#RockNation

It was a difficult game to call for the Rocks last week as PRP has never been more overmatched in the history of their program. Trinity got a few reps with the 1's but otherwise it was just a chance to bang heads with someone in a different jersey and get some valuable reps on tape for the 2's and 3's to reward them for the offseason. Kudos to Coach Walker for at least showing up to play. Douglass appears way down in terms of the talent they had been bringing in over the last several years and lost to a Highlands team I cannot imagine many people picked to win 4A. Junior LB Tacori Fields looks the part however, and was all over the field registering 24 tackles and also had some nice pressures. The Bluebirds didn't attack the air much throughout the game but did enough with Lorenzen to overcome the missed field goals and still get the win. Dakari Talbert ran hard as well for the Broncos and they will not be surprised by his ability this time around. Trinity was without DL KeAndre Thompson and WR Jason Hagan last week and it remains to be seen if either will play this week. DBs Sekou Kamara and Elijah Burns-Crump both saw action, so that bodes well for the defense moving forward. This might be the time where we see the first-look of Kamara, EBC, LA Evans, Myles Howze and Sonny Bratcher all out there at the same time in DC Michael Fox's Nickel look ahead of a massive showdown in Cincinnati the following week. ☘️

How am I supposed to vote on who will win this matchup when this is the "roster" I'm given to decipher?!?!!?

EB is probably out, not sure about Sekou but he has been practicing

It was Andrew Coverdale's offense (mostly) but I agree with you. And the defense from that team is probably also the best we've seen and certainly should not be discounted (White, Barry, Reynolds, Hatcher, Bertram, Jordan, Timmy Smith, etc.) But if we're really looking at apples to apples, this team has just as much *talent* overall. Coaching and the will to win will be what separates this team from all the great Shamrock squads from years past. I just meant they had the tools for it.

Just a few notes from my watches of the scrimmage: The OL was subbed out in the second half and it seemed Nate Shields and Cam Nichols sat for most of that. I'm sure Cobb/Giacomini wanted to get some backups out there and mess with a few things. I thought converted TE AJ Greene did a nice job at RT but they are still looking for a few things from the rotation. Zane looked solid in the first half but missed on a few deep balls. The seam route TD to Duvall over the CB was a top-tier throw and Duvall made a nice adjustment on the long TD as well. To be fair, I didn't have Jayce Duvall super high on my depth chart at WR but I do now! Great game from him. Watson and Warner had a few nice catches and Hagan fought a double team for a ton of the game. Ashton Taylor and JB Berry will split carries at RB and I'm not sure how that will go or if Berry is still nursing an injury from last year. He has gotten bigger and hopefully he takes that next step. Defensively, Sekou Kamara and Elijah Burns-Crump were both out as a precaution and that allowed Myles Howze and Kajohnna Watkins to get some needed reps. There were a few mistakes but overall I thought the defense did a nice job against a speedy Springfield team and kept them to 14 points in the 3 quarters. Sophomore Peyton Hilbert was spectacular punting the ball and received his first offer from EKU after the game. He averaged almost 55 yards per punt and will be a major weapon like his brother was the last 3 years. He also had several kicks get to the end zone despite no field goal attempts. IMO, this was a great scrimmage for Trinity as the press clippings to how great this team is can subside for a little while and the coaches can provide a lot of film for the guys to work on. There is a TON of talent on this team, maybe the most since 2011-12, but they will need to come together and take all the coaching they can get against this brutal schedule if they want to challenge for supremacy in Kentucky this year. P.S. It was really cool to see some top flight coaches on the sidelines for the Rocks! Tommy Williams (PRP), Breno Giacomini (NFL), Chris Engstrand (Central Hardin) and Simon VanDerPool (Western Hills) have all joined the staff this year. There might be more talent in the booth than on the field this year!!!

Lol no, we are loaded there with Warner, Hagan, Watson and the TEs! I mean, I guess he could line up but...

Not that I'm aware of, unless Springfield has it on NFHS which I did not see yesterday.

To follow up from Monday, it seems Brennan Lowe, Luke Vize and AJ Hughes have all stepped up to get a majority of the reps at linebacker to complement returning starter Graham Botner. Lowe (son of Trinity legend Thomas Lowe) was massive filling in for the injured Jack DeBellis in the '24 State Championship and also got a lot of reps throughout the year. Hughes also brings a lot of experience as a senior and Vize looks to be that next great Trinity LB with a mix of speed, agility and toughness. 6'5 Xavier McKinney (X transfer) really stands out in pads and I'm sure Fox and Nathan Leslie will mold him into that Arak McDuffy/Stephen Herron-type explosive DE that is so potent in this defense. JR KJ Watkins also appears to be getting reps in the secondary, which was scary good. Corner LA Evans looks like a freak and I'd be surprised if anyone even looks his way all year. 6'2 and very rangy, combined with 4.4 speed makes him the biggest impact guy on this team. The entire defense has that wow factor for sure! More to come after the scrimmage on Saturday.

