The end was swift as a powerful Evansville Mater Dei squad overpowered Triton Central, 35-7, Friday in the Class 2A regional in Fairland.

Joey Pierre carried the ball 21 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns and the Wildcats’ offense amassed 314 total rushing yards while its defense limited the Tigers to 104 yards of total offense.

“Offensively, we sputtered,” said Able. “A key play in the game was the coin toss. If we would have won the toss we would have done what they did and deferred (the kickoff to the second half). The wind was a huge factor because we needed to throw. They are stronger than we are and we weren’t going to be able to run on them much. We needed the wind to throw and it’s a lot easier to throw when you have the wind.”

Triton Central could not get its running game going and throwing against the wind was problematic. Add in the difficulty punting into the wind and Evansville Mater Dei got rolling in a hurry.

The Wildcats took their first possession at the TC 38-yard line following a Jayden Mays 13-yard punt against the wind. Five Pierre runs later, the first touchdown was on the board.

Triton Central again went nowhere on its second possession and a better Mays’ punt rolled to midfield. Eight plays later, quarterback Mason Wunderlich connected with Eli McDurmon for a 14-yard touchdown strike and it was 14-0 just past the halfway point of the first quarter.

Wunderlich finished off a five-play drive with a plunge into the end zone from 1-yard out. Bryce Humphrey scored from three yards out to make it 28-0 and Pierre broke free for a 55-yard scoring run late in the second quarter to set up a running clock in the second half.

“Our kids kept playing hard,” said Able. “Their talent, size and strength were overwhelming and then you have a quarterback that can throw dimes and an all-state receiver that is a heck of a player. Their running backs are really strong. I told our kids to look at their legs. They are hard to take down. We have to get stronger in the weight room. That is what another year will do.”

Triton Central scored just before time expired in the game when quarterback Jace Stuckey hit Anthony Dunville in the back of the end zone.

Stuckey completed just 9-of-22 pass attempts for 61 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The sophomore also led the team in rushing yards with 27 on seven carries.

Ray Crawford was limited to five yards on four carries. Brad Schultz had six catches for 26 yards.

Triton Central finished the season 8-5 and a third-straight sectional title with just five seniors on the roster.

“We went through a lot of adversity. We lost our quarterback for two weeks. We lost our running back for a game. We lost Brad Schultz for about 40% of the season and 80% of practice time,” said Able.

Evansville Mater Dei (11-2) will travel north again for semistate competition at Scecina (10-3), a 34-13 winner over Lafayette Central Catholic Friday.

In the Class 2A northern regional championships, Andrean defeated LaVille, 35-7 and Eastside eliminated Eastbrook, 21-14.

Evansville Mater Dei 35, Triton Central 7

SCORE BY QUARTERS

EM   21  14   0   0  --  35

TC      0     0   0   7  --    7

First Quarter:
EM – Pierre 4 run (Sitzman kick), 9:40

EM – E. McDurmon 14 pass Wunderlich (Sitzman kick), 5:16

EM – Wunderlich 1 run (Sitzman kick), 1:34

Second Quarter:

EM – Humphrey 3 run (Sitzman kick), 4:58

EM – Pierre 55 run (Sitzman kick), 2:23

Fourth Quarter:

TC – Dunville 15 pass Stuckey (Dewey kick), :30

Rushing: Pierre 21-211, Humphrey 11-61, C. Stratman 2-17, W. Stratman 5-15, Wunderlich 4-8, Wiley 2-8, E. McDurmon 1-1, Mayer 1-(-7) (EM); Stuckey 7-27, Blake 2-8, Crawford 4-5, Schultz 2-1, Kemper 1-2 (TC).

Passing: Wunderlich 4-6-47 (EM); Stuckey 9-22-61, Emberton 0-1-1, Crawford 0-1-1 (TC).

Receiving: E. McDurmon 2-21, Stolz 1-16, L. McDurmon 1-10 (EM); Schultz 6-26, Compton 2-20, Dunville 1-15 (TC).