Bremen Too Much For Triton
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
On the opening kickoff, Bremen kicker Justin Nick whiffed on the kick, barely knocking the ball off the tee. While his teammates ran downfield, Nick stood confused, enabling Triton senior Jeff Sneed to take the ball and run 41 yards to the end zone.[[In-content Ad]]However, instead of scoring a quick six points, Triton was whistled for a block in the back that had no effect on the play, setting up a long night for the home team.
Even with the penalty, Triton began its first drive at the Bremen 26, and moved it all the way to the 1-yard line. From there, misfortune struck the Trojans as they fumbled the ball into the end zone, giving Bremen possession at the 20-yard line.
"We've been working real hard at starting games strong and not getting buried, then that happens," Bremen coach Rich Moren said of the early kick return by Triton. "The kids bounced back from that, and that's a real tribute."
The Lions bounced back by routing their Northern State Conference opponent 48-8 on a muddy field at Triton High School, helping them move to 2-0 in the NSC, 3-1 overall.
"Even with the block in the back, we still should have scored," Triton coach Rodney Younis said. "Then, who knows? It may have been a different ballgame."
As it was, Bremen's running game amassed 503 total yards, many coming off touchdown runs of 81, 75, 70 and 48 yards, all of which came in the first half.
"Two of their long touchdowns, we had them behind the line of scrimmage," Younis said. "We just slid off of them. If we had more guys running to the ball, even if we don't make that first tackle, other guys are there."
Bremen's first score came on a 75-yard scamper by Jared Miller with 6:17 left in the first quarter. Three minutes later, Steven Cornett took the ball 70 yards to the end zone, giving Bremen a 14-0 lead.
"We were able to really rush the ball tonight and our defense got after it," Moren said.
That rushing attack continued in the second quarter when quarterback Chris Hueni took off for 81 yards, helping his team go in front 21-0. Less than four minutes later, it was Cornett who was off to the races again, this time for 48 yards with 5:28 left in the first half.
On the night, Cornett ran for 266 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, as well as a 28-yard passing touchdown to Matt Bahr in the third quarter. Miller chipped in 98 yards on five carries and Hueni ran the ball seven times for 86 yards.
"Steven's really good at starting and stopping," Moren said of his leading rusher. "Jared's got that good acceleration, and Chris runs downhill too.
"I don't know if the conditions worked in our favor, but we were able to run the ball tonight," he added.
The conditions made for a slick football, which may explain Triton's five fumbles, three of which were lost.
"We've done so well at taking care of the ball, but the conditions were the same for both teams," Younis said. "We just have to be able to take care of the ball. If we don't have those three turnovers in the first half, it may be a different game. Not to take anything away from Bremen. They're a good team. They've got good speed and they don't quit."
While Bremen was having success running the ball, Triton didn't enjoy the same luxury, rushing for just 82 yards on 32 attempts.
Coming into the game, junior quarterback Adam Creighbaum had averaged 113 yards on the ground, but posted just 42 yards on 17 rushes against the Lions. The only time the all-everything player eluded the Lion defense was on an 80-yard kick return touchdown late in the third quarter.
"They pinched in tight to take away our option," Younis said. "I thought we had a couple of other plays we could run. It just seemed like every time we'd try one, we'd drop the football."
Creighbaum's offensive ability was no secret to Moren, who had his defense geared up to limit the Trojans' big play capabilities.
"We knew they had some really good players and some really good plays, but they couldn't just couldn't muster anything consecutively," Moren said. "They'll be a good team in Class A."
Bremen may have entered the game with a little revenge on their minds after Triton snapped a 29-game losing streak to Bremen last year.
"We came in tonight focusing on ourselves," Moren said. "They put us in a hole the last two years, really from the start, and that's a credit to them."
Regardless of the end score, Triton still sits at 3-1 on the year and 1-1 in the NSC, so Younis is looking to keep the loss in perspective.
"It's a long season," he said. "Win or lose, our goal is always to get better. Tonight was a step back for us, but we'll get back to work. We'll continue to work to get better."
