Triton Central head coach Tim Able is not fond of his team’s latest trend of starting games slowly.
Class 2A, No. 3 Triton Central trailed Monrovia in the first quarter in week three and entered halftime Friday at Indian Creek trailing 28-21.
“It’s repetitive. Four weeks now of not playing well in the first quarter,” said Able.
For the second time this season, Triton Central (4-1) trailed at halftime but a defensive adjustment finally got the Braves’ offense under control and the leadership of senior quarterback Jace Stuckey rallied the Tigers.
“They had an outstanding game plan,” said Able. “It was clicking. We couldn’t stop them. We weren’t that bad on offense, they were just scoring.”
Indian Creek quarterback Jalen Sauer completed 23-of-32 pass attempts for 213 yards and a touchdown and ran for 103 yards and three more scores.
Triton Central opened the second half with a touchdown then dominated the fourth quarter — scoring three times to pull away for the 49-35 win.
“The quarterback (Stuckey) and the team made it so they wouldn’t be denied,” said Able, who credited late long runs by Stuckey and Brayden Wilkins as back breakers for Indian Creek.
The Tigers’ final four games of the regular season are all Indiana Crossroads Conference contests. The final two home games at Mendenhall Field for the senior class are on deck.
Triton Central hosts Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter Friday for Homecoming and Class 2A, No. 6 Indianapolis Scecina on Sept. 29 for Senior Night.
“We’ve talked this week. I sent them stuff over the weekend about how we overlooked Indian Creek,” said Able. “We are not going to do it again. It’s all about the game this week. It’s one week at a time. We can’t get ahead of that stuff.”
With new head coach Levar Johnson and an exciting new quarterback in Santana Allen, Ritter is much improved in 2023 at 3-2 (1-2 ICC).
“They have better athletes and better coaches,” said Able (photo) of a Ritter program his Tigers pummeled in 2022, 58-15. “They are really good at throwing the ball. They are really good at defending the pass. They have good athletes. The run game will be important for us.”
In five games, Allen has completed 53% of his 106 pass attempts for 731 yards and three touchdowns. He also has rushed for seven touchdowns.
“He is a lefty so that will be different,” said Able. “He can run too. We cannot let him out of the pocket. We cannot let him scramble.”
Marshawnn Henderson leads the Raiders in rushing yards (374) and has three touchdowns. Allen’s top receivers are Adrian Gregory (24 receptions, 273 yards) and Martin Walker (14 receptions, 196 yards).
“We have to be ready. We can’t give them confidence,” said Able, continuing his theme of better starts to games. “We cannot let them breathe. We have to put together four quarters. We need better mental preparation. This shouldn’t be a problem with the experienced team we have — but that’s the nature of the team now.”
Ritter has won three straight after season-opening losses to Monrovia (50-15) and Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (49-12). The wins have come against Purdue Polytechnic (40-19), Speedway (20-14) and Indianapolis Shortridge (37-28).
“They’ve won three games (after winning two total the last two seasons), but the last two weeks were against lesser teams. We knew that’s an advantage for us,” said Able. “We’ve played better teams.”
With the belief Triton Central can exploit Ritter’s run defense, Able plans to limit standout running back Ray Crawford (photo) to mostly offensive reps this week.
Senior Anthony Dunville (photo) will take the field Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury. The goal is to get him limited time against Ritter so he is fully ready for Senior Night against Scecina.
Offensive lineman Willie Baugh is still dealing with an injury. A fast start Friday would be ideal to end his night early.
Ben Wilkins is nearly 100% as well and could see reps Friday on both sides of the ball.
QUICK FACTS:
Indianapolis Cardinal Ritter at Class 2A, No. 3 Triton Central
Game time: 7 p.m. at Mendenhall Field.
TC student theme: USA.
2023 record: Ritter 3-2, 1-2 ICC; Triton Central 4-1, 2-1 ICC.
Head coaches: Levar Johnson, 3-2 in first year at Ritter; Tim Able, 94-36 in 11th year at Triton Central; 219-134 in 30th year overall.
Sagarin ratings: Ritter 41.39, No. 31 in Class 2A; Triton Central 71.41, No. 1 in Class 2A. Triton Central is a 32-point favorite
Last year: Triton Central defeated Ritter, 58-15, at St. Vincent Field on the campus of Marian University. Link to the Shelby County Post game story can be found here: https://shelbycountypost.com/sports/654274
Series: The two programs have meet annually since 2012 with Triton Central holding a 7-3 series advantage. Ritter’s lone three wins came in 2012, 2013 and 2016 – all years it appeared in the state championship game.
Around the ICC Friday: Beech Grove (2-3, 1-3 ICC) at Monrovia (4-1, 2-1); Cascade (3-2) at North Putnam (1-4); Class 2A, No. 6 Indianapolis Scecina (4-1, 2-0) at Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (5-0, 4-0); and Speedway (1-4) at Connersville (2-3).
Class 2A, Sectional 39 records: Class 2A, No. 1 Brownstown Central 5-0; Class 2A, No. 3 Triton Central 4-1; Switzerland County 3-2, Christel House Manual 2-3, Brown County 1-4, Clarksville 0-5, Class 2A, No. 6 Indianapolis Scecina 4-1, and Eastern (Pekin) 2-3.
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