LaVille's Strong Start Leaves Triton Stunned

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By JASON KNAVEL, Times-Union Sports Correspondent-

LAKEVILLE - Sometimes, things just go downhill from the beginning. That was the case for the Triton Trojans on Friday night as they headed to Lakeville for a game with the LaVille Lancers.

LaVille dominated almost every aspect of the game with a balanced offensive attack and a great run and pass defense.

The Lancers totaled 253 yards on the ground and 147 yards in the air, while holding Triton to just 107 total yards.

It started with the opening kickoff, when LaVille surprised Triton with an onside kick and recovered the ball. The Lancers then went on a six-minute drive, capped off by a lucky bounce.

LaVille quarterback Brenton Fish ran five yards to the one-yard line and fumbled the ball into the end zone, where his teammate Bob Larkin was waiting to scoop up the ball for the first score of the game.

"The opening kickoff caught us by surprise," said Triton head coach Brad Shields. "Then we got behind. We had trouble all night."

LaVille got the ball back just two minutes later when the huge defensive line stuffed running back Shain Ross on a fourth-and-one at the Lancers' 41-yard line.

On first down, Fish hooked up with Nate Bragg 25 yards downfield, and seven plays later, Adam Beery scored the first of his two touchdowns to give LaVille a 14-0 lead.

It did not take LaVille long to strike again when Trojan quarterback Derek Ganshorn fumbled at the Triton 22 and LaVille recovered.

Two plays later, Beery scored again, this time from seven yards out to put his team ahead 21-0.

On Triton's next drive, disaster struck again. On a third-and-10 from their own 20, Ganshorn found Jack Hackworth 16 yards downfield. However, he was stripped of the ball and Neal Rush recovered.

The Triton defense held off another LaVille score, though, when LaVille got a holding call, an incompletion, and a clipping call in three successive plays.

LaVille dominated the first half with 11 first downs to just two for the Trojans. They also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for almost 14 minutes in the opening half and tiring the Triton defense.

The Lancers came out on their first drive of the second half with an efficient three minute drive that resulted in seven more points after an 18-yard touchdown run from Rush.

Rush scored again on a 52-yard scamper just two minutes later on the first play after an interception to give LaVille a 35-0 lead.

The Lancers closed out their scoring with two minutes to play in the third quarter on a 13 yard quarterback keeper by Fish.

Triton's only score came after they recovered a fumble at the LaVille 22-yard line, and backup quarterback Scott Blackford ran the ball in on the first play from scrimmage. Blackford hooked up with Bill Salyer for the two-point conversion to finish the scoring.

"They mixed it up well," said coach Shields, "and we never got going really well. They are very good up front."

Sure enough, the line of scrimmage was where the game was won and lost. Brenton Fish had all the time he needed and passed for 147 yards with 12 completions on 18 attempts. LaVille averaged 6.7 yards per carry, while holding Triton to just 2.6 yards per carry.

Triton (2-4, 2-3) hosts Knox next week. [[In-content Ad]]

LAKEVILLE - Sometimes, things just go downhill from the beginning. That was the case for the Triton Trojans on Friday night as they headed to Lakeville for a game with the LaVille Lancers.

LaVille dominated almost every aspect of the game with a balanced offensive attack and a great run and pass defense.

The Lancers totaled 253 yards on the ground and 147 yards in the air, while holding Triton to just 107 total yards.

It started with the opening kickoff, when LaVille surprised Triton with an onside kick and recovered the ball. The Lancers then went on a six-minute drive, capped off by a lucky bounce.

LaVille quarterback Brenton Fish ran five yards to the one-yard line and fumbled the ball into the end zone, where his teammate Bob Larkin was waiting to scoop up the ball for the first score of the game.

"The opening kickoff caught us by surprise," said Triton head coach Brad Shields. "Then we got behind. We had trouble all night."

LaVille got the ball back just two minutes later when the huge defensive line stuffed running back Shain Ross on a fourth-and-one at the Lancers' 41-yard line.

On first down, Fish hooked up with Nate Bragg 25 yards downfield, and seven plays later, Adam Beery scored the first of his two touchdowns to give LaVille a 14-0 lead.

It did not take LaVille long to strike again when Trojan quarterback Derek Ganshorn fumbled at the Triton 22 and LaVille recovered.

Two plays later, Beery scored again, this time from seven yards out to put his team ahead 21-0.

On Triton's next drive, disaster struck again. On a third-and-10 from their own 20, Ganshorn found Jack Hackworth 16 yards downfield. However, he was stripped of the ball and Neal Rush recovered.

The Triton defense held off another LaVille score, though, when LaVille got a holding call, an incompletion, and a clipping call in three successive plays.

LaVille dominated the first half with 11 first downs to just two for the Trojans. They also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for almost 14 minutes in the opening half and tiring the Triton defense.

The Lancers came out on their first drive of the second half with an efficient three minute drive that resulted in seven more points after an 18-yard touchdown run from Rush.

Rush scored again on a 52-yard scamper just two minutes later on the first play after an interception to give LaVille a 35-0 lead.

The Lancers closed out their scoring with two minutes to play in the third quarter on a 13 yard quarterback keeper by Fish.

Triton's only score came after they recovered a fumble at the LaVille 22-yard line, and backup quarterback Scott Blackford ran the ball in on the first play from scrimmage. Blackford hooked up with Bill Salyer for the two-point conversion to finish the scoring.

"They mixed it up well," said coach Shields, "and we never got going really well. They are very good up front."

Sure enough, the line of scrimmage was where the game was won and lost. Brenton Fish had all the time he needed and passed for 147 yards with 12 completions on 18 attempts. LaVille averaged 6.7 yards per carry, while holding Triton to just 2.6 yards per carry.

Triton (2-4, 2-3) hosts Knox next week. [[In-content Ad]]

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