FRANKLINTON, La. — Trinity head coach Josh Loy is sure glad Tropical Storm Isaac didn’t call the shots Monday.

The storm originally led Trinity and Bowling Green School to cancel this week’s game, but a change of heart left Loy with win No. 1 Monday.

The Saints defeated the Buccaneers 41-20 to give the first-year head coach his first win.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s been a long time coming,” Loy said. “We had 18 players who gutted it out today. It was hot. It was humid. It was 100 degrees with the heat index. Everybody played. Everybody contributed. We fought cramps. It was a team effort.”

After being shut out by Jefferson County and scoring just six points in a loss to Centreville Academy, the Saints got their offense on track Monday. Trinity gained 409 total yards and scored six offensive touchdowns.

Bowling Green scored first on a 1-yard run by Drew Varnado, but the two-point conversion was no good and the Buccaneers led 6-0 with 4:30 to go in the first quarter.

Trinity answered when quarterback Garrett Vinson scored on a 26-yard touchdown run, and Carter Smith added the extra point to put the Saints ahead 7-6 with 1:11 left in the opening quarter. That score stood until the third quarter when Trinity scored three times to put the game away.

Tanner Cage had a 13-yard touchdown run, and Smith made the PAT to make it a 14-6 game with 8:40 remaining. The Saints’ passing game contributed to their next touchdown with a 40-yard pass from Vinson to Wyatt Boothe with 6:09 to go in the quarter. Smith once again was good on the extra point to put them ahead 21-6.

The Buccaneers made it a 21-14 game when Sebastian Milton picked off a Vinson pass and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown, and Patrick Roublow scored on a two-point conversion run at the 3:42 mark of the third. However, Trinity responded with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Vinson to Cage and Smith’s point-after gave the Saints a 28-14 lead with 1:02 to in the quarter.

Vinson completed 12 of 17 passes for 158 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also had 12 carries for 64 yards and one touchdown. As a team, Trinity’s offense racked up 17 first downs.

“Offensively, we executed better. It’s getting there. It’s not where we want it to be, but it’s getting there,” Loy said. “The offensive line played very well. They had a couple of missed blocking assignments, but otherwise they played well. We were physical up front. We made enough plays to win a football game.”

Demarcus Fleming scored on a 1-yard run with 4:24 left in the ball game to give Trinity a commanding 34-14 lead.

Bowling Green scored just 12 seconds later on a 4-yard pass to make it a two-possession game at 34-20. But the Saints ended any hopes of a Buccaneer comeback on Fleming’s 59-yard touchdown run with 1:07 remaining. Smith added his fifth extra point of the game on six attempts.

“I thought we played good defense today. I felt like the officiating led to a couple of their scores. We need to do a better job of tackling,” Loy said.

Fleming led Trinity’s ground game with 14 carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. In addition to his three receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, Cage had 13 rushes for 67 yards and one touchdown.

The Saints’ defense held Bowling Green to 54 yards rushing on 25 carries. Even though the Buccaneers had 174 passing yards, they also had four turnovers.

Trinity Episcopal (1-2) will have a short week of practice before playing at Silliman Institute at 7 p.m. Friday.

“It’s going to be an extreme challenge. We’ve got to get them ready and get them hydrated. We’ve got a good football team waiting for us on Friday,” Loy said.