Any questions about exactly how good this Trinity team is were answered last night.
Facing perennial Class AA power Delone Catholic, the Shamrocks absolutely dominated the Squires on both sides of the ball over the final three quarters.
Trinity turned five Delone turnovers into 20 points on its way to a commanding 27-7 victory that wasn't as close as the final score indi cated to claim its first District 3-AA football title in school history.
Next up for the Shamrocks (12-0) is District 11 champi on Northwestern Lehigh (10-2), a 21-3 winner over Northern Lehigh last night in the opening round of the PIAA Championships.
That game is tentatively scheduled for Friday night at 7 at J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown.
"This was one of the expectations of this team," Trinity coach Jeff Boger said. "We felt we could get here and win this game. It definitely feels great."
The victory did, however, come with a heavy heart.
Thursday night, Trinity junior Spencer Day died from injuries suffered in an automobile accident the previous night.
"It's been tough for all of us," said Trinity senior Peter Alfano, who set the school record for tackles last night. "A lot of guys missed practice and we've spent a lot of time in chapel."
Battling all the emotion of losing a fellow student left the Shamrocks in a funk early on.
Delone marched right down the field on its opening possession, traveling 55 yards in eight plays, to grab a 7-0 lead when Austin McCusker hit Shane Gosnell for a 10-yard strike on fourth down.
Then the real Trinity team showed up.
And Jeff DeFrank provided the spark that ignited the Shamrocks' fire.
The speedy junior returned a punt 39 yards for a touchdown that changed the entire spectrum of this game.
"We had a lot of energy after that. It swung momentum our way," said DeFrank, who returned a punt for a score last week against Wyomissing as well.
"There was a lot of energy when I came to the sideline. My blockers did a great job as well."
DeFrank's improbable punt return came when the Shamrocks had a punt block on.
So when the 6-0, 150 pounder caught the ball on the dead run he was all by himself.
DeFrank broke through the first wave with his speed, caught a couple nick blocks downfield and rolled down the sidelines into the end zone.
"We were going after it. That means Jeff knows he doesn't have any help back there," Boger said. "We just tell Jeff to get what he can. He got in an opening and got some key blocks. It was a helluva play."
With its shaky start now ancient history, Trinity went to work on defense and completely shut down the Squires the rest of the way.
After Delone rolled to 55 relatively easy yards on its first drive, it managed just 84 more the rest of the game and became the 11th team this season that failed to crack the 100-yard rushing barrier against Trinity.
Two plays after DeFrank's punt return, Rob Lutz made a nifty interception on a tipped ball at midfield.
Five snaps later when Jonathan Smith, who finished with a game-high 108 yards, scored from five yards it gave the Shamrocks the lead for good.
The second half was an exhibition in total domination.
Behind Smith, Lutz, Dan Hirsch and quarterback Chris Crane, the Shamrocks' offense churned out 184 second-half yards.
Smith was the real workhorse, carrying 20 times mostly between the tackles.
"Usually I'm in the other teams backfield more than ours," said Smith, who was forced to shoulder more of the load when starting fullback Scott Jocken went out with an ankle injury. "We practiced hard all season and worked hard. We deserved this."
Smith was also part of that oh-so-impressive defense that limited Delone to 31 yards and forced four turnovers the second half.
In addition to Alfano's six tackles, Will Healey, Smith and Tony Calabrese each had five tackles.
On Delone's initial second-half possession, Dan Hirsch made a one-handed interception to once again set the Shamrocks up at midfield.
Six plays later, Lutz cut back on a sweep left into a seam and raced 21 yards to the end zone to give the Shamrocks a cushion.
Delone ran only 11 more plays the rest of the game, as the Shamrocks' offense did a great job of playing keep away and the defense forced turnovers.
"We hurt ourselves a lot. It was very uncharacteristic," Delone coach Dennis Frew said. "We made mistakes, and gave them a lot of big things."