By Justin Vigil-Zuniga
Signal Sports Writer
Trinity Knights football (1-0) is off to a hot start with a huge win over the hosting Firebaugh Falcons (0-1) on Thursday.
The Knights had a total team win and got everyone in the game, but the game ball had to go to two-way standout Jack Spector.
Spector finished the night with four receiving touchdowns from two different quarterbacks as well as a punt return for six points.
Trinity stresses special teams immensely and it paid off early. The Knights would score on their opening drive with a quarterback rushing score from Dominic Smith. The team followed the score with senior Nick Parrinello recovering a fumble on the Falcon kickoff return, which led to another score on offense.
Firebaugh found itself in a two-touchdown hole before taking a snap.
“They were a good team,” said Knights head coach Mike Parrinello. “We were just fortunate to have a couple things to go our way early. When you get a lead like that, I don’t care who you’re playing, it’s tough to come back.”
The Falcons had talented players at running back and wide receiver but the Trinity defense stood tall throughout all four quarters, earning the shutout.
Senior Mario Bethke suited up for his first varsity game of football ever and ended the night with two sacks. Senior Rocco Izzo also had a great night on defense and was a constant tackle machine.
Trinity was able to get every player decent minutes, something their head coach views as invaluable.
“Our goal as a coach is to get everyone on the field and we did,” said Mike. “That’s going to be important down the road. We’re a deeper team this year and we’re gonna need those twos and threes to come through further down the road.”
The Knights are high off a big win but know they have long way to go if they want to stay competitive this season. Coach Parrinello will look for his players to force the ball down the field less as well as sticking to the game plan.
Trinity will still take it week by week and focus only on their next opponent, which will be another road challenge at Bosco Tech.
The Knights head to Rosemead to take on Bosco Tech Saturday, Aug. 27, at 10 a.m.
“We have a week by week, day by day mentality,” said coach Parrinello. “We have Bosco Tech on Saturday and that’s the only thing we’re talking about right now.”
