Triton Rolls To 42-6 Senior Night Win
October 15, 2022 at 2:47 a.m.
Triton Rolls To 42-6 Senior Night Win
By Connor McCann-
“We wanted to send our seniors out the right way and get back on the winning track,” Triton head coach Rodney Younis said. “The last two weeks were really tough and we wanted to get on the right side of one before the playoffs start.”
Triton won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The team’s first drive was lackluster, going 3-and-out after a holding penalty negated a big gain by junior running back Anthony Schuh. Triton would be forced to punt.
The visitors would make some noise on their first few touches of the game. Winamac’s first two carries were good enough for first downs, but after crossing midfield, the offense disappeared. Doing a good job of bending and not breaking, the Trojans would force a Warrior punt from the Triton 40-yard line. The punt was nearly fielded at the one but reached the end zone for a touchback.
The Trojans would find their groove on their second turn with the ball. The home team would rip off a 13-play, 80-yard drive that spanned seven minutes and ended in a two-yard scamper by quarterback Cole Shively and into the end zone. Five different players rushed the ball during the drive: Shively, Schuh, Kohan Hensley, Javan May and Vincent Prater. With just 13 ticks to go in the first quarter, the Trojans were on the board.
Triton’s run defense picked up where it left off after forcing the punt on the previous drive. The first two Winamac runs went nowhere, but the Warriors would pick up their third first down of the game on a 15-yard pass on third down. It wouldn’t matter much, as on the very next play, the snap was sent sailing over the head of quarterback Cash Roth. The Trojans would recover it at the Warrior ten and set up an instant goal-to-go situation.
Schuh would get the call but his first two carries of the drive would lose a yard. Facing a third and 10, Triton called its first timeout of the half to talk it over. The decision paid off immediately as Schuh was able to find a hole on his third run of the drive and make a house call from eleven yards out. After a missed two-point conversion, Triton’s lead sat at 13-0.
It would get even larger just a few minutes later. Faced with another third and long, Roth would roll out to his left trying to find an open receiver. He would instead find Shively, playing cornerback. Shively jumped the route, intercepted the ball and took it all the way down to the four. For the second drive in a row, the home team was faced with an incredibly short field.
It took just one play for the Trojans to extend their lead even further. Shively would be rewarded for getting his team the ball back and would hear his number called on a quarterback keeper. Two touchdowns in less than two minutes would put Triton up three scores with eight minutes to go in the half.
The visitors would not go away easily. After two more stops forced the Warriors into another third and long, Triton would give the team a gift, jumping offside on a hard count. Winamac would convert the third and short but be stopped on the next three plays. Instead of booting it back to the home side, the Warriors elected to go for the fake. It paid off and put the visitors in business, gaining 18 yards. A few plays later, suspect pass defense would rear its head once again. Roth would connect with a receiver for a 31-yard score to put Winamac on the board. The extra point was blocked, putting the score at 21-6.
“They made some nice plays but we were out of position on a few of them. We got caught up looking at the backfield a couple of times tonight and they burned us for it,” Younis said.
Triton would have 1:40 left in the first half to make something happen. The team would only need a minute. Shively was surgical running the two-minute drill, completing three big passes, two to Dante Workman for 30 yards and one to senior Amari Snyder for a 29-yard score for the team’s fourth and final touchdown of the half.
“We practice that every week and tonight they ran it to perfection,” Younis said. “We wanted to hurry, but not hurry our mind, and Cole did a great job, as did his line protecting him.”
Midway through the drive Schuh would gain six yards on a run to break the Trojans’ single-season rushing record. Schuh finished his night with 76 yards and now has 1,512 yards this season. The previous mark was held by Adam Creighbaum, who had 1,500 yards in 2009.
Winamac would complete another big pass, this one for 35 yards, to begin the second half, but the offense would stall once again after some more nice work in the trenches by the Trojan defensive line. On its next offensive drive Triton would get a little creative. The team ran a flea-flicker play that gave Shively any receiver he wanted. He elected to throw the ball to a wide open Snyder, who would make the catch and walk into the end zone on the 41-yard score, his second of the game.
With the game out of hand and second stringers beginning to make their mark, Prater would become the lead back on the team’s next drive. He would answer the call, running for three first downs on his first three carries. Prater would finish his night with 64 yards and the Trojans would finish off the drive with yet another score. It would be another touchdown pass from Shively, this time to Workman, who made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone. The play would result in a 42-6 scoreline and a running clock with three minutes remaining in the third. It was an incredibly impressive day for Shively, who finished 6-8 for 127 yards and three scores along with two touchdowns and 34 yards running the ball.
The two sides would take turns trading possessions for the remainder of the game. Triton begins 1A Sectional 41 on the road next Friday at Pioneer. The Trojans defeated the Panthers 35-12 in Week 6 at home. It was the first victory over Pioneer in school history.
“The team’s going to watch film, see what Pioneer did well the first time,” Younis said. “We’ll come up with some new things to show them, work on having a more balanced attack like we were able to showcase tonight.”
