Red Zone Struggles Plague Triton In Loss To Northfield
October 26, 2019 at 4:46 a.m.
Red Zone Struggles Plague Triton In Loss To Northfield
By Alaister McFarren-
To begin the game, Northfield wasted no time on offense; senior Graydon Holmes took off on a 45-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, and senior Levi Fulkerson threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior Alex Haupert on the very next play.
On the subsequent kickoff, senior Quentin Amsden returned the ball 65 yards to the 15. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Northfield defense was stalwart, holding them scoreless as Triton failed to convert on a fourth down attempt.
After forcing a fumble and pushing the ball to the four-yard line, Triton’s offense stalled once more as a fourth-down pass by senior quarterback Conner Pitney fell incomplete.
In the second quarter, Northfield mounted an impressive 99-yard drive that resulted in a 9-yard rushing score by Haupert.
With 30 seconds remaining in the half, Triton managed to get the ball to the 31, courtesy of a 45-yard run by junior Hunter McIntyre. With seven seconds remaining, however, Pitney was intercepted by Northfield junior Clayton Tomlinson at the 2-yard line, and the score remained 14-0 heading into the half.
On the opening drive of the second half, Amsden fumbled the ball at the 20. The Triton defense did not allow Northfield to make any progress, though, pressuring the opposition into a fourth-and-15.
In a surprising decision, Northfield opted for a fake punt pass that fell incomplete, giving Triton the ball a mere 15 yards from the endzone. However, for the third time in the game, they were unable to capitalize on excellent field position and when they failed to score on fourth down.
Attempting a comeback, Pitney threw an interception to Haupert on Triton’s first possession of the fourth. Fortunately, Amsden picked off a tipped pass thrown by Fulkerson soon afterwards and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Pitney successfully ran in the two-point conversion, making the score 14-8 with 10 minutes to go.
Immediately after Fulkerson scored on a run to push the lead to 13, Amsden appeared to return the kickoff for a touchdown. The return, however, was called back due to a block in the back by the Trojans.
The red zone struggles continued for Triton near the end of the game. Northfield senior Graydon Holmes appeared to pick off Pitney right at the endzone, but a roughing the passer call set them up with a first down inside the 10. However, Holmes immediately picked off Pitney again on the next play.
Triton had one final shot at closing the gap with two minutes to go, but Pitney was picked off once more.
“It’s been a theme this year,” said Triton head coach Rodney Younis. “We couldn’t get over the hump. Sometimes it could be blamed on the lack of experience, but by this time of the year you should have (that experience).”
“Conner (Pitney) had a lot of pressure on him,” Younis added. “At the end there, he rushed a few things and went for the deep shot instead of checking down under. But instinct takes over in those moments and you have to live with the results.”
Younis spoke highly of Northfield’s team, particularly quarterback Fulkerson and sophomore fullback Jarret Shafer.
“(Shafer’s) big; their whole offense is good. But you just have to make the best of your assignments defensively,” he stated.
Younis also praised the work of Amsden and the other seniors on his team.
“A lot of these seniors were backups on good teams early in their careers,” he said. “This year they were no longer role players, and they played well. I’m proud of them.”
To begin the game, Northfield wasted no time on offense; senior Graydon Holmes took off on a 45-yard run on the first play from scrimmage, and senior Levi Fulkerson threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior Alex Haupert on the very next play.
On the subsequent kickoff, senior Quentin Amsden returned the ball 65 yards to the 15. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Northfield defense was stalwart, holding them scoreless as Triton failed to convert on a fourth down attempt.
After forcing a fumble and pushing the ball to the four-yard line, Triton’s offense stalled once more as a fourth-down pass by senior quarterback Conner Pitney fell incomplete.
In the second quarter, Northfield mounted an impressive 99-yard drive that resulted in a 9-yard rushing score by Haupert.
With 30 seconds remaining in the half, Triton managed to get the ball to the 31, courtesy of a 45-yard run by junior Hunter McIntyre. With seven seconds remaining, however, Pitney was intercepted by Northfield junior Clayton Tomlinson at the 2-yard line, and the score remained 14-0 heading into the half.
On the opening drive of the second half, Amsden fumbled the ball at the 20. The Triton defense did not allow Northfield to make any progress, though, pressuring the opposition into a fourth-and-15.
In a surprising decision, Northfield opted for a fake punt pass that fell incomplete, giving Triton the ball a mere 15 yards from the endzone. However, for the third time in the game, they were unable to capitalize on excellent field position and when they failed to score on fourth down.
Attempting a comeback, Pitney threw an interception to Haupert on Triton’s first possession of the fourth. Fortunately, Amsden picked off a tipped pass thrown by Fulkerson soon afterwards and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown. Pitney successfully ran in the two-point conversion, making the score 14-8 with 10 minutes to go.
Immediately after Fulkerson scored on a run to push the lead to 13, Amsden appeared to return the kickoff for a touchdown. The return, however, was called back due to a block in the back by the Trojans.
The red zone struggles continued for Triton near the end of the game. Northfield senior Graydon Holmes appeared to pick off Pitney right at the endzone, but a roughing the passer call set them up with a first down inside the 10. However, Holmes immediately picked off Pitney again on the next play.
Triton had one final shot at closing the gap with two minutes to go, but Pitney was picked off once more.
“It’s been a theme this year,” said Triton head coach Rodney Younis. “We couldn’t get over the hump. Sometimes it could be blamed on the lack of experience, but by this time of the year you should have (that experience).”
“Conner (Pitney) had a lot of pressure on him,” Younis added. “At the end there, he rushed a few things and went for the deep shot instead of checking down under. But instinct takes over in those moments and you have to live with the results.”
Younis spoke highly of Northfield’s team, particularly quarterback Fulkerson and sophomore fullback Jarret Shafer.
“(Shafer’s) big; their whole offense is good. But you just have to make the best of your assignments defensively,” he stated.
Younis also praised the work of Amsden and the other seniors on his team.
“A lot of these seniors were backups on good teams early in their careers,” he said. “This year they were no longer role players, and they played well. I’m proud of them.”
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