BOURBON - Brad Shields is more animated than Ross Perot on debate night.

"The bus will leave at 3:57," he tells his team. "I am leaving at 3:57, not at 4 o'clock.

"I'm getting antsy."

No question about it.

Shields and his team are enjoying their first week of extra practice. The Trojans gave Shields, who has been at Triton five years, his first sectional win last Friday, 27-0 over North Miami.

Shields says that was the best game his team played this season. North Miami gained only 78 yards in the game.

Now Triton (3-6) travels to South Adams (5-4) on Friday, and the team bus will assuredly depart Triton at 3:57, not at 4 p.m., for the 8 p.m. game in Berne. Shields is so excited he can't wait to get packed - he tells his team all the gear will be loaded in the bus Thursday.

"This is the first time we've earned the right to practice late," he says. "It's a lot of fun. I've enjoyed coaching this year more than I ever have."

He and his team aren't ready for the season to end any time soon. First they must get past South Adams. Shields likes the way the two teams match up.

"I like the line of scrimmage," he says. "I like our line, both sides of the ball, against their line."

Triton has moved the ball all season, the exceptions being against Jimtown and LaVille, both top 10 teams. The Trojans had at least 183 yards of offense in the other seven games. They had 260 or more in six games.

Despite the impressive yardage, Triton scored just over two touchdowns per game. Turnovers and penalties plagued the Trojans.

They fumbled the ball 28 times in nine games and recovered only 13 of those. Their opponents fumbled 15 times and recovered eight.

They had more than 500 yards in penalties this season.

The Trojans have gotten better in both categories at the end. They lost only one fumble to the opponent the last three games. They have 72 yards in penalties the last two games, much better than the 90 they had in the first game or the 110 in the second game.

Triton has rushed the ball for 170 yards or more in six games. Shields is counting on the running game against South Adams.

"We have Scott (Blackford) at quarterback, Shain (Ross) at fullback and David (Sauer) at tailback," he says. "We're a big backfield. We're all 6-foot and above, and we go 200, 190, 175.

"I tell you right now, our backs will out-hit their backs every play."

Blackford has rushed for 701 yards, Ross 579 and Sauer 452. Blackford has also passed for 355 yards. As a defensive back, he leads the team with 137 tackles.

You can bet Blackford is underlined in the South Adams game plans.

"Scott Blackford seems to be the one who makes everything go," South Adams coach Kirk Sorg says.

Shields is likewise counting on South Adams to come at the Trojans with the run, but he knows they will throw, too.

"(Elmer) Schwartz, they give him the ball probably 70 percent of the time," Shields says. "But I think their quarterback (Jon Salisbury) is their best football player."

Schwartz has rushed for 728 yards this season.

"I think for us to be successful, we have to be able to run the ball," Sorg says.

Salisbury has thrown for 499 yards. He completes only 43 percent of his passes, but when he does, they are for big plays. He averages 17 yards per pass completion.

"The quarterback is a kid who throws the deep ball, but our defensive backs are good athletes," Shields says.

His secondary has defended the pass well this year - only two teams successfully completed more than half of their passes.

"Every pass completion to a tight end or receiver or to anybody who gets into our coverage is dealth with as a negative," Shields says. "We've prided ourselves in the secondary on no completions."

All three Triton wins came on shutouts.

"I know it sounds funny, but our defense is bent on getting a shutout again," Shields says. "They do that, we win.

"That's our mentality. We're learning where the jugular vein is."

Shields wants his team to do three things against South Adams:

• No turnovers.

"We have to make them earn everything they get," he says.

• Control the line of scrimmage.

• Establish the running game.

Sorg says his team must make Triton turn the ball over.

"In the sectional, your defense must force turnovers," Sorg says. "Two other things are very important: field position and penalties. You can't let the other team get good field position every time it touches the ball, and you must limit your penalties."

For now, Shields is biding his time by poking, prodding and motivating his team.

"I keep telling them, 'If you think it's cold this week, wait until we keep practicing next week, when it's even colder later in the year,' he says." [[In-content Ad]]