Trinity shows its power against Shiloh Christian in Top 25 matchup

Linebacker Jonathan Yenga saw it in the eyes of the opponent Monday as he and his Trinity (Euless) teammates took the field at Cowboys Stadium. The Shiloh Christian (Springdale, Ark.) players looked scared.

As it turned out, there was good reason to look that way. Trinity, No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings presented by the Army National Guard, dismantled No. 22 Shiloh Christian 80-26 in the first game of the Kirk Herbstreit National Kickoff Classic.

"We think we're pretty physical ourselves, but obviously they were more physical today," Shiloh Christian coach Josh Floyd said. "There is nobody else in Arkansas coming down here and playing teams like this."

Who would want to?

Trinity, which has won three Texas 5A state titles since 2005, piled up 706 yards of offense and averaged 14 yards per play. Trinity ran inside, ran outside and ran into the end zone. Then the Trojans ran in the backups — and they still ran over Shiloh Christian.

"We wanted to get off to a fast start and keep it rolling," said Trinity running back Tevin Williams, one of three Trinity players to rush for more than 100 yards in the game. "They're tough in Arkansas, but we gave them a little taste of Texas football."

Trinity scored five of its 11 touchdowns on runs of more than 30 yards, and six running backs got in the end zone for the Trojans. The team's depth of playmakers was obvious as Trinity scored 80 points without receiver Brandon Carter getting in the end zone.

Carter, who has orally committed to Oklahoma, did throw a pair of long passes on reverses. The most stunning came in the second quarter, when he took a handoff, eluded a defender and then threw a 46-yard strike to Garland Rader.

More top stories from around the Dallas area in the last week:

2. Cedar Hill edges Guyer in overtime: A week after losing a heartbreaker to Allen, Cedar Hill rallied from behind to beat Guyer (Denton) 42-41 in overtime. Guyer (1-1), No. 4 in The Dallas Morning News 5A area rankings, scored first in overtime on a run by quarterback J.W. Walsh, the Oklahoma State commitment who rushed for five touchdowns in the game and passed for another. But a botched hold on the extra-point attempt opened the door for No. 6 Cedar Hill. Running back Andre Anderson ran nine yards for a score on a reverse, and Ryan Sparkman's extra-point kick sealed the game.

3. Lovejoy tops Richardson Pearce in volleyball: Lovejoy (Lucas), the top-ranked 3A team in the Texas Girls Coaches Association state rankings, knocked off the top 4A team, Pearce (Richardson) in five games. Lovejoy is the two-time defending 3A champion and has also beaten top 5A teams such as Marcus (Flower Mound) and Plano West.

4. Spruce plays first varsity game since 2007: On Friday, the Spruce (Dallas) football team lost to Roosevelt (Dallas), 37-6. But there was still reason to celebrate at Spruce, which played its first varsity football game in three years. In the summer of 2008, the Dallas Independent School District dropped varsity athletics at Spruce because a poor academic rating led to students being sent to other schools. All sophomores and juniors were sent to other schools and seniors were allowed to transfer. The freshmen who began at Spruce that year are now juniors and varsity sports have returned.

5. Garland kicker nails record field goal: Josh Lambert nailed a 53-yard field goal in a Garland 41-34 victory over Duncanville, breaking the school record of 52 that was set in 1983. Lambert kicked a 51-yarder the previous week and also had a 60-yard punt.

TOP PERFORMERS
Among the outstanding efforts last week:

* Brian Wetzel (Dallas Jesuit): The receiver caught nine passes for 162 yards and scored all six of Dallas Jesuit's touchdowns in a 44-24 victory over rival Strake Jesuit (Houston).

* Jay Ajayi (Liberty (Frisco)): The running back, who is orally committed to Boise State, rushed 17 times for 206 yards and six touchdowns in Liberty's 56-20 victory over Denison.

* Mario Edwards (Ryan (Denton)): The defensive end, expected to be one of the state's top recruits in the Class of 2012, made 15 tackles and had four sacks in a 42-17 win over Newman Smith (Carrollton).

LOOKING AHEAD
* The top two teams in the 4A state football rankings meet Friday when No. 1 Lake Travis (Austin) plays host to No. 2 Aledo. Last year, Lake Travis was the 4A Division I state champ and Aledo was the 4A Division II champion. Lake Travis has won three straight 4A titles and 48 straight games.

NEWS AND VIEWS
Greenhill (Addison) senior country runner Chelsey Sveinsson, who has been one of the best high school distance runners since she was a freshman, is almost ready to start running again. Sveinsson, who hasn't run since April, when she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her sacrum, told The Dallas Morning News that her latest MRI "showed there is absolutely no fracture." She could begin running again in three weeks. … Longtime Lake Highlands (Dallas) boys soccer coach Mark Adams has died after a bout with cancer. Adams, 56, played soccer at Southern Methodist University and taught at Lake Highlands for 32 years before retiring in 2008. … Volleyball district play begins this week, and District 8-5A should be extremely competitive. The district includes Hebron (Carrollton), which is No. 2 in the state 5A rankings, and No. 7 Marcus (Flower Mound).

Matt Wixon is the high school sports columnist for The Dallas Morning News. He can be reached at mwixon@dallasnews.com or on Twitter @mattwixon.