Southern Wells Raids Bourbon
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
In the Class 1A regional at Triton High School, the Raiders made the most of the 331 rushing yards they picked up on 61 carries for a 32-0 win over the Trojans.[[In-content Ad]]"Our offensive and defensive lines controlled the game tonight," Southern Wells coach Mark Lefebvre said. "That gave us an opportunity to do things we wanted to do."
Despite running for the massive amount of yards they did, the Raiders actually didn't have a 100-yard rusher on the night. Instead, they just had four different runners reach at least 50 yards, led by junior Jacob Miller's 99 on 14 attempts.
"He's a big, strong kid and he's fast," Lefebvre said of Miller. "We really feel like we have three or four guys who can run the ball for us. We don't really care who runs it."
Senior Devin Leas entered the game leading the Raiders with 1,339 yards on the year, and continued to impress, picking up 96 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts. Junior Tyler Roush ran the ball 11 times for 63 yards and senior quarterback Jake Ripperger also got in on the action, running for 50 yards on 10 carries.
"Hats off to Southern Wells," Triton coach Rodney Younis said. "They did such a good job of controlling the ball and running their offense. Defensively, they forced us into a lot of three-and-outs. They did a very good job."
From the opening kickoff, it appeared the good fortune would not be on Triton's side.
After letting the opening kick bounce around for a while, it was eventually picked up and only returned to the 7-yard line.
Following a three-and-out, and a 15-yard punt, Southern Wells began its first drive from the Triton 31-yard line, and wasted no time getting on the board.
On their first offensive play, Miller cut the ball to the left side of the field and outran the Triton defense all the way to the end zone, giving his team a quick 7-0 lead with 9:34 remaining in the opening quarter.
"We started off wrong with the kickoff," Younis said. "They kicked it down there, and we ended up at the 7-yard line. So, we're in a hole to start with. We couldn't get a first down, then gave them a short field."
On their ensuing possession, the Trojans did use seven plays to reach the Southern Wells 34-yard line, but eventually had the drive end with a punt.
The drive ate up 4:16 on the clock, and also saw the Trojans pick up two first downs. The downside was that the first downs would be the last Triton would see until late in the fourth quarter when the Raiders had their second-string defense in the game.
Following that first-quarter drive, the Trojans saw two drives end in first-play turnovers, while three other drives ended with three-and-outs.
The reason for Triton's inability to move the ball was simple - the Raiders shut down the Trojans running game.
Averaging 202 yards a game on the ground, Triton mustered just 101 Friday, 65 of those coming on the Trojans' final drive of the game.
In their sectional championship win a week earlier, the Raiders limited Southwood's 1,500-yard rusher Nick Driskill to 36 yards. In Friday's regional final, Southern Wells held Triton junior Adam Creighbaum to 68 yards, after he entered the game with 1,432 yards on the year.
"That's what we've leaned on all year," Lefebvre said of his rush defense.
"The kids have played well. They knew Driskill was a good player and watched (Creighbaum) on film all week. They wanted to step up, and they answered the bell again."
Making the prospect of running the ball even more slim was the absence of starting center Zack Clark, who missed the game after suffering a concussion at Wednesday's practice.
"Even though he's a senior, there was no way we were going to risk it," Younis said of keeping Clark out of the lineup. "He's the heart and soul of the team, and a very big vocal leader. That hurt not having him out there."
By being very successful running the ball, and just as successful shutting down the Triton running game, the 13-0 Raiders now find themselves in next week's semistate against No. 3 Sheridan, a 21-19 victor over No. 10 Pioneer Friday in Royal Center.
For Triton, the loss ends an 8-5 season that came to a close after bringing home its second-straight sectional championship a week earlier.
"We had a lot of kids that had to step into different roles this year," Younis said. "My biggest concern coming into the year was the offensive line. We had a lot of undersized kids on the line, but they battled and improved. The good part is we're going to have five kids coming back on the line that has started."
