The San Antonio Express-News hasn’t exactly done the Trinity (Texas) football team too many favors in recent years. Game coverage is almost non-existent. Occasionally there’s a feature. Even, on occasion, the facts are right.

I was reading a story in the paper this evening when I thought my opinion was going to change. Here was a well-written, useful story about the Tigers’ consecutive first-round exits, when there was a glaring error.

“Leading by five going into the fourth quarter, Mary Hardin-Baylor used a punishing ground game to drive 80 and 71 yards for touchdowns, outscoring the Tigers 14-0 down the stretch.

“The Crusaders went on to play in the D-III title game, losing to Findlay, Ohio.”

Thanks for playing.

Still, it’s not as irresponsible as the way the paper blew up Roy Hampton’s run-in with the law after the national semifinal win against St. John’s in 2002. That story, which, let’s face it, pales in comparison to what Division I athletes in the state have been connected with, was a major story in their newspaper for days. Eventually the school suspended Hampton for the Stagg Bowl.

An Express-News columnist after the fact wrote, “I just hope that our sensational headlines on the subject didn’t play even a small role in the decision to oust the star player.”

I’m afraid those hopes were unfounded. Trinity deserves better, and so does Division III.