NATCHEZ &8212; The top-ranked Trinity Saints got a big dose of reality Friday night at the hands of Justin Couvillion, Dillon Smiley and the Central Private Rebels in a 43-36 homecoming loss.

Smiley scrambled into the end zone from 14 yards out with 1:29 remaining in the game to put the Rebels up, and a Stevan Ridley fumble at the Rebel 13 yard line sealed the deal in Trinity&8217;s (5-1) first loss of the 2006 season.

&8220;I think the fact that we weren&8217;t focused on football all week (got us beat),&8221; said Trinity head coach David King. &8220;Monday, I told the team that this team could and would beat us if we weren&8217;t ready. The coaching staff could tell Monday this team wasn&8217;t focused, Tuesday it was more evident and by Wednesday we were just hoping we could have a chance to win. I was surprised we had a chance to win it at the end.&8221;

Ridley had another strong performance for the Saints, rushing 27 times for 329 yards and four touchdowns and tossing a 45-yard touchdown pass in a 110-yard passing performance.

Couvillion, the MPSA&8217;s leading rusher, didn&8217;t have a shabby night himself, carrying 24 times for 184 yards and four touchdowns of his own. He also completed a pass to set up another score.

Couvillion opened the scoring in the first quarter, zipping into the end zone from 33 yards out. A two-point conversion gave the Rebels (5-1) an 8-0 lead.

Ridley answered right back with a 46-yard touchdown, and Parker Brumfield completed a pass to Matthew Freeman for the two-point conversion to tie the game.

The Saints held the Rebels on the next drive, and after the punt (a rare occurrence on both sides during the course of the game) Ridley faked an end-around and took off up the middle for an 83-yard score.

After the Rebels answered back with a score, Ridley once again found the end zone on a 13-yard run. Brumfield tossed to Wells Middleton for the two-point conversion to give the Saints a 22-15 lead.

Couvillion then answered with an 80-yard touchdown run on Central Private&8217;s first offensive play to cut the lead to one with 4:19 remaining in the half.

The third quarter would prove to be disastrous for the Saints, as they ran only six offensive plays while the Rebels asserted themselves at the line of scrimmage, running straight at the Saints to two scores on long drives. Central Private took a 35-22 lead into the fourth quarter.

Trinity seemed to finally awaken at that point, as a quick drive led to a 45-yard touchdown pass on a screen from Ridley to Wells Middleton with 10:26 remaining in the game. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Trinity with a 35-28 deficit.

The Saints held Central Private on the ensuing drive, and Ridley muscled his way into the end zone on a wild 68-yard touchdown run. He then tossed a two-point conversion pass to Easom to give the Saints the lead.

Central Private then retook the initiative on offense, driving down the field on a series of Smiley scrambles and hard running by Couvillion leading to Smiley&8217;s score on third and goal.

Ridley rushed for a 43-yard gain, then passed to Easom to bring Trinity inside the Rebel 20 before the fumble that sealed the game.

King said Central&8217;s success on the ground could be attributed to the fact that they were the first team that matched up well with the Saints.

&8220;I think they were the first team that could compete with us skill-wise,&8221; he said. &8220;They had enough players to match up with us well, and they were quicker than us in some spots. They exploited that throughout the second half.&8221;

King said the Saints must now look within themselves if they are to still compete for a state title.

&8220;Honestly, I think this film is going to show us that we aren&8217;t anywhere near as good as we thought we were,&8221; he said. &8220;Unfortunately, games like this teach you that lesson a lot of the time. Hopefully we have enough seniors that they can take a leadership role and turn things around.&8221;

Trinity will hit the road to face Tri-County next week.