In the Class 1A regional at Triton High School, the Raiders made the most of the 331 rushing yards they picked up on 61 carries for a 32-0 win over the Trojans.[[In-content Ad]]"Our offensive and defensive lines controlled the game tonight," Southern Wells coach Mark Lefebvre said. "That gave us an opportunity to do things we wanted to do."
Despite running for the massive amount of yards they did, the Raiders actually didn't have a 100-yard rusher on the night. Instead, they just had four different runners reach at least 50 yards, led by junior Jacob Miller's 99 on 14 attempts.
"He's a big, strong kid and he's fast," Lefebvre said of Miller. "We really feel like we have three or four guys who can run the ball for us. We don't really care who runs it."
Senior Devin Leas entered the game leading the Raiders with 1,339 yards on the year, and continued to impress, picking up 96 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts. Junior Tyler Roush ran the ball 11 times for 63 yards and senior quarterback Jake Ripperger also got in on the action, running for 50 yards on 10 carries.
"Hats off to Southern Wells," Triton coach Rodney Younis said. "They did such a good job of controlling the ball and running their offense. Defensively, they forced us into a lot of three-and-outs. They did a very good job."
From the opening kickoff, it appeared the good fortune would not be on Triton's side.
After letting the opening kick bounce around for a while, it was eventually picked up and only returned to the 7-yard line.
Following a three-and-out, and a 15-yard punt, Southern Wells began its first drive from the Triton 31-yard line, and wasted no time getting on the board.
On their first offensive play, Miller cut the ball to the left side of the field and outran the Triton defense all the way to the end zone, giving his team a quick 7-0 lead with 9:34 remaining in the opening quarter.
"We started off wrong with the kickoff," Younis said. "They kicked it down there, and we ended up at the 7-yard line. So, we're in a hole to start with. We couldn't get a first down, then gave them a short field."
On their ensuing possession, the Trojans did use seven plays to reach the Southern Wells 34-yard line, but eventually had the drive end with a punt.
The drive ate up 4:16 on the clock, and also saw the Trojans pick up two first downs. The downside was that the first downs would be the last Triton would see until late in the fourth quarter when the Raiders had their second-string defense in the game.
Following that first-quarter drive, the Trojans saw two drives end in first-play turnovers, while three other drives ended with three-and-outs.
The reason for Triton's inability to move the ball was simple - the Raiders shut down the Trojans running game.
Averaging 202 yards a game on the ground, Triton mustered just 101 Friday, 65 of those coming on the Trojans' final drive of the game.
In their sectional championship win a week earlier, the Raiders limited Southwood's 1,500-yard rusher Nick Driskill to 36 yards. In Friday's regional final, Southern Wells held Triton junior Adam Creighbaum to 68 yards, after he entered the game with 1,432 yards on the year.
"That's what we've leaned on all year," Lefebvre said of his rush defense.
"The kids have played well. They knew Driskill was a good player and watched (Creighbaum) on film all week. They wanted to step up, and they answered the bell again."
Making the prospect of running the ball even more slim was the absence of starting center Zack Clark, who missed the game after suffering a concussion at Wednesday's practice.
"Even though he's a senior, there was no way we were going to risk it," Younis said of keeping Clark out of the lineup. "He's the heart and soul of the team, and a very big vocal leader. That hurt not having him out there."
By being very successful running the ball, and just as successful shutting down the Triton running game, the 13-0 Raiders now find themselves in next week's semistate against No. 3 Sheridan, a 21-19 victor over No. 10 Pioneer Friday in Royal Center.
For Triton, the loss ends an 8-5 season that came to a close after bringing home its second-straight sectional championship a week earlier.
"We had a lot of kids that had to step into different roles this year," Younis said. "My biggest concern coming into the year was the offensive line. We had a lot of undersized kids on the line, but they battled and improved. The good part is we're going to have five kids coming back on the line that has started."
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