BOX SCORE
The comedy “Joe Dirt” provided a two-sentence philosophy of life for Bryn Meredith.
“Life is a garden. Dig it,” wrote Meredith in the Rhodes' football program
On Saturday at Fargason Field, Meredith, a senior wide receiver, was on hallowed ground and oh, how Meredith and his teammates were digging it.
Meredith's fourth quarter touchdown reception from quarterback Mark Oliver gobbled up 69 yards of turf to tie a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game against Trinity before the Lynx went on to defeat the Tigers 27-13.
Defeating Trinity for the first time since 2003, Rhodes seniors gathered in the end zone for photos, freezing the moment in time.
“I don't want to leave the field right now. We just beat the 12th-ranked team in the country. It's overwhelming. Everybody did what they were supposed to do,” said Meredith. “This is too much. I'm glad I could be apart of this. I can't explain the feeling.”
Ecstatic? That came when Rhodes linebacker Desmond Hendricks recovered a fumble and ran 65 yards for a touchdown with 5:43 left to play to give Rhodes its two-touchdown lead.
Just as vital for the Lynx was defensive back Andy Boucher recovering an onside kick after Meredith's touchdown. With 10:53 left, the Lynx went 59 yards after Boucher's recovery. Runs by Charles Hoggard, Oliver and Ty Lake got the Lynx to the 9-yard line before Oliver hit Lake with a touchdown pass with 8:11 left.
That put Rhodes ahead 19-13. Kicker Chris Catalanotto then kicked his second PAT and added to his field goals of 24 and 31-yards.
“I knew at that point the game was turning around,” said Boucher. “The offense did a great job of capitalizing and breaking their backs.”
Trinity coach Steve Mohr, who guided the Tigers to 13th straight conference titles from 1993-2005, called the onside kick “pretty gutsy.” He said “nothing” surprised him about Rhodes (3-2, 1-1 in the SCAC).
“It ended like it should have ended,” said Mohr, whose team is 4-1 overall, 1-1 in the SCAC. “They play better at home than they do on the road. We told our players that. It doesn't matter what a team is ranked or the record.”
Trinity had two of its five fumbles early in the first quarter. The Tigers lost four fumbles and had two quick penalties. Mohr was chagrined by the mistakes.
Rhodes defense was vicious with seven sacks of quarterback Blake Barmore for 46 yards and 12 tackles for losses of 72 yards. Barmore did complete 22 of 37 passes for 282 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Urban in the second quarter.
Marc Mattioli, Chris Lomas, Kendral Ellison, Michael Sullivan, Donny Dillard and Hendricks sacked Barmore. Hendricks had three tackles for loss. Tom Oliver had an interception for 20 yards. Alex Foti and Hendricks each had eight tackles.
“We were just clicking today. We were all flying to the ball and gang-tackling,” said Mattioli, a defensive lineman. “The defensive backs were making all kind of plays. We were not intimidated by them.”
Battling two straight losses, the Lynx had their best week of practice “in years,” said Rhodes coach Joe White. “It (defeating Trinity) was on our agenda. The guys had it on their minds. They played well enough to win, and not just win, but win big.”
Rhodes' domination of the fourth quarter, 21 points, was a key to success said White.
“We should have been ahead at halftime (Rhodes trailed 10-3). Bryn's (touchdown) was huge. The onside kick was tremendous. The offense took advantage of that opportunity and put it in the end zone. I can't say enough about the defense. We had a lot of pressure.
“I know one thing. This is the biggest one (win) this year; until next week. This win keeps us in the chase for the title. When things were bad we moved on. When things were good, we stayed focused.”
Said wide receiver Justin Sealand, “We just beat Trinity. I'm too happy.”