The Trojans celebrate their season-opening win against South Central.
Article by Andy O'Hara - TTSN
BOURBON - As the high school football season across the state began Friday night, the anticipation and excitement of a new season was on full display. The Trojan Tundra was packed with fans eager to cheer on their respected teams on both sidelines, in hopes of an opening season victory. Triton and South Central have faced off against one another in the starting game of the last 6 seasons. Games were always hard fought and were a battle from start to finish.
The first quarter was a humbling quarter for both teams. Triton started off their first offensive series as Clayton Strauch came flying from the left side to force a fumble, which gave South Central a short field to work with. Following the turnover, the Trojan defense answered the call where they forced a 4 and out on South Central’s first drive. Triton’s running game got them down inside the 10-yard line where the South Central defense stood tall and forced a turnover on 4th down. Triton forced South Central to punt inside their own endzone on the next drive. Cole Shively led the rushing attack on the next drive all the way down to set up a Wayne Reichert score as Triton took the opening score in the waning moments of the first quarter.
Both teams started to find their footing in the 2nd quarter. The Satellites put it all together as Aaron Hogan scored on a big run from 30 yards away and drew them within one of The Trojans. With a HUGE 2pt conversion on the next play, Hanchar rolled left in pursuit of the left pylon to give his team the lead. However, Dante’ Workman had other plans, “The Slingshot” kicked on the jets lowered his shoulder, and denied the Senior quarterback a chance to convert. Shively, Prater, and Reichert used their power running game to make their way to the south endzone, setting up a Cole Shively touchdown. Triton led 14 to 6 with 2 minutes and 15 seconds to go in the half. The air attack led by the strong-armed Hanchar threatened The Trojan lead with a 4th and 18 threw a 32-yard bomb to Clayton Strauch. They continued their pursuit towards the endzone as time was ticking away. In the final seconds of the first half were counting down, and momentum on the line Hanchar threw a pass over the middle to Ward bobbled the catch lost it and Wayne Reichert intercepted. The Trojans took the momentum into the halftime locker room and never looked back.
The second half featured Cole Shively breaking some big runs to score on 30 and 35 yards respectively to extend the lead. He also hit a school-record 39-yard field goal to push the final score to 30 to 6. The Triton running game was on point with 312 yards on the ground on 57 attempts. Leading rushers were Shively with 151 yards, Prater with 92 yards, Reichert with 35 yards, and Connor Stetzel with 27 yards. The Trojan Defense was spectacular, especially the front line. Javan May and Pierce Brookins were a problem from the edge, The Cyclone Esai Lemler was disruptive all night, and The Freight Train Tucker Worsham was batting down passes and de-railing the South Central offensive line. Colton Reynolds led the linebacking core with 6 tackles with 2.5 tackles for loss.
There is something special about this team. They have bought into the culture of what this coaching staff has been teaching. Zach Whittaker and his staff have a promising group that will face some tough tests in the coming weeks. One thing is for certain. The Triton community will continue to pack the stands and get behind this group of young men. Congrats to Zach Whittaker on starting his coaching career off with a bang!
Stats Provided by Brandon Haines
South Central 6 0 0 0 - 6
Triton 14 13 3 0 - 32
Triton's Record: 1-0; 0-0 HNAC
Did you take pictures of these events? Share them with us at sports@triton.k12.in.us or text 574-646-0066