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On the opening kickoff, Bremen kicker Justin Nick whiffed on the kick, barely knocking the ball off the tee. While his teammates ran downfield, Nick stood confused, enabling Triton senior Jeff Sneed to take the ball and run 41 yards to the end zone.[[In-content Ad]]However, instead of scoring a quick six points, Triton was whistled for a block in the back that had no effect on the play, setting up a long night for the home team.
Even with the penalty, Triton began its first drive at the Bremen 26, and moved it all the way to the 1-yard line. From there, misfortune struck the Trojans as they fumbled the ball into the end zone, giving Bremen possession at the 20-yard line.
"We've been working real hard at starting games strong and not getting buried, then that happens," Bremen coach Rich Moren said of the early kick return by Triton. "The kids bounced back from that, and that's a real tribute."
The Lions bounced back by routing their Northern State Conference opponent 48-8 on a muddy field at Triton High School, helping them move to 2-0 in the NSC, 3-1 overall.
"Even with the block in the back, we still should have scored," Triton coach Rodney Younis said. "Then, who knows? It may have been a different ballgame."
As it was, Bremen's running game amassed 503 total yards, many coming off touchdown runs of 81, 75, 70 and 48 yards, all of which came in the first half.
"Two of their long touchdowns, we had them behind the line of scrimmage," Younis said. "We just slid off of them. If we had more guys running to the ball, even if we don't make that first tackle, other guys are there."
Bremen's first score came on a 75-yard scamper by Jared Miller with 6:17 left in the first quarter. Three minutes later, Steven Cornett took the ball 70 yards to the end zone, giving Bremen a 14-0 lead.
"We were able to really rush the ball tonight and our defense got after it," Moren said.
That rushing attack continued in the second quarter when quarterback Chris Hueni took off for 81 yards, helping his team go in front 21-0. Less than four minutes later, it was Cornett who was off to the races again, this time for 48 yards with 5:28 left in the first half.
On the night, Cornett ran for 266 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, as well as a 28-yard passing touchdown to Matt Bahr in the third quarter. Miller chipped in 98 yards on five carries and Hueni ran the ball seven times for 86 yards.
"Steven's really good at starting and stopping," Moren said of his leading rusher. "Jared's got that good acceleration, and Chris runs downhill too.
"I don't know if the conditions worked in our favor, but we were able to run the ball tonight," he added.
The conditions made for a slick football, which may explain Triton's five fumbles, three of which were lost.
"We've done so well at taking care of the ball, but the conditions were the same for both teams," Younis said. "We just have to be able to take care of the ball. If we don't have those three turnovers in the first half, it may be a different game. Not to take anything away from Bremen. They're a good team. They've got good speed and they don't quit."
While Bremen was having success running the ball, Triton didn't enjoy the same luxury, rushing for just 82 yards on 32 attempts.
Coming into the game, junior quarterback Adam Creighbaum had averaged 113 yards on the ground, but posted just 42 yards on 17 rushes against the Lions. The only time the all-everything player eluded the Lion defense was on an 80-yard kick return touchdown late in the third quarter.
"They pinched in tight to take away our option," Younis said. "I thought we had a couple of other plays we could run. It just seemed like every time we'd try one, we'd drop the football."
Creighbaum's offensive ability was no secret to Moren, who had his defense geared up to limit the Trojans' big play capabilities.
"We knew they had some really good players and some really good plays, but they couldn't just couldn't muster anything consecutively," Moren said. "They'll be a good team in Class A."
Bremen may have entered the game with a little revenge on their minds after Triton snapped a 29-game losing streak to Bremen last year.
"We came in tonight focusing on ourselves," Moren said. "They put us in a hole the last two years, really from the start, and that's a credit to them."
Regardless of the end score, Triton still sits at 3-1 on the year and 1-1 in the NSC, so Younis is looking to keep the loss in perspective.
"It's a long season," he said. "Win or lose, our goal is always to get better. Tonight was a step back for us, but we'll get back to work. We'll continue to work to get better."
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