing for 47 yards on just seven carries and going up 14-0 on a 3-yard run by running back Jeremy Boyce.

St. John's would finally respond offensively on their next possession, driving 76 yards on eight plays. Denne connected with star wide receiver Blake Elliott three times on the drive, including an 8-yard completion for the touchdown. Trinity cornerback Kenny Brunette managed to block Brandon Keller's extra point attempt, however, keeping the Johnnies down by eight, 14-6.

Trinity answered quickly, finishing off a 62-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Hampton to wide receiver Jerheme Urban, who caught all of his five receptions in the first half, to put Trinity up 21-6. The Johnnie offense was nearly able to come right back, putting together a 59-yard drive to set up a first-and-goal on the Tiger 7-yard line. Once again though, Trinity's defense was able to hold as Denne followed up a 2-yard run with three consecutive incomplete passes to turn the ball back over. The Tigers then marched 95 yards downfield and scored on a 10-yard run by backup running back Matt Federle, giving Trinity its biggest lead of the game with five minutes to go in the half.

After the kickoff, Kent Crowley picked up 29 yards on four carries and Denne completed three more passes to Elliott, including a 12-yard touchdown at the two-minute mark, to cut back into the Tiger lead. Instead of being able to carry that momentum into halftime, however, the Johnnies had to watch as Urban took the ensuing kickoff back 91 yards for a fifth Trinity touchdown. After Todd Canion missed his extra point try, the Tigers held a three-touchdown lead, 34-13, at the half.

Things would turn around for the Johnnies in the third quarter. St. John's linebacker Danno Wagner forced a fumble on the very first play from scrimmage, and defensive back Cole Deibele was able to recover to give the Johnnie offense the ball on the Trinity 34. After three straight incomplete passes by Denne, St. John's passed up another opportunity for a field goal, electing to go for it on fourth-and-10. Denne's pass to Josh Nelson was incomplete as well, letting the Tiger offense back on the field still holding a 21-point lead. Trinity looked like they were going to capitalize on the change of possession as they drove downfield and into the red zone, but Johnnie safety Jeremy Goltz was able to force another Trinity fumble on the St. John's 9-yard line. This time it was the Johnnies who did the marching, driving 91 yards and scoring on a one-yard run by Crowley. St. John's defense forced a third Trinity turnover on the very next possession, as Ross Spanier picked off a pass from Hampton and ran it back 14 yards to the Trinity 39. A crucial pass interference penalty against Trinity and a 12-yard completion from Denne to Elliott put the Johnnies back in first-and-goal. This time they only needed one play to make it count, as Crowley ran in from 9 yards out to cut the Tiger lead to eight with under two minutes left in the quarter.

"We told them 'we've rallied before, we can do it again'," Gagliardi said. His players, especially the Johnnie defense, responded on the field.

"We came out and played hard and made big plays," defensive end Jeremy Hood said. "That's Johnnie football."

The Tigers and Johnnies traded punts on the next three possessions, with both teams going three-and-out as Trinity's defense tightened up and St. John's continued to hold the vaunted Trinity offense in check in the second half. The Johnnies would strike again, however, going 64 yards from their own 36 and tying the game at 34-34 on another Elliott touchdown reception with 9:57 left in the ballgame.

"What we feared most (coming out in the second half) was being complacent," Hampton said, "and that first fumble really took it out of us."

Trinity got the ball back on their own 31-yard line with 9:46 still on the clock, and immediately went to work on the ground, hoping to find the end zone for the sixth time that afternoon and eat up as much clock as possible in the process. After 13 consecutive running plays divided among Federle, Boyce, and Hampton, Trinity had the ball on the Johnnie four-yard line in a third-and-goal situation. The Tigers went with a jumbo front, bringing in 6-6, 330-pound backup tackle Derek Farney and lining him up on the right side of the line next to 6-5, 320-pound starter Mike Sorola. Using the same play they ran in the regional finals against Bridgewater last week, Trinity got the push up front and let Hampton walk into the end zone untouched around the right side, regaining a 41-34 lead after the extra point.

"It was easy," Hampton said of his game-winning touchdown. "It was a great call."

"We were in a full blitz, and he just walked into the end zone," Johnnie linebacker Cam McCambridge said of the play. "We had a hard time in the red zone today."

St. John's had one last shot at tying the game back up on their next possession, but Trinity's defense yielded just 4 yards to the Johnnies, and Denne's fourth-and-6 pass attempt to Elliott was incomplete, allowing the Tigers to regain possession and run out the clock for the win.

Surprisingly, Trinity produced most of its offense through the running game, accounting for 269 of the team's 440 yards. Jeremy Boyce carried the ball 34 times for 150 yards and one score, and Hampton spent much of the day on the run, picking up 89 yards on 14 attempts. The Tigers, better known for their spread offense and passing attack, only threw the ball 26 times, with Hampton completing 16 of those for 171 yards and one touchdown.

St. John's displayed incredible balance on offense, with Denne completing 21 of 43 passes for 213 yards and three scores with no interceptions. His primary target was Elliott, who made numerous big plays for the Johnnies despite a case of the flu. Elliott caught 15 passes for 155 yards and three touchdowns, and picked up a combined 32 yards on two returns. Kent Crowley bore the brunt of the load at running back, totaling 155 yards and two touchdowns.

Trinity advances to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl to take on defending national champion Mount Union next Saturday. It will be the second time the two teams have played, the first coming in the 1998 semifinals, with the Purple Raiders beating Trinity 34-29 in Alliance. The Tigers may have been looking ahead to a possible rematch in 1999, when the Tigers were beat at home in the semis by Pacific Lutheran. Many of Trinity's standouts this season were freshmen on that team, and it appears the lesson was well learned.

"We weren't looking ahead," Boyce said after the game today. "We made sure the focus was on this game and this game alone."

Without question, Mount Union's defense will provide the Tigers with their biggest test of the season. The Raiders have already shut down a pair of prolific offenses in Wabash and John Carroll in the playoffs this season. Trinity head coach Steve Mohr knows his team cannot afford the same kind of mistakes they made today if they want to finish the season 15-0.

"They (St. John's) took advantage of our turnovers and scored off them, just like Bridgewater did last week," Mohr said. "That's something we have to work on."

While Trinity players show a great deal of respect for Mount Union, which has not lost a game since 1999, their leaders seem ready to meet another challenge.

"They're a remarkable team," Hampton said. "I can't wait to face them…it's something I've always wanted to do since coming here."

Gagliardi, who closes out the 2002 season with 400 career victories and who has been on the losing end of matchups with Mount Union each of the previous two years, complimented both the Tigers and Purple Raiders.

"They (Trinity) are a great team. They did a great job," Gagliardi said. "They can worry about Mount Union instead of us…It's a tough job."