Trinity football scores twice in fourth quarter to beat Milford

MILFORD – A week ago, the Trinity High School football team took to the air to pull out a victory.

On Friday, the Pioneers were in for a grind against Milford, and grind they did.

After throwing for 358 yards and scoring 58 points in a win over Portsmouth, Trinity ran the ball 48 times and needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to come from behind and beat Milford 30-20.

Austin Chambers ran for 87 yards and two touchdowns, and had a 30-yard touchdown reception that sealed the win for the Pioneers, while Brad Rhoades picked up 100 yards and a touchdown on the ground. As a team, Trinity (2-0) ran for 279 yards, a far cry from last week, when it scored four touchdowns through the air.

“That’s our mantra,” Trinity coach Steve Burns said. “If we can run the ball, we’ll run the ball. If we can throw the ball, we’ll throw the ball. Whatever it takes to win, that’s more important than a stat.”

Milford (1-1) got a big night from quarterback Harrison Urda, who ran for 78 yards and two touchdowns and was 11 of 17 for 101 yards and another score, a 7-yard touchdown pass to Evan Perron late in the third that put the Spartans up 20-16.

“Awesome,” Milford coach Keith Jones said of Urda’s night. “We knew during the week that they would key on (Mitchell) Banuskevich and Perron big time from last week’s performances. Harrison, even though he ran a little last week, we knew it probably wasn’t what they were looking for, so we worked on him being a ball carrier a little more.”

Trinity did slow down Banuskevich (25 rushing yards) and Perron (22), but both, along with Ian Michaud, were able to come up with key receptions.

“Some of the catches they made, I can’t believe they did,” Burns said. “They have great athletes over there. Harrison Urda is a very good runner and he gave us fits all night long. His ability to run the football, and he’s a good passer as well.”

The Pioneers found that out right away. After Chambers helped give Trinity an 8-0 lead (the Pioneers only go for two) with a 5-yard scoring run, Urda answered on Milford’s first drive with a 20-yard touchdown scramble.

A 15-yard touchdown by Rhoads and another score by Urda made it 16-14 Trinity at the half. Milford opened the third by taking the opening kickoff and marching 70 yards on 16 plays and scoring on Perron’s touchdown catch with 2:25 left in the quarter.

The Spartans tried an onside kick, but the ball didn’t go far enough and Trinity took over at Milford’s 40-yard line. Seven players later, Chambers scored what proved to be the winning touchdown.

“We hadn’t really stopped them,” Jones said. “The onside kick didn’t go well and you don’t want to give a team like that a short field. We were hoping that if we didn’t get the ball, at least they’d have to go 60 yards, but it didn’t work out.

“We gave a thousand percent out there. That’s a great football team. The game is always won in the trenches and they got the best of us. I told the kids, you’ve gotta think of it as a preview of November. We’ve got to do this again and there is better grass at Gill Stadium.”