Major kudos to Cobb and Michael Fox for getting so many guys reps last year while in the midst of injuries, competition, blow outs, etc. The DL of Frost, Thompson, Blue, Carney et al will pick right up where last year left off. The DBs are led by Allen Evans Jr. and Sonny Bratcher-Gray, as well as Myles Howze, Sekou Kamara and Elijah Burns-Crump. The real question is at Linebacker where the Rocks have to replace 3 of their top 6 tacklers from last year. This is always a solid measuring stick for Trinity to start the year, as Springfield always seems to have athletes with outstanding speed. ☘️

Will Stein's 2-minute drill in the '07 Finals to get to overtime is probably the first that comes to mind. Also the '10 Regular Season game against Elder at home with one second on the clock was a great one (https://youtu.be/LUTJhPa-Dh8?si=mQkaFMmZAoi7MA9L) The 59-56 game would have been the let down portion of this, if not for Brian Smith!!

1997 State Championship was brutally cold and the only thing worse was the ending... 2010 State Semifinals against Ryle when they put us on top of the press box in freezing cold and swirling winds was cruel and unusual punishment that I'll never forget too...

It takes a heck of a lot more than "a few 4-star D-1's" to become an actual contender. I seem to remember a team not that long ago that had 4 or 5 "sure-fire Power 5 starters" that went 5-7 and gave up 60+ in a playoffs loss The biggest misconception for me in today's game is that those guys are transferring out for a reason...

The powder puff forum is on another page I believe.

The actual best DC in KYHSFB, both on and off the field!

Word from Sherrin Avenue is that the Rocks have hired former NFL and Louisville Cardinal Breno Giacomini to help coach offensive line. Giacomini is a longtime NFL veteran with a Super Bowl ring from the 2013 Seattle Seahawks victory. He also was 2nd team All-Big East while blocking for Brian Brohm and the Cardinals. Should be a tremendous addition to Coach Cobb's staff and a team that returns All-State candidates Nate Shields and Dakari Beckham. Have also heard that former PRP HC Tommy Williams has joined the staff to work with QBs and the offense in an undetermined role (by me anyway!) He had several solid years with the Panthers and was beloved by their community it seems. Great offseason underway for the Rocks so far! ☘️

That article is missing a lot of information and there was almost no consideration for our staff, which we've come to expect...

For what reason?

can they get our logo correct please?!?!?!

Have to dominate the last game of the year first...

How does Hilbert not make this list?!?!?!?! He's a top 10 kicker in the country!!!

KHSAA football: CAL, Trinity, St. X, other Louisville players honored Pretty decent list here for All-Louisville team Hilbert (K and P), Vance (DL), Ricks (DB) make 1st team for "Godzilla" ?

It's going to be tough for Taylor to see the field either way IMO...Not sure about Vize starting over DeBellis/Wilson/Lococo/Botner...Agree on Shields.

I don't ever want to hear anything about a Trinity bias from these clown coaches again...The Shamrocks play Center Grove, Carmel, Cincy X, Lou. X, Male, Ballard, Douglass, Ryle, etc. EVERY YEAR and average 11 ppg on defense and we've had 1 linebacker and 1 DL the last two years... And if you don't think we have any players on the defense, then you should have Cobb as the Coach of the Year...instead it goes to a loaded up 1-A who played some real barnburners against Nicholas County and Fairview What a joke @thsrocksCarson made it as the punter because apparently there are 75 kickers in our state who can hit from 55 to go ahead in the playoffs against a rival...

The two most highly touted players from this team (at least nationally) I expect to be LA Evans at corner and Sebastian Blue at DE who were both sophomores. Evans is a lockdown corner who only gave up 3 receptions in the last 6 games of the year! He already has a few P4 offers and depending on baseball I would guess Blue will also. At linebacker, juniors AJ Hughes, KeAnthony Calloway and Brennan Lowe all played significant minutes including the Championship, and Matthew Lococo and Cooper Burrice were excellent players at the JV level. On the O-Line, Shields is an All-State caliber left tackle and could be the best at Trinity since Joey Warburg or Cole Spencer. RT Boyd Knoerr is a major, major loss but Austin Taylor and Cam Nichols had some starts this year and there are several rising sophomores to vie for a starting spot as well. I like speedy freshman RB Ashton Taylor to make a bid to get some clock at RB and I really think 6'3 sophomore QB Brodie Pfeiffer can push Zane for some varsity snaps as well. All of the TE's return and AJ Green and Jack Stivers were tremendous in the run game down the stretch. Freshman Peyton Hilbert should follow in his brother's footsteps at kicker/punter and he routinely makes from 50+ field goals. His 6'6, 240-pound frame will also put him in many D-1 scopes for recruiting and he of course has the pedigree. Should be a great offseason!! ☘️

Coach Cross is a great guy. Coached linebackers for us at WKU and was an All-American himself at Campbellsville in the 90's. Was a hilarious guy and really fun to be around in those golden years in BG. He and Don "Wink" Martindale (now the DC at Michigan) led probably the best defensive unit we've ever had on The Hill. Very happy for Coach Cross!