Two hours before the (6-3) Trinity Saints defeated the (4-6) Acadiana Home School Commandos 35-0, Trinity head coach Zach Rogel met with his coaches in his office, nervously rocking in his office chair.

“Alright, we don’t know a whole lot about them, but we have to keep our poise, so the players stay calm,” said Rogel who only had three game films to study leading into the contest.

After being forced to punt on its first possession, Trinity mounted a scoring drive after Kevontaye Caston intercepted Acadiana’s C.J. Melancon. Caston finished the drive on a 4th down conversion, completing a 29-yard strike to David Jackson to put the Saints up 6-0 in the first quarter.

The Saints’ rust on defense following a bye week was equally met with the athleticism of Acadiana’s Colin St. Julien, who rushed for 110 yards.

“We were having a couple breakdowns with our linebackers,” defensive coordinator Chris Bunio said. “(St. Julien) had some quick feet. He didn’t mind going coast to coast on us.”

Acadiana consistently produced long drives, but six of those drives ended in an interception thrown by Melancon. Melancon completed 4 of 21 passes for 14 yards and six interceptions. Meanwhile, Bunio assigned Cade Wells to stop St. Julien, who had in his mind, one of the best games of his career.

“Coach (Rogel) told me from last week that I need to come back full of energy because I was dead against River Oaks,” Wells said. “I played horrible against (River Oaks), but I pulled out all the stops this week.”

Wells led the Saints in tackles, while Caston and Demond Fleming led the team in interceptions with two a piece. Jakaris Caston and Jackson each had an interception, as well.

The Saints jumped up 14-0 on the Commandos after Trinity’s Cortez Adams fielded a punt the Commandos walked away from and returned it 41 yards for a score in the second quarter. Following Fleming’s second interception near the red zone, Rogel dialed up a trick play with eight seconds remaining on the clock. On a double reverse, Tommy McCoy took the ball 72 yards for a score as time expired, giving the Saints a 20-0 halftime lead.

“That was big,” Rogel said. “We worked on that all week in our gimmick section. I told them that we were going to score on that, and for the first time, we practiced like we were going to score on it.”

Trinity scored twice in the third quarter, one off of a Kevontaye Caston interception return, and the other coming off of a Jakris Caston touchdown reception from Kevontaye. With the running clock now in play, Rogel had to honor a deal he made with one of his three seniors. With the Trinity cheerleaders shouting “Miller time,” Rogel elected to sub Alex Miller in to play quarterback for a snap, which concluded in an incomplete pass.

“I told him that if we’re up by 29 that we would maybe let him do that, but I think Miller is right where he’s supposed to be at right tackle,” Rogel said, laughing.

The Saints totaled 216 yards compared to the Commandos 139. Caston completed 9-of-18 passes for 148 yards and two tocuhdown. Jackson led the team in receiving with 102 yards on five catches, including a touchdown, while McCoy led the team in rushing with his 72-yard touchdown run right before the half ended. St. Julien accounted for 110 of Acadiana’s 139 total yards.

With the win, the Saints await to find out which opponent they will host in the first round of the playoffs Friday night. Wells, who dumped ice on Rogel following the win, said he’s regained his focus after missing too many tackles against River Oaks, and is hungry for a long playoff run.

“I’m more than ready for the playoffs,” Wells said. “I’m starving.”