Thomas Jefferson locks down Trinity in 2nd Half for gritty 19-14 road victory

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Cade Henderson | October 2, 2026

Tyler Eber ran 32 times for over 200 yards and all three of Thomas Jefferson’s touchdowns to carry the Jaguars home to a 19-14 victory

A slow first quarter left neither team with anything positive to gleam, but a Jamir Johnson leaping interception gave Trinity the ball around midfield. But the Jaguars got it right back on a costly quarterback draw that Owen Samogala fumbled at the TJ 39. Then Eber made his first of three house calls, a 56 yard rumble to the endzone that put Thomas Jefferson 6-0 after the missed PAT.

The Hillers were quick to answer with a 1 play superstar move from Jamir Johnson, a screen pass where juked one then shed the tackles of two more before making a mad dash to the endzone down the right sideline. Johnson’s touchdown would give Trinity the lead as the Hillers kicker was on the money to make it 7-6.

It kept piling on poorly for Thomas Jefferson, as a two player collision caused the ensuing kickoff to be muffed and barely recovered at the 10. The drive would then stall out at the 26, where punter Josh Tarpey would have his punt tipped, resulting in a backwards punt to their 22, giving Trinity prime field position with the clock winding down.

A crucial drive for Trinity, the Hillers punched it down to the 1, where the Jaguars defensive line toughened up and stuffed back to back run plays from Samogala and Gardner respectively, giving Thomas Jefferson a huge goal line.

It didn’t amount to much for the Jaguars, but it got worse. With Tarpey backed up in his own endzone, wind blowing backwards, pressure from the left, and to boot, backspin on the football, the punt went nowhere, which gave Trinity the ball inside the 10.

Trinity made no mistake on this drive, with Samogala finding Ayvari Chandler on the slant route, and on an outstretched arm, Trinity added a second touchdown seconds before half.

14-6 at half, Thomas Jefferson needed an answer, but the Jaguars would have to be patient. Receiving in the second half, Thomas Jefferson quickly punted before Trinity chewed most of the 3rd quarter clock on a 12 play drive into Jaguars territory. But the shift came on 4th and 11, outside field goal range and looking for the dagger, Samogala dropped back and looked for the screen to Gardner, which bounced out of his hands.

The Eber strikes again with a 54 untouched route to the endzone, cutting the Trinity lead down to two, with the two-point conversion being intercepted to keep the Hillers on top, 14-12.

Trinity would punt on their next drive before Eber got his third early in the 4th on another long touchdown, this time from 46 yards out. At 19-14, Thomas Jefferson would hold the lead, as both teams traded turnovers on downs for the entire fourth quarter as Eber got the final first down to seal Trinity’s loss.

It was all Eber, all day. 32 rushing attempts for 271 rushing yards and all three of the Jaguars scores to push his team to victory in a close 19-14 victory and keep Thomas Jefferson undefeated.

Thomas Jefferson is set to face off against West Allegheny next week and Trinity against Peters Township.