Triton Central

TC FOOTBALL BEATS SPEEDWAY TO REMAIN UNBEATEN. Triton Central clamped down defensively in the second half Friday night, shutting out Speedway after halftime to secure a 21-10 win at Ralph Johnson Field. The Tigers (5-0, 3-0 HLC) did not allow the Sparkplugs a single first down after the break, while quarterback Matthew Wilkins delivered two key touchdown passes to put the game away. Triton Central opened with a 54-yard drive capped by Braden Brown’s 3-yard touchdown run, but the offense went quiet until late in the third quarter. Trailing 10-7, Wilkins orchestrated a 66-yard march and hit Henry Kemper on a 10-yard scoring strike to reclaim the lead with 4:48 left in the third. After another quick stop, the Tigers capitalized on a short field. Starting at Speedway’s 41, Wilkins connected with Conner McClure for a short gain, then found him wide open for a 36-yard touchdown to extend the advantage to 21-10. Wilkins finished 13-of-25 for 174 yards, spreading the ball around to Kemper (6 receptions, 63 yards), Brayden Whitlow (3 catches, 54 yards), and McClure. The Tigers managed just eight rushing yards on seven first-half carries but finished with 112, thanks to strong late-game runs from Brown and Cooper Marlin. Brown, who spent much of the night blocking for Wilkins, found his rhythm late, picking up gains of nine, seven, 14, and seven yards on a clock-draining drive. Marlin added 23 yards on three carries to help close it out. Junior Julius Schlottman was perfect on three extra-point attempts in place of injured senior kicker Nick Tormoehlen. Sophomore Evan Mitchell handled kickoff duties, while Wilkins filled in effectively at punter. Speedway (0-5, 0-2 HLC) controlled the second quarter, using a roughing-the-punter penalty to spark a 15-play, 54-yard drive capped by a Mamadou Diallo 2-yard touchdown run. Joey Heaviland added the extra point, then closed the half with a 30-yard field goal to give the Sparkplugs a 10-7 halftime lead. But the second half belonged to Triton Central’s defense, which forced seven punts and never let Speedway threaten again. On Saturday morning in junior varsity action at Triton Central, Speedway edged the Tigers 16-14. Triton Central’s JV squad dropped to 1-4 on the season. Up next for the Tigers, they welcome Lebanon to Fairland this Friday night for homecoming with kickoff at 7 PM.