Southwood Knights End Triton's Season
October 29, 2016 at 6:30 a.m.
By Mark [email protected]
There was no happy ending, though, for the Trojans, who lost 39-20.
The first 13 minutes saw the Knights take charge. Junior quarterback Carson Blair and his teammates did what they wanted, when they wanted to, without any pressure from the Triton defensive line.
Blair had two touchdown passes and ran for a third score when he couldn’t find an open receiver, staking the Knights to a 22-0 lead.
One of the breaks Southwood created for itself came its first point after touchdown try. A bad snap forced Blair to scramble, and he bought enough time to find Jeffrey Finicle for a leaping grab and the two-point conversion.
After Southwood tried an onside kick, Triton struck back like a team with nothing to lose. The Trojans looked like they had gone 3-and-out. After a timeout, head coach Ron Brown gambled and sophomore quarterback James “Bo” Snyder found Max Slusser for 15 yards and a first down. It was the first time Triton had moved the chains all night. A pair of first downs later, Snyder hit Delano Shumpert for a 15-yard touchdown.
The teams exchanged touchdowns as the second quarter wore on, but Blair found Finicle for a touchdown 30 seconds before halftime to make the score 36-13.
In the final 24 minutes of the Trojans’ season, they forced Southwood to punt three times, and penalties had the Knights with third down and more than 20 yards to go twice. Triton’s offense converted a fourth and 10 when senior Rigo Butler ran for 18 yards out of punt formation. Two plays later Snyder scored to pull Triton within two scores.
“When we went in (at halftime) we made adjustments we needed to make,” Brown said. “We had kids playing out of positions that they would normally play, so we had a chance to make some plays and get them off the field, and it worked.
“It’s too bad we didn’t start doing it a little bit earlier. But you don’t know what the other team brings until you see them in person.”
Triton outscored Southwood 7-3 in the last two quarters. But the damage had been done.
“I can’t ask for anything more than what my kids came out and did in the second half,” said Brown. “One or two plays and maybe were looking at a one-score game.
“Unfortunately, those things don’t always happen. Like I told my team tonight before we came out; I thought they were too good to be done, and I still feel like that, but unfortunately in the game of football and in life, people win and people lose. We lost tonight to a team that played better than we did.”
Snyder completed eight passes for 118 yards and the two scores, and rushed for another 46 yards. Butler led the Trojans with 58 yards rushing, and Pitney’s 46-yard touchdown catch mad him the leading Triton receiver in terms of yardage.
Blair finished with 94 yards on the ground and 293 yards passing. Matt Cox ran for 91 yards and had three receptions for 40 yards. Peyton Trexler had a game-high 112 yards receiving.
Southwood (8-3) advanced to the sectional championship game Friday night and will host Hoosier North Athletic Conference member LaVille (10-1), a 42-14 winner over HNAC member Culver Community.
Triton finished the season with a 2-9 record.
SOUTHWOOD 39, TRITON 20
S 15 21 0 3 – 39
T 0 13 7 0 – 20
S T
1st downs 26 10
Rushing yds 179 96
Passing yds 293 117
Comp-Att-Int 22-38-1 8-30-0
Total yds 472 213
Fumbles/lost 0/0 1/0
Penalties/yds 10/89 7/42
Punts/avg. 3/23 6/22
First Quarter
S – Blake Martz 32 Pass from Carson Blair (Jeffrey Finicle pass from Blair) 9:16, 8-0
S – Blair 18 run (Parker Mays kick) 2:23, 15-0
Second Quarter
S – Finicle 3 pass from Blair (Mays kick) 11:44, 22-0
T – Delano Shumpert 15 pass from James Snyder (kick failed) 8:48. 22-6
S – Blair 31 run (Mays kick) 6:32, 29-6
T – Zac Pitney 46 pass from Snyder (Pitney kick) 2:12, 29-13
S – Finicle 7 pass from Blair (Mays kick) 0:30, 36-13
Third Quarter
T – Snyder 34 run (Pitney kick) 9:25, 36-20
Fourth Quarter
S – Mays 27 FG 3:35, 39-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Southwood, Blair 20-94, Matt Cox 20-91, Finicle 1-(-6); Triton, Snyder 6-46, Rigo Butler 9-58, Max Slusser 2-(-1), Shumpert 1-(-7)
Passing – Southwood, Blair 22-38-293 yds, 3 TD, 1 Int; Triton, Snyder 8-30-118 yds, 2 TD, 0 Int., Butler 0-1-0 yds, 0 TD 0 Int
Receiving: Southwood, Blake Martz 3-47, Finicle 6-59, Peyton Trexler 4-112, Zach Ball 6-35, Cox 3-40; Triton, Max Slusser 2-19, Pitney 1-46, Drew Stichter 2-11, Shumpert 3-41
There was no happy ending, though, for the Trojans, who lost 39-20.
