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Triton Central, Evansville Mater Dei renew regional rivalry

For the fifth time in the last 11 seasons, Triton Central and Evansville Mater Dei will meet for a regional championship.

The Wildcats hold a 3-1 series lead with Triton Central’s only win coming in 2019 in Fairland, 13-7.

On Friday, the Wildcats (10-2) and head coach Mike Goebel, 246-78 in 25th year at Mater Dei, will make the three-plus-hour drive north to Shelby County once again with a semistate berth at stake.

Kickoff has been moved up to 6:30 p.m. Friday at Mendenhall Field.

A quick start will be key for a Triton Central squad (8-4) built around sophomore and junior playmakers. There are just five seniors on the roster for head coach Tim Able, 205-129 in 29 years of coaching.

“In high school games it is very important (to get off to a quick start),” said Able. “Two years ago we got off to a good start … we didn’t last year. We need to play from out front. We play better when we get off to a good start.”

Only one touchdown was scored in Evansville Mater Dei’s 16-6 victory in 2020 at the Reitz Bowl in Evansville. Mason Wunderlich connected with Eli Mcdurmon on a 39-yard strike in the second quarter to put the Wildcats up 10-3.

Jordan Atherton connected on field goals of 25, 39 and 36 yards to seal the win as Triton Central was limited to 233 yards of offense, no touchdowns and four turnovers.

Triton Central’s defense produced minus-14 yards of rushing for the Wildcats in the loss but quarterback Mason Wunderlich completed nearly 50% of his pass attempts for 161 yards and the lone touchdown of the game.

Wunderlich returns to lead an offense that has 2,264 passing yards and 1,490 rushing yards.

“They have the same quarterback and he is really good,” said Able. “They have real good receivers … three or four who are pretty good and a good running back.

“This is a very experienced team. They’ve got a lot of tools. I think we do too. We’re similar in the way we mix the run and the pass.”

Wunderlich has completed 153 of 285 pass attempts this season for 2,264 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Five different Wildcats have at least 12 receptions this season. Mcdurmon, now a senior, leads the way with 57 receptions for 958 yards and 10 TDs. Bryce Humphries, a senior, has 30 receptions for 368 yards and four TDs. Ethan Stolz, a junior, has 27 receptions for 384 yards and six TDs.

Junior running back Joey Pierre has 929 yards and eight TDs on 200 carries this season.

“We have to get to the quarterback,” said Able. “We’ve got to change up our looks and choose the blitz at the right time and catch them when they are not expecting it. And we have to control the run game so we know when they are going to pass.”

 

 

Triton Central counters with its own set of offensive weapons beginning with sophomore quarterback Jace Stuckey, who has completed 53% of his pass attempts this season for 1,340 yards, 11 TDs and five interceptions. He also has nine rushing TDs this season.

Sophomore Ray Crawford, who was limited to 46 yards on 22 carries in last season’s loss to the Wildcats, has 1,263 yards rushing this season and 11 touchdowns but also is more of a threat in the passing game this year. He has over 400 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Stuckey has shorter passing routes for Crawford and junior Brad Schultz (nearly 500 yards receiving and five TDs), who can break loose and add yards after the catch, and can go deep to senior Devon Emberton (over 300 yards receiving and 3 TDs).

“They are going to mix up their defensive fronts and give you different looks,” said Able. “It will be an interesting matchup when it comes to that kind of stuff. It’s a chess game … and you don’t want to be playing checkers.”

Triton Central is banged up physically but will have senior all-conference selection Jayden Mays back on both offense and defense. Freshmen linemen Willie Baugh and Colton Crawford are both done for the season due to injuries but neither will require surgery, according to Able.

The regional winner Friday will face either Lafayette Central Catholic (8-4) or TC’s Indiana Crossroads Conference rival Scecina (9-3) in the southern Indiana semistate championship on Nov. 19.

If Scecina wins, it will host the semistate due to not hosting the sectional or regional championship game.

If Lafayette Central Catholic and Triton Central win, the semistate championship game will be played in Fairland.

In the 2A bracket in the north, LaVille (9-2) travels to Andrean (9-3) while Eastbrook (11-0) is at Eastside (12-0).

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