Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central and 2A No. 9 North Posey have won a combined 36 games in the previous two seasons. The same opponent – Evansville Mater Dei, the 2021 state runner-up and 2022 state champion – proved too much to overcome for each in the postseason.
The Wildcats’ success has kept North Posey unheralded around the state. That all can change Friday when the Vikings travel three hours north to Fairland for a regional championship game against Triton Central.
This will be the first meeting between the two programs thanks to North Posey’s 35-34 sectional semifinal overtime win over Evansville Mater Dei. The Vikings followed that with a 35-14 win over Paoli to capture the program’s first sectional title since 2005.
“They are very good. It’s a strong team with good size, but not huge size,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able. “They are quick but we might have the edge on them in speed. They might have the edge in strength.”
The North Posey offense, averaging 39.9 ppg this season, is built around senior quarterback Liam Stone, who has thrown for 933 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 828 yards and 17 TDs.
“He is at his best running,” said Able. “We are going to have to gang tackle to get him down. He has no fear. He runs everything. He stirs the drink. When he is going, they are going.”
Stone is not a solo act, though. The Vikings have rushed for 3,238 yards this season with 56 touchdowns.
Jed Galvin, a junior, has rushed for 1,134 yards and 22 TDs. He scored all five touchdowns (4 rushing, 1 receiving) in the sectional championship game win over Paoli.
“He is really good,” said Able. “They will run Wildcat (where he lines up at quarterback) with him in short-yardage situations. They are a lot like we were back in the day with the Kermode brothers.”
Senior Kolton Gardner completes North Posey’s rushing triumvirate with 819 yards on the ground and 12 TDs.
Stone is completing 61% of his pass attempts and thrown just two interceptions. His top target is senior receiver Jackson Graff (23 receptions, 436 yards, 5 TDs). Galvin has 16 catches for 387 yards.
Triton Central’s last three sectional championship teams have lost to Evansville Mater Dei. The Tigers and Wildcats have met in the regional round the last four seasons with TC celebrating the program’s only regional title in 2019.
With a Divison I quarterback recruit in Jace Stuckey, expectations have been high all season for Triton Central, who has just one loss to Class A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran back in week three of the regular season. The Tigers’ 9-game win streak has come by an average winning margin of 28 points. Able believes his team has only played five games this season where his starters were on the field in the fourth quarter. And the starters were hardly needed in sectional victories at Clarksville (41-6) and Eastern (49-0).
In fact at Eastern (Pekin) last Friday, Stuckey was out of the game before halftime and Ray Crawford (a 4,000-yard career rusher) and Brayden Wilkins (over 1,300 yards of offense this season) were not even in uniform while dealing with nagging injuries. Able expects both to be near 100% Friday to face North Posey, also with only one loss this season to Class 3A, No. 5 Heritage Hills in week five, 10-0.
Averaging 39.1 ppg this season, Triton Central will need all its key components to get by the team that eliminated Evansville Mater Dei.
“They are very strong and very physical,” said Able of a North Posey defense allowing just 10.2 ppg this season. “If you go spread, they go three defensive linemen and two linebackers. Their front five have the ability to stop teams. Evansville Mater Dei got some throwing (yards) on them. We will need a nice good mix of run and pass.”
That means freshman running back Henry Kemper (photo), sophomore receiver Zeke Robertson and seniors Anthony Dunville and Sam Kemper must be productive in the intense atmosphere that will come with a regional championship game.
Triton Central already knows it will be without senior receiver Mason Compton (24 receptions, 518 yards, 6 TDs), who had emergency neck surgery Friday and is done for the season.
“He’s doing good. He is being smart about coming back slow,” said Able. “He will be fine. It sounds like everything went exactly right.”
Class 2A has had the most changes in the top 10 ranking of the state coaches poll this season and the final eight teams remaining reflect how programs are catching up to traditional powerhouses like Evansville Mater Dei, Linton-Stockton and Andrean – all whom are out of the state tournament.
“I think it shows the parody of high school football,” said Able. “Everybody is training similarly. The playing field is getting leveled. This time of the year, there are not a lot of differences in the teams. It’s the intangibles … the toughness and the will.”
The winner of Friday’s regional championship game in Fairland will face either Southmont (7-5) or Eastern Hancock (8-4) in the semistate round. If Southmont wins, Triton Central would host the semistate; if Eastern Hancock wins, the Tigers would travel to Charlottesville to face an old Mid-Indiana Football Conference rival.
In the north, 2A No. 4 LaVille (11-1) is at No. 7 Lafayette Central Catholic (9-3) and No. 7 Bluffton (10-2) is at No. 5 Fort Wayne Luers (9-3).
Steve Bush photos
QUICK FACTS:
Class 2A, No. 9 North Posey at Class 2A, No. 2 Triton Central
Game time: 8 p.m. at Triton Central High School.
Broadcast: GIANT fm will air a pregame show with Johnny McCrory and Jeff Brown from Bud Mendenhall Field at Triton Central at 7 p.m. with the game to follow on 96.5 fm, 106.3 fm or the GIANT fm app.
Tickets: Tickets are $10. No Triton Central sports passes will be allowed. Online link to purchase tickets is https://public.eventlink.com/tickets?t=58089
TC student theme: “PJ party at the Bud”
2023 record: North Posey 11-1; Triton Central 11-1.
Head coaches: Waylon Schenk, 51-25 in seventh year at North Posey, 79-49 in 12th year overall; Tim Able, 101-36 in 11th year at Triton Central, 226-134 in 30th year overall.
Sagarin ratings: North Posey 70.83, No. 2 in Class 2A; Triton Central 73.14, No. 1 in Class 2A. Triton Central is a 4-point favorite.
Last meeting: This will be the first meeting between North Posey and Triton Central.
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