SAN ANTONIO, TX – Hardin-Simmons was threatening to take its first lead of the game and steal a second-round playoff game on the road against Trinity with a minute left on the clock when Tigers linebacker T.J. Scannell intercepted a Kyle Brown pass and returned it 70 yards for the game-sealing score. Scannell, who is the son of Trinity baseball coach, Tim Scannell, high-fived his dad in the end zone as he raced through the end zone and into Trinity lore.  

“I have a cast on (my hand) so I wanted to make sure I secured it,” Scannell said of his big play. “I had guys blocking their tails off for me and I had a cutback lane, so I took it. I had some family members (in the end zone), my dad and my brother, so I got to see them and then go be excited with my teammates.” 

The pick-six gave Trinity a 34-24 lead with 56 seconds remaining in the game as Trinity knocked Hardin-Simmons out of the Division III playoffs for the third time in four seasons. The Tigers beat the Cowboys 14-7 in 2022 and 20-6 in 2023. This was the fifth straight trip to the playoffs for Trinity under head coach Jerheme Urban and his third win in the postseason. Hardin-Simmons fell to 0-12 all time in the playoffs. 

Urban has watched senior linebacker T.J. Scannell grow up. Scannell’s dad, Tim, is the long-time head coach of the Tigers baseball team and a mentor to Urban, who is in his 12th season in charge of the football team. Urban vividly remembers watching Scannell do sprint work by himself with full pads on during a hot April day on the intramural fields as an eighth grader. 

“He was doing all this stuff as a little guy because he had big dreams,” Urban said. “And our guys all had that dream, right? Of making big plays in big moments. There’s no doubt in my mind that he was probably running through plays like this in his eighth-grade brain back at Bush Middle School.” 

Scannell comes from a long line of Trinity graduates. His mom, Christa, is a Trinity graduate. His grandfather, Jim Potter, was inducted into the Trinity Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003. His grandmother, Barbara Scannell, was the first elected female Selectman from 1978-84 and served as the Vice-Chairman of the university for four years. 

Scannell followed those large footsteps to Trinity after a high school career at nearby Reagan and Cheshire Academy. He debuted against Sul Ross back in 2022 and became a regular on defense in 2023, recording 28 tackles that season, including 4.5 for loss and three sacks. He set a career-high with 11 tackles against Texas Lutheran in the 2024 season opener and looked poised for a breakout campaign before he suffered a season-ending injury in the fourth game. 

But Scannell rebounded from that injury and was named All-SAA First Team in 2025. He led the Tigers with 75 tackles. Ten of those were for loss and four were sacks. The one thing Scannell hadn’t recorded this year was an interception. That changed in the most crucial moment of the season. And while it was a big moment for him and his family, Scannell was more excited to clinch another week practicing with his teammates rather than what it means for his legacy. 

“This team is so special to me,” he said. “The senior class that I came in with has another week to see each other in the morning and it means a lot.” 

The 34-24 win punched the Tigers’ ticket to the third round of the DIII playoffs and sets up a rematch with conference champion Berry College, the only team to knock off Trinity this season. The Vikings won the first battle, 29-6, on Oct. 11. They beat LaGrange, 18-14, on Saturday to clinch their spot in the third round.