BOURBON - Triton remained unbeaten as the Trojans opened their Northern State Conference season Friday night against the visiting Culver Cavaliers.
Junior Adam Creighbaum ran for 200 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries, leading the Trojans to a dominating 40-6 victory.
Triton is now 3-0 overall, while Culver fell to 1-2.Creighbaum gained 200 yards on 13 carries. He also threw for 57 yards.
"Our offense showed some big improvement tonight," said Triton coach Rodney Younis. "The line did a good job and showed a lot of confidence."
Triton opened the game with a drive that appeared would result in a sure touchdown, but Creighbaum mishandled the snap from the center and the Cavaliers recovered.
Culver then drove deep into Triton territory and fumbled. Triton's Taylor Salhoff recovered the ball at the Trojan's 23 yard line.
Triton's offense then used over seven minutes of clock, bridging the first and second quarters. Creighbaum ran the ball in from the 1 to take a 7-0 lead.
Creighbaum made two passes to Zac Moriarity to keep the drive alive on third and long situations.
After holding the Cavaliers on the ensuing drive, Creighbaum went to work again.
Two plays later the talented Triton quarterback went up the middle and broke down the right sideline and outraced the Cavaliers for a 57-yard touchdown. Sebastioan Muellers' second extra point kick gave Triton a 14-0 halftime lead.
"Adam Creighbaum had a great game," said Younis. "It all stems from the confidence of the offensive line. They did a great job of opening it up for Adam," Younis said.
Triton opened up the scoring in the second half, as Creighbaum scored two touchdowns less than two minutes apart. On the first, he ran in from 26 yards out.
The second quick score came on a one-play drive from the Culver 47-yard line. Creighbaum used a quarterback keeper through the middle and ran down the sideline for the 47-yard score, pushing his team's lead to 27-0.
In just over three minutes the Trojans scored again after forcing a Culver punt.
Blake Hoffer powered his way in from 18 yards out, carrying three Culver players into the endzone with him. Triton's extra-point attempt was blocked and the Trojans led 33-0 after three quarters of play.
Culver finally broke the shutout midway through the fourth quarter, as Dennis Davis scampered nine yards for the Cavaliers' only touchdown of the game.
"Our defense would bend at times but would never really break," said Younis. "They made the big plays when they had too. They picked us up a few times."
Ethan Rutherford finished the game's scoring with 4:24 left in the game when he ran in from eight yards out. The touchdown was made possible with a 52-yard run by Dane Kennedy to bring the ball inside the 10-yard line.
Creighbaum finished the game 4 of 7 through the air for 57 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
"We had a bubble screen that failed us a couple of times but we improved the passing game a little bit," said Younis. "Again, the defense helped us when they needed too."
The Trojans will try to improve their record to 4-0 next week when they host the Bremen Lions.
