You can talk pain all you want. You can talk playing with pain and everything else.

But when the clock went to all zeros Thursday at Robinson-Hale Stadium and the scoreboard wasn’t in the favor of the Trinity Episcopal Saints, a right cross from Roy Jones Jr. would have felt like a love tap to those guys.

The 13 seniors on the Trinity roster wanted to go out with a state title more than anything, and they played like they were destined to do so for 13 weeks leading up until Thursday’s battle with Heidelberg Academy.

But then freak things happened &045; two fumbles, three interceptions and two blocked punts &045; that made the ride home feel like it was to Maine and back instead of just to Natchez.

&uot;It hurts pretty bad,&uot; senior Gregory Ketchings said. &uot;We did it at the wrong time. We hadn’t done that all season. We can’t look back on it and can’t dwell on it. We’ve got to move on.&uot;

That’s what makes it tougher to swallow. Not taking anything away from Heidelberg &045; the Rebels have several playmakers and were near flawless in their execution on offense, defense and special teams &045; but you’ve got to feel for the Saints and especially the seniors who left Clinton knowing they didn’t play their best game in regard to the number of turnovers.

It’s an unfortunate way to end a career for many of them after doing so well for so long, and you’ve got to feel for them.

&uot;It’s despicable if you ask me,&uot; said receiver Dudley Guice Jr., who caught two touchdowns passes and finished with five catches for 121 yards. &uot;The game plan coach told us was big players show up for big games. You can’t think they were going to give us a win. It doesn’t happen like that.&uot;

The Rebels, however, countered with a sizeable senior class as well that was part of a state championship last year as juniors and three years ago as freshman. Many of those players stepped up and grabbed interceptions, forced fumbles and made other key plays in what was a true state championship of the two best teams in Class A.

The Rebels, too, had speed to match up with Trinity’s burners, and that factored into the matchup as well.

&uot;I’m really proud of our defense,&uot; HA head coach Tom Lewis said. &uot;The coaches had them ready to go and had them ready to go against a good football team. The defensive ends put pressure on the quarterback. It’s the overall defense, and you can’t say enough about those guys.

&uot;We doubled (Guice) up. We were determined we were not going to let him beat us. When you take two guys out of the game defensively and play the rest with nine, it makes it tough.&uot;

But the effort shouldn’t really erase the success Trinity enjoyed its last four years, and that group of seniors are largely responsible for that. They were a critical part of the team’s state title in 2001, the appearance in the South State championship last year and this year’s run to the state title game.

They helped rebuild a football program at Trinity after seasons during the early 1990s when the Saints were fortunate to win a couple of games a season.

&uot;We have a great football team, and we don’t have anything to be ashamed of,&uot; Trinity head coach David King said. &uot;The kids all have to learn to live with this. Football is a lot like life, and we’ve got to live with it. I’m sure they’re hurting. They made so many mistakes. I think they’re still in disbelief of how many mistakes we made.

&uot;But we had a great season &045; 13-1 and overcame some injuries. They’re a great group (of seniors). They won 35 games in three years and won a state championship. I’m proud of our seniors.&uot;

Maybe that will settle into their minds today. Or Monday. Or next month. But as for Thursday that really didn’t matter to those seniors and everyone else on the roster. While they ran roughshod through the regular season and put away three good teams in the playoffs, those memories will hopefully surface over time. But true to their competitive spirit, that may take a while.

&uot;This was the biggest game you can want to win,&uot; Ketchings said. &uot;We needed this one. We don’t like to look back on wins. The losses hurt you more. It’s something I can look back on in two or three years, but not right now.&uot;

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. You can reach him at (601) 445-3632 or by e-mail at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.