“We wanted to send our seniors out the right way and get back on the winning track,” Triton head coach Rodney Younis said. “The last two weeks were really tough and we wanted to get on the right side of one before the playoffs start.”
Triton won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The team’s first drive was lackluster, going 3-and-out after a holding penalty negated a big gain by junior running back Anthony Schuh. Triton would be forced to punt.
The visitors would make some noise on their first few touches of the game. Winamac’s first two carries were good enough for first downs, but after crossing midfield, the offense disappeared. Doing a good job of bending and not breaking, the Trojans would force a Warrior punt from the Triton 40-yard line. The punt was nearly fielded at the one but reached the end zone for a touchback.
The Trojans would find their groove on their second turn with the ball. The home team would rip off a 13-play, 80-yard drive that spanned seven minutes and ended in a two-yard scamper by quarterback Cole Shively and into the end zone. Five different players rushed the ball during the drive: Shively, Schuh, Kohan Hensley, Javan May and Vincent Prater. With just 13 ticks to go in the first quarter, the Trojans were on the board.
Triton’s run defense picked up where it left off after forcing the punt on the previous drive. The first two Winamac runs went nowhere, but the Warriors would pick up their third first down of the game on a 15-yard pass on third down. It wouldn’t matter much, as on the very next play, the snap was sent sailing over the head of quarterback Cash Roth. The Trojans would recover it at the Warrior ten and set up an instant goal-to-go situation.
Schuh would get the call but his first two carries of the drive would lose a yard. Facing a third and 10, Triton called its first timeout of the half to talk it over. The decision paid off immediately as Schuh was able to find a hole on his third run of the drive and make a house call from eleven yards out. After a missed two-point conversion, Triton’s lead sat at 13-0.
It would get even larger just a few minutes later. Faced with another third and long, Roth would roll out to his left trying to find an open receiver. He would instead find Shively, playing cornerback. Shively jumped the route, intercepted the ball and took it all the way down to the four. For the second drive in a row, the home team was faced with an incredibly short field.
It took just one play for the Trojans to extend their lead even further. Shively would be rewarded for getting his team the ball back and would hear his number called on a quarterback keeper. Two touchdowns in less than two minutes would put Triton up three scores with eight minutes to go in the half.
The visitors would not go away easily. After two more stops forced the Warriors into another third and long, Triton would give the team a gift, jumping offside on a hard count. Winamac would convert the third and short but be stopped on the next three plays. Instead of booting it back to the home side, the Warriors elected to go for the fake. It paid off and put the visitors in business, gaining 18 yards. A few plays later, suspect pass defense would rear its head once again. Roth would connect with a receiver for a 31-yard score to put Winamac on the board. The extra point was blocked, putting the score at 21-6.
“They made some nice plays but we were out of position on a few of them. We got caught up looking at the backfield a couple of times tonight and they burned us for it,” Younis said.
Triton would have 1:40 left in the first half to make something happen. The team would only need a minute. Shively was surgical running the two-minute drill, completing three big passes, two to Dante Workman for 30 yards and one to senior Amari Snyder for a 29-yard score for the team’s fourth and final touchdown of the half.
“We practice that every week and tonight they ran it to perfection,” Younis said. “We wanted to hurry, but not hurry our mind, and Cole did a great job, as did his line protecting him.”
Midway through the drive Schuh would gain six yards on a run to break the Trojans’ single-season rushing record. Schuh finished his night with 76 yards and now has 1,512 yards this season. The previous mark was held by Adam Creighbaum, who had 1,500 yards in 2009.
Winamac would complete another big pass, this one for 35 yards, to begin the second half, but the offense would stall once again after some more nice work in the trenches by the Trojan defensive line. On its next offensive drive Triton would get a little creative. The team ran a flea-flicker play that gave Shively any receiver he wanted. He elected to throw the ball to a wide open Snyder, who would make the catch and walk into the end zone on the 41-yard score, his second of the game.
With the game out of hand and second stringers beginning to make their mark, Prater would become the lead back on the team’s next drive. He would answer the call, running for three first downs on his first three carries. Prater would finish his night with 64 yards and the Trojans would finish off the drive with yet another score. It would be another touchdown pass from Shively, this time to Workman, who made a spectacular diving catch in the end zone. The play would result in a 42-6 scoreline and a running clock with three minutes remaining in the third. It was an incredibly impressive day for Shively, who finished 6-8 for 127 yards and three scores along with two touchdowns and 34 yards running the ball.
The two sides would take turns trading possessions for the remainder of the game. Triton begins 1A Sectional 41 on the road next Friday at Pioneer. The Trojans defeated the Panthers 35-12 in Week 6 at home. It was the first victory over Pioneer in school history.
“The team’s going to watch film, see what Pioneer did well the first time,” Younis said. “We’ll come up with some new things to show them, work on having a more balanced attack like we were able to showcase tonight.”
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