BOURBON – After watching his guys get shut out 28-0 by Culver in their Northern State Conference opener, Triton coach John Johns wasn’t too pleased. “There’s no way you should get beat 28-0 against a team you should compete with,” Johns said. “That’s why I’m upset. “Every play is critical,” he added. “We keeping preaching that every play is critical. At some point, that’s got to be something we embrace. We can not have half the team competing one play, then they switch off and the other half competes on the other. We can’t have that. We have too many people out here busting their tails, then we have other people who haven’t embraced that idea yet.” The NSC tilt began Friday night in Bourbon, but lightning and rain forced the game to be suspended, with Triton (1-2, 0-1 NSC) down 14-0 to Culver (2-1, 1-0 NSC) with 2:21 left in the first half. Getting back on the field Saturday at 10 a.m., Culver quarterback Preston Hansel continued where he left off. After rushing for two touchdowns Friday night, he ran for another in the third quarter then threw a 55-yard touchdown to John Robbins in the fourth. Triton quarterback Grant Stichter had 56 rushing yards in the loss, but completed just two passes. After defeating Caston in Week 1, Triton’s now coming off back-to-back lopsided losses, including a 49-20 defeat at Northfield in Week 2. Talking with Johns, the mindset his team played with in the loss was what frustrated him the most. “Down 14-0 at the half, you come out and you’re questioning your own athletic ability,” he said. “These athletes we have on our team are about as good as any I’ve seen, but for whatever reason, we lack confidence at times. It shouldn’t happen that way. We should not have a lack of confidence. We start seeing trouble and we start to see people griping at each other. That stuff’s got to stop. “(Culver’s) a good team,” he added. “They’re pretty well-coached and they run a real good scheme – guys block well. You’ve got to play against that. You can’t just hope they make mistakes and we can capitalize on the mistakes.” Despite not having a very deep bench, Johns is ready to make some changes to his squad. “I’m at the point now where we’re going to go with the guys that want to play,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s a freshman. I don’t care who it is. If that person wants to play, that person’s going to be on the field for us. We’re at the point now where people have had enough chances.” Triton’s next chance is this Friday night at home against Bremen (1-2, 0-1 NSC).
CULVER 28, TRITON 0 C 7 7 7 7 — 28 W 0 0 0 0 — 0
First Quarter C – Preston Hansel 1 run (Josh Krsek kick), 7-0. Second Quarter C – Hansel 1 run (Krsek kick), 14-0. Third Quarter C – Hansel 2 run (Krsek kick), 21-0. Fourth Quarter C – Hansel 55 pass to John Robbins (Krsek kick), 28-0.