The first 13 minutes saw the Knights take charge. Junior quarterback Carson Blair and his teammates did what they wanted, when they wanted to, without any pressure from the Triton defensive line.
Blair had two touchdown passes and ran for a third score when he couldn’t find an open receiver, staking the Knights to a 22-0 lead.
One of the breaks Southwood created for itself came its first point after touchdown try. A bad snap forced Blair to scramble, and he bought enough time to find Jeffrey Finicle for a leaping grab and the two-point conversion.
After Southwood tried an onside kick, Triton struck back like a team with nothing to lose. The Trojans looked like they had gone 3-and-out. After a timeout, head coach Ron Brown gambled and sophomore quarterback James “Bo” Snyder found Max Slusser for 15 yards and a first down. It was the first time Triton had moved the chains all night. A pair of first downs later, Snyder hit Delano Shumpert for a 15-yard touchdown.
The teams exchanged touchdowns as the second quarter wore on, but Blair found Finicle for a touchdown 30 seconds before halftime to make the score 36-13.
In the final 24 minutes of the Trojans’ season, they forced Southwood to punt three times, and penalties had the Knights with third down and more than 20 yards to go twice. Triton’s offense converted a fourth and 10 when senior Rigo Butler ran for 18 yards out of punt formation. Two plays later Snyder scored to pull Triton within two scores.
“When we went in (at halftime) we made adjustments we needed to make,” Brown said. “We had kids playing out of positions that they would normally play, so we had a chance to make some plays and get them off the field, and it worked.
“It’s too bad we didn’t start doing it a little bit earlier. But you don’t know what the other team brings until you see them in person.”
Triton outscored Southwood 7-3 in the last two quarters. But the damage had been done.
“I can’t ask for anything more than what my kids came out and did in the second half,” said Brown. “One or two plays and maybe were looking at a one-score game.
“Unfortunately, those things don’t always happen. Like I told my team tonight before we came out; I thought they were too good to be done, and I still feel like that, but unfortunately in the game of football and in life, people win and people lose. We lost tonight to a team that played better than we did.”
Snyder completed eight passes for 118 yards and the two scores, and rushed for another 46 yards. Butler led the Trojans with 58 yards rushing, and Pitney’s 46-yard touchdown catch mad him the leading Triton receiver in terms of yardage.
Blair finished with 94 yards on the ground and 293 yards passing. Matt Cox ran for 91 yards and had three receptions for 40 yards. Peyton Trexler had a game-high 112 yards receiving.
Southwood (8-3) advanced to the sectional championship game Friday night and will host Hoosier North Athletic Conference member LaVille (10-1), a 42-14 winner over HNAC member Culver Community.
Triton finished the season with a 2-9 record.
SOUTHWOOD 39, TRITON 20
S 15 21 0 3 – 39
T 0 13 7 0 – 20
S T
1st downs 26 10
Rushing yds 179 96
Passing yds 293 117
Comp-Att-Int 22-38-1 8-30-0
Total yds 472 213
Fumbles/lost 0/0 1/0
Penalties/yds 10/89 7/42
Punts/avg. 3/23 6/22
First Quarter
S – Blake Martz 32 Pass from Carson Blair (Jeffrey Finicle pass from Blair) 9:16, 8-0
S – Blair 18 run (Parker Mays kick) 2:23, 15-0
Second Quarter
S – Finicle 3 pass from Blair (Mays kick) 11:44, 22-0
T – Delano Shumpert 15 pass from James Snyder (kick failed) 8:48. 22-6
S – Blair 31 run (Mays kick) 6:32, 29-6
T – Zac Pitney 46 pass from Snyder (Pitney kick) 2:12, 29-13
S – Finicle 7 pass from Blair (Mays kick) 0:30, 36-13
Third Quarter
T – Snyder 34 run (Pitney kick) 9:25, 36-20
Fourth Quarter
S – Mays 27 FG 3:35, 39-20
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing – Southwood, Blair 20-94, Matt Cox 20-91, Finicle 1-(-6); Triton, Snyder 6-46, Rigo Butler 9-58, Max Slusser 2-(-1), Shumpert 1-(-7)
Passing – Southwood, Blair 22-38-293 yds, 3 TD, 1 Int; Triton, Snyder 8-30-118 yds, 2 TD, 0 Int., Butler 0-1-0 yds, 0 TD 0 Int
Receiving: Southwood, Blake Martz 3-47, Finicle 6-59, Peyton Trexler 4-112, Zach Ball 6-35, Cox 3-40; Triton, Max Slusser 2-19, Pitney 1-46, Drew Stichter 2-11, Shumpert 3-41
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