Trinity gearing up for tough test

Published 12:01 am Friday, September 11, 2015

RAYVILLE, La. — The Trinity Episcopal Day School Saints have taken their fair share of bumps and bruises so far this season.

The Saints (1-2), who are coming off a 35-22 loss to Copiah Academy last week, will once again take on a larger opponent Friday in Riverfield Academy (2-1).

“We are beaten and bruised right now as a team,” Trinity head coach Zach Rogel said. “Our egos, as well as our physical bodies. We know Riverfield is going to be another huge test and put another pounding on our bodies, but then we have district the next week. We have to get through this week healthy.”

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The Saints suffered a big loss against Copiah when lineman Joseph Harris went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was ruled out for the rest of the season. However, Rogel said he still expects to dress out 21 players this week.

“I would say I’m counting on 21 right now,” he said. “Whether they are 100 percent or not, is a different story.”

Rogel said he is fairly confident he knows what to expect when his team takes the field against the Raiders.

“People have seen a blueprint for success against us, and that is between the tackles pounding the ball,” he said. “If I had to guess, they are going to try to rush for 700 yards against us and try to tire us out. They know we have 10 two-way players and very little depth. A coaches job is to game plan for that, and that’s what I imagine they’ll do.”

Although the Saints have been through a gauntlet to begin their season, Rogel said he thinks the early tests will only benefit the Saints down the road.

“My hope is when we get to district, we see those games against AAA and AAAA teams come to our advantage, even though we took some beatings and it has been tough,” Rogel said. “Hopefully in district, we have 100 percent of our legs under us and really put our talents on display.”

The Saints and Raiders are scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff.