St. Matthews, KY – In early September, the underdog Oldham County Colonels travelled to St. Matthews and gave district favorite Trinity all they could handle, trailing only 7-3 at the half before losing, 30-15. With the exception of Trinity’s single loss – a 14-7 upset at the hands of rival St. X – it was the closest scare the Shamrocks endured all season. So when the top two finishers from District 5 squared off with the regional championship on the line, it was no surprise that many expected quite a showdown.

The second-ranked Rocks of Trinity, however, had other plans.

Continuing the domination that they had displayed in the six games since the loss to St. X, the Rocks dominated every aspect of the contest in the first half, scoring on 7 of 9 possessions. By halftime, it was 45-0 and the Shamrocks cruised to the victory from there.

After the two teams traded punts to start the contest, Trinity started their second possession at the Oldham County 43 following a good punt return. Five plays later, Alex Hennessey scored on a one yard run to give the Rocks a 7-0 lead with 7:43 to go in the first.

The game settled into a defensive struggle until Trinity got the ball with 1:53 to go in the period on their own 34 yard line. After a nine yard pass completion from sophomore sensation Brian Brohm to Hennessey, the Rocks pulled ahead by two scores on a big play when Dequese May turned a simple trap play into a 57 yard touchdown run to make it 14-0 with 1:01 left in the quarter.

That’s when the Colonels started to unravel, thanks to the first of six turnovers.

Starting from their own 15, Derek Miller was intercepted by Hennessey – the first of a (Trinity) record four interceptions by Hennessey – and Trinity took over in short field position at the Oldham 38. Four plays later, May had his second touchdown, scoring from four yards out on the first play of the second period to make it 21-0.

The next Oldham drive proved to be the pivotal point of the ballgame. Starting at their own 20 – with the exception of one drive, Oldham started every possession from inside their own 27 – the Colonels finally began to make some noise on office. On third down, the Colonels ran a reverse to Donta Smith. But instead of continuing on the run, Smith pulled up and fired a 47 yard pass downfield to a wide open Brad Keonig. After a five yard offsides penalty on Trinity placed the ball on the Rocks’ 25, Josh Riordan dashed fifteen yards to the Trinity ten yard line.

Facing a first and goal from the ten, Miles Brewer was stopped for no gain. On second down, Miller gunned a pass to Smith on a slant in the end zone, but the pass was low and Smith couldn’t pull it in. On third down, Smith ran an out pattern into the end zone, but Miller’s throw was late, and Hennessey stepped in front of the pass, intercepting it at the two. Hennessey returned the interception all the way back to the Oldham 28 yard line, and three plays later Karl Williams drilled a 25 yard field goal to push the Trinity lead to 24-0.

The Colonels didn’t threaten again. Miller’s next two passes on the next two Colonel possessions were each intercepted – both by Hennessey. After each pick, the Rocks responded with a touchdown. May scored his third touchdown on a three yard run to push the lead to 31-0, and Will Jones caught a 38 yard pass from Brohm with 2:53 to go in the half to push the margin to 38 at 38-0.

Needing a break, Oldham tried a fake punt with less than a half minute to go in the half. But Miles Brewer was caught for a loss at the Oldham 20 yard line with just 19 seconds remaining in the first half. That was plenty of time for Brohm, who misfired on one pass, but found Hennessey for a twenty yard touchdown toss with just seven seconds left. Williams’ point after put the punctuation mark on a dominating first half performance by the Rocks, as they headed to the locker room on top, 45-0.

After punting on two of their first three possessions, the Rocks had scored on six straight possessions.

Oldham’s lone bright point came in the second half. After going "three-and-out" on the opening possession of the half, the Colonels got a break when Trinity fumbled the punt and Oldham recovered at t he Trinity 47. It was the only time all night that Oldham started a drive outside their own 27, and they took advantage. Moments later, Miller threw a perfect spiral to Donta Smith from 35 yards out for the Colonels’ lone score of the night. For Donta, his 52^nd reception of the season was significant as it broke Brandon Lloyd’s school record for most yards receiving in a season. On the conversion, Aaron Singleton passed to Smith for two points to pull Oldham to within 45-8.

The Colonels attempted an onside kick on the subsequent kickoff, but the Rocks recovered at the Trinity 49. Two plays later, Brohm hit TaShawn McBroom on a wide receiver screen, and McBroom took the pass 50 yards to the end zone. After another Oldham interception, the Rocks then tallied their final score on a 21 yard pass from Brohm to Drew Riddle with 1:18 to go in the third, accounting for the final score of 59-8.

The Trinity Shamrocks improve to 11-1 and advance to face either Lexington Henry Clay or Lexington Tates Creek. Oldham County finishes 9-4.

Records Set: Oldham’s Donta Smith finished his senior year with 52 catches for 931 receiving yards (unofficially). Both season totals broke the records set by Brandon Lloyd in 1997, when he caught 42 balls for 886 yards. Trinity’s Alex Hennessey’s four interceptions set a Shamrock record.

Oldham County 0 0 8 0 - 8

Trinity 14 31 14 0 - 59