The Shamrocks (4-3) next game is with the Male High Bulldogs. The Bulldogs host Trinity on Maxwell Field at Veteran’s Memorial Stadium this Friday evening. The kickoff is set for 7:30PM. Male comes into this matchup undefeated with 7 wins on the season. The Bulldogs (1-0 district) defeated the St. Xavier Tigers(4-4, 0-2 in district) 44-40 this past Friday. Male’s other victories were over Floyd Central, Butler, Fairdale, Jeffersontown, Ballard, and Meade County. Trinity is 2-0 in the district with victories over St. X and Manual and is riding a three game win streak.

 

Davis Mattingly is Male’s QB and a junior. Mattingly completed 18 of 32 pass attempts for 336 yards and two TDs versus St. Xavier. Keion Wakefield, the Bulldogs most highly touted player, caught 5 passes for 197 yards and two TDs against the Tigers. Wakefield is a sophomore WR and has a scholarship offer from UK. Ellis Cain(So) was the key RB for the Bulldogs. Cain gained 59 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Junior Marcus Smith, Jr. is a 6’4” DE weighing in at 370 lbs and is Male High’s best defensive lineman according to one of his coaches. The Bulldogs start 7 players from the last year’s freshmen team that whipped St. Xavier and Trinity. The Bulldogs defense allowed 264 yards through the air and 203 rushing yards versus the Tigers.

 

Trinity QB Reggie Bonnafon (Sr) completed 16 of 22 pass attempts for 263 yards and 4 touchdowns versus Manual. Bonnafon rushed for 113 yards on 10 carries and tallied one TD. RB Donald Brooks (Jr) ran for 96 yards on 21 rushes. WR Cody Swabek (Sr) recorded 5 receptions for 85 yards and two TDs. WR Rodjay Burns (So) hauled in five passes for 148 yards and one touchdown. WR CJ Ott (Sr) caught 4 passes for 31 yards and a TD. The Trinity defense was successful limiting Manual’s Michael Nero to 47 rushing yards on 19 attempts. The Crimsons scorched the Rocks pass defense for 417 yards through the air. Trinity DB Will Washle (Sr) recorded his third interception of the season. The series between these long time rivals stands 25-9 in Trinity’s favor. Manual first played Trinity in 1959.

 

Trinity and Male have played 34 previous times with the Shamrocks leading the series 20-12-2. The Rocks have won 7 in a row versus Male dating to the 2000 State Final. This series began in 1957 and after a scoreless contest, the Bulldogs rattled off 10 consecutive victories vs. the Shamrocks (1958-1967). The Rocks have taken 20 of the past 23 games. The widest margin of victory for Male over Trinity was the 34-0 game in 1965. Trinity’s 49-0 win in 2011 is their widest margin of victory in this series. Before the recent district makeover, these schools met 4 times in the State Title game. Male won the 2000 Championship 34-14 over Coach Beatty’s first Trinity squad. The Shamrocks answered with wins in 2001 (45-19), 2002 (59-56) and more recently in 2010 (38-0). In addition to the ’00 title, Male earned State Championships in ’60, ’63, ’64, ’93, & ’98 for a total of six. Trinity has 22 State Titles to date.

 

Past Opponents: St. Xavier stands at 4-4 after dropping the 44-40 decision to Male. Indy Cathedral stands at 4-4 after recording a 23-14 victory over Indy Arsenal Tech. The Irish take on the Crusaders of Moeller in Cincinnati this Friday. Colerain remained undefeated (7-0) with a 40-22 win over Sycamore. The Cardinals host Mason on October 18. Lawrence Central fell to 3-5 after their 21-0 loss to Warren Central (IN). The Bears travel to Indy Pike this Friday. Carmel defeated Indy Pike 42-35 on ESPN to improve to 6-2. The Greyhounds play at Ben Davis this week. Nashville Ensworth raised their record to 7-0 with a 48-7 win over Giles County. The Tigers take on Baylor in Chattanooga on October 25.

 

Future Opponents: Archbishop Moeller (7-0) defeated Elder 35-14 in a GCL-South match played at The Pit. The Crusaders host Cathedral of Indianapolis in a Friday evening contest at Lockland Stadium.

 

Future Playoff Opponents: The playoff picture is now taking shape. Oldham County (2-5) and Eastern (2-4) will battle for third place in district 5. The loser will probably be Trinity’s first round opponent in Marshall Stadium. Fern Creek (4-3) and Ballard (3-4) hook up in Fern Creek with the winner taking control of first place. These teams will take on Male (7-0), Manual (6-1) or St. Xavier (4-4) in the first round. Looking further down the road, there is a possible Scott County (7-0) trip to Trinity in round four or the semi-state championship game. McCracken County (5-2) may be the survivor awaiting the Shamrocks in Bowling Green on December 6.

 

Trinity Tidbits: Trinity’s Freshmen and JV teams are undefeated this season. They will both take on Male this coming week. The Trinity JVs (5-0) host the Bulldogs (6-0) at 5:30PM on Monday. The Trinity Freshmen (6-0) and Bulldogs (4-2) get together at Trinity on Thursday at 5:30PM.

 

Male High opened in 1856!!!! Their Athletic Boosters helped Manual raise funds for lights at Manual Stadium in the mid-1920s.

 

Trinity is 3-6 in regular season overtime games. The Rocks are 8-0 in playoff overtime games. The last team to take the Rocks into OT was the St. Xavier Tigers in the 12/7/2007 State Championship game. Trinity won 34-28. The Shamrocks have played three double OT games. The first was a 17-10 regular season win over DeSales in 1981. In the 1997 regular season, the Central Yellowjackets beat Trinity 39-38. In the 1999 playoffs, the Ryle Raiders pushed the Shamrocks to the brink before losing 32-26.

The forecast for Friday is 0% chance of rain! Temperatures will range mid-60s during the day down to mid-40s late night.