Bremen’s Bryce Wogomon tackles Triton’s Tye Orsund after Orsund made Zack Miller miss during the first half of Triton’s game in Bremen Friday night. (Photos by James Costello)

BREMEN — Triton head coach Ron Brown already seemed ready to move on directly following his team’s lopsided, 49-7 loss at Bremen Friday. Who could blame him?

It wasn’t the Trojans’ best effort and it certainly wasn’t the outcome they wanted, but Brown put it in perspective for his players: A non-conference loss against the unbeaten 2A, No. 8-ranked Lions doesn’t derail any of the team’s longterm goals.

“Rough night. It’s never easy coming over here to the Mint City, and we’re just looking to improve on what we can do. Like I just told the guys, it’s a non-conference game,” said Brown. “I’m not worried about what a 2A team just did to us. We play 1A schools, we’re getting ready for our 1A season, and all the goals that I set for the team are still obtainable, every single one of them. And if we obtain the goals that I set, we’ll go down as the best Triton team in history. A bump in the road. They’re a good team.”

The Trojans (2-2) moved the ball pretty well, putting up 243 offensive yards in Bremen, but they weren’t able to convert those gains into many points.

Bremen (4-0) set the tone early with a six-play, 69-yard scoring drive on its opening possession, punctuated by senior running back Nate Mullen’s 1-yard touchdown run at the 9:38 stop of the clock, then followed with another short Mullen run for two more points. The Lions defensive unit held Triton to three and out, and the home team needed just one snap to stretch that advantage when a 57-yard bomb from quarterback found Justin Zumbrun with no one between him and the end zone, giving his team a 15-0 cushion with a full 7:35 remaining in the first quarter.

D’Angelo Shumpert runs the ball while Evan Manges and Collin Kerr get set to tackle and Kaden Atkins looks on Friday.

Triton responded with a quick, 72-yard scoring drive as quarterback Bo Snyder answered back with his own 57-yard touchdown pass to Tye Orsund, which cut the visitors’ deficit to 15-7 at the 5:33 mark of the first. But after that, it was pretty much all Bremen’s show.

The Lions scored twice more in the second quarter to push their lead out to 29-7 at the half, then tacked on three more touchdowns in the second half to stay perfect through the first four weeks of the season.

“When we’re doing our job, we expect to win. Our kids are being efficient with what they’re doing, and they’re getting the job done,” said Bremen coach Jordan Leeper.

Triton had few answers for Mullen, who needed just 12 touches to gain 88 rushing yards and score a pair of touchdowns. The 6’2”, 215-pound back led a Lions rushing corps that out-gained Triton 283 yards to 54 on the ground Friday.

“He’s a load when he runs the football, and when we’re hitting our assignments and he’s getting in the open field, he’s tough to bring down,” said Leeper of Mullen. “Not too many kids are going to bring him down with one person. He’s a tough kid, he works hard, and I love the attitude and leadership that he brings to us.”

Ryan Caldwell gets his feet set to throw a long bomb while Jacob Wunder protects and Wyatt Pollard blocks Triton’s Billy Smith.

More surprisingly, Bremen beat Triton through the air, too. Caldwell went 6 for 12 passing for 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Mullen threw another TD pass from 27 yards out in the fourth period, compared to a 16-of-28, 189-yard passing night by Snyder. Afterward, Leeper gave much of the credit for his team’s passing performance to the Triton defensive line.

“We didn’t think we played a very clean game, but give credit to their offensive and defensive lines because those guys are tough and they made it difficult on us. Their big guys in the front really kind of neutralized our run game a little bit, and we had to go a little more to the passing game,” he said.

While the Lions amassed 383 total yards of offense, the turnover bug prevented Triton from making the most of its opportunities. Twice the Trojans turned their hosts over in the first half — one a pick by Orsund and another a fumble recovery by Brandon Lenker — but in both cases they gave the ball right back with an interception and a fumble of their own. All told, Triton surrendered four turnovers in Bremen, more than the Trojans’ previous three games combined.

“The turnover bug probably happened because of Bremen. They’ve been doing a great job of getting turnovers all year,” Brown explained. “They continued to do that. Mr. (Jacob) Wunder is a great linebacker. I’ll take him over at Triton if he wants to transfer, but I think he’s a senior. No, good job for them tonight.”

In a bright spot for Triton, Orsund led all receivers with four catches worth 82 yards. D’Angelo Shumpert hauled in four catches for 33 yards, and Delano Shumpert caught three passes for 40 yards. Zumbrun finished with 66 receiving yards in two catches, and Mullen and Sam Huffman each caught two passes for 54 yards apiece.

Zumbrun also paced the Lions’ defense with seven tackles, while Delano Shumpert finished with five tackles, and Orsund and Smith each tallied three for Triton.

Triton returns to its Hoosier North Athletic Conference schedule with a home game against Culver Community next Friday night. Bremen will look to remain unbeaten in a Northern Indiana Conference match-up on the road at winless South Bend Clay.