Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON -ÊTriton football coach Rod Wildman knew Bremen was a better team than its 0-3 record reflected. He just hoped his team would think the same way.
"Bremen has a good team, much better than the record shows," said Wildman. "I tried to tell everybody that before the game. They (the Lions) have lost to some really good teams: Plymouth, NorthWood and New Prairie."
Anyone who didn't listen to Wildman learned that lesson the hard way Friday night in Bourbon when the Bremen Lions pounded the Trojans 47-0.
"This was a big win for us," said Bremen coach Goeff Jankowski. "After starting 0-3 this was a great win. We played some very good football."
Some of that very good football came from Lion Brett Leeper who was a thorn in Triton's side all night. Leeper led Bremen's rushing attack with 133 of its 156 yards on the ground. He also scored three touchdowns for the Lions, one on a 6-yard run in the first quarter and a pair of 2-yard runs in the second quarter.
"Brett Leeper had one heck of a ball game," said Jankowski. "He did a yeoman's job carrying the ball for us tonight"
The Trojans held Bremen to just seven points in the first quarter after a slew of penalties and miscues by both teams. The Lions racked up 25 yards in penalty yards in its first drive, and finished the first frame with 40 yards from infractions.
However, Bremen came to life in the second frame as the Lions scored three touchdowns -Êone rushing, one passing and one from an interception return.
After the halftime break, Triton's defense held Bremen to just one touchdown in the third quarter, but the Lions managed to score two more in the fourth to secure the 47-0 win.
Turnovers were a key to the Trojans' downfall. The Triton squad lost a fumble and threw two interceptions to give Bremen more opportunities to eat time off the clock.
"I think turnovers and toughness were the things that killed us tonight," said Wildman. "The turnovers went their way, and our mistakes hurt us.
"We needed to dig in and get tough, and we didn't. Until we can learn to get tough, we are gonna lose a lot of ball games like this."
The Trojans also suffered two other losses. Key players Bryan Watkins and Jim Read are both questionable after injuries. Read left the game with a dislocated shoulder, and Watkins has a possible concussion.
Joe Potter led the Trojans with 39 yards rushing, while Jake Burnett ran for 20 yards, accounting for all of Triton's total offense.
The Trojans are 2-2 overall and 0-2 in Northern State Conference. Bremen is 1-3 and 1-1 in the NSC.
BREMEN 47, TRITON 0
Triton 0 0 0 0 - 0
Bremen 7 19 7 14 - 47
T B
First downs 0 12
Rushes/yards 30-59 35-156
Passing yards 0 112
Comp.-Att.-Int. 0-3-2 7-17-0
Total offense 59 268
Fumbles/lost 1-1 3-0
Punts/avg. 7-25.0 4-30.0
Penalties/yards 7-36 8-70
First Quarter
B -ÊBrett Leeper 6 run (Arick Cannon kick), 7-0 B, 1:47
Second Quarter
B -ÊLeeper 1 run (Cannon kick), 14-0 B, 9:15
B -ÊBrian Edwards 37 interception return (kick failed), 20-0 B, 7:27
B -ÊLeeper 3 run (run failed), 26-0 B, 4:53
Third Quarter
B -ÊMike Stoller 25 pass from Nick Bragg (Cannon kick) 33-0 B, 4:10
Fourth Quarter
B -ÊStoller 17 pass from Bragg (Cannon kick), 40-0 B, 11:19
B - Shawn Hochstetler 3 run (Josh Borkholder kick), 47-0 B, 1:42
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing -ÊTriton: Joe Potter 14-39 yards, Jake Burnett 5-20 yards; Bremen: Brett Leeper 19-133 yardsÊ
Passing -ÊTriton: Steve Boyer 0-3-0 2 int.; Bremen: Nick Bragg 6-16-102, 0 int., 2 TD
Receiving - Triton: none; Bremen:ÊMike Stoller 4 receptions for 77 yards
