After filling up the scoreboard to the tune of 71 points in their sectional opening game a week ago, the Triton Trojans football team continued its offensive tear during Friday night’s semifinal game against Culver Community, blitzing the Cavaliers for 56 points in a 56-0 victory to advance to next week’s sectional championship game.
The Trojans wasted no time showcasing their dominance in this one, as on the third play of the game, the Triton defensive line rushed through the Culver protection and laid a devastating hit on the Cavalier quarterback, causing a fumble. The ball rolled into the end zone, where it was collected by Esai Lemler for the game’s first touchdown less than a minute into the contest.
Less than a minute after that, the ballhawking skills of the Triton defense continued to be on full display, as Gage Riffle came up with an interception to give his team the ball at the Culver 40.
“We had talked about our previous matchup with Culver and how important turnovers were in that one,” Triton head coach Zach Whittaker said after the game. “I was really happy with the way we executed out there, giving our offense a ton of short fields to work with.”
On the team’s first offensive play of the game, a handoff to running back Jayden “The Jet” Overmyer was all the Trojans needed to hit paydirt. Overmyer would take the ball all 40 yards to put his team up 13-0 after running just one offensive play just two minutes into the game.
The good times didn’t stop rolling there. After forcing a Cavalier punt to get the ball back, Triton showed that the team was able to put together long drives as well, as Overmyer used some explosiveness to rush down the field and get his team near the end zone. This time, it would be sophomore Vinnie Prater who would get the call, going 24-yards into the end zone to extend the Triton lead once again with three and a half minutes left in the first quarter.
On the home team’s next drive, Culver decided to try a fake punt to try and reverse the momentum. The Cavaliers would pick up the first down on the risky maneuver, but a more than questionable spot ruled the ball carrier a yard short, giving the Trojans another prime opportunity to score again as the second quarter began.
That’s exactly what Triton would do. After some more nice work by the running backs to get the team into the red zone, quarterback Cole Shively, who had been uncharacteristically quiet to this point, connected with receiver Javan May on an 11-yard score. However, due to an illegal motion, the score would be called back. It wouldn’t matter much, as on the very next play, Shively took it 17 yards himself on a quarterback keeper to get the touchdown anyways.
Shively got his offense the ball back on the ensuing possession as well, coming up with an interception on defense. The drive that followed was more of the same, as the Trojans continued to run rampant all over the Cavalier defense. This time it was Overmyer finding the end zone again on a 19-yard run.
“It’s important for us to surround our quarterback with talent and a big emphasis with our running backs this week was running hard, running physical and finishing runs,” Whittaker said. “You could see it right away. We took a big step in our ground game this week.”
On the next defensive possession, Tanner Witt-Hoyo got in on the fun, pulling in another interception to mark the fifth turnover forced by the Triton defense in the first half. The following drive would be the only one that didn’t result in points for the Trojans in the first half, as Shively was picked off trying to find Dante Workman deep in the end zone.
Workman would get another chance at glory a few minutes later, as the junior fielded a punt with just over a minute left and nearly returned it all the way to the end zone. Workman ended up being forced out of bounds at the two, leading to a short score by Kohan Hensley on the next play to make it 42-0 at the half.
Even with the running clock initiated and a backup quarterback in the game, Triton was still able to move the ball with ease down the field on their opening drive in the third quarter. After some more hard running by Overmyer got the team near the goal line, Prater would punch it in from three yards out for his second score of the night.
The Trojans added one final touchdown in the game’s final minutes on a 27-yard touchdown run by Riffle, the team’s backup quarterback.
“These guys got some invaluable experience tonight,” Whittaker said, speaking about his backups. “There’s no experience like game experience and we’ve been fortunate a couple of times this year to be able to get these guys in the game.”
Overmyer led his team in rushing, finishing with 121 yards and two scores on 10 carries. Prater had 78 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. Shively added 26 yards on the ground and a score as well.
Triton will face off against North Judson on Friday night with a sectional championship on the line.
“It’s been one of our goals from the first day of the season so I’m really proud of these guys for getting here,” Whittaker said. “But the job’s not done and we’re going to have to play well and execute to keep it going.”