Redskins Rally To Stun Trojans
By Mike Deak
InkFreeNews
BOURBON – Stunning ends to drives at the conclusion of the first half and later the fourth quarter allowed Knox to escape Bourbon with a 22-18 win over Triton in Hoosier North Athletic Conference football.
A crucial breakdown at the end of the first half seemed a teachable moment at the time, but would eventually become a disaster in the grand scheme. Rather than taking a 12-0 lead into the lockerroom, Triton found itself looking at each other in disbelief as Knox celebrated eight quick points. Facing third and 25 from its own 25 with less than a minute on the clock, Knox lined up as if it would just kneel and go into the half to regroup.
Running back Cade Short, however, lined up under center and rather than just diving into the pile, found himself running freely into the Triton secondary and all the way to the Trojan 38. Now urgent, Knox hit Kole McIntire with a 14-yard pass to the Triton 24 with 4.8 seconds left in the half.
The Redskins again went to McIntire as the clock hit zeroes, and shaking off what looked like offensive pass interference was ruled a touchdown grab for McIntire. Short punched in the two-pointer and a 12-point lead was now a head scratcher.
“When it’s third and forever and, let’s be honest, the bottom line is our middle linebacker fell asleep,” Triton head coach Rodney Younis pointed out. “He read something else and made the wrong step. That big chunk of yardage was killer.”
In the ‘things you don’t see everyday’ category, Lucas Cabrera made an incredible play on the ball, jumping into the flight path of a pitch from Short to Gunnar Krause and raced the other way 77 yards for a touchdown. Cabrera also had a 26-yard touchdown catch on a nicely thrown ball from Cole Shively on a fourth down play in the second quarter.
“Lucas is a great athlete that can do a lot for us,” Younis said. “He played a great game today. Had a great read on that return on the pitch, made some nice plays defensively.”
Leading 18-8, Triton looked to be in control, but once again Knox would respond. On the first play after the Cabrera interception return, Braxton Gellar would run wide open and haul in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Cohen Watson to make it 18-14, Triton blocking the extra point.
It would stay that way until the final Knox possession. Starting a drive with 5:43 to go at its own two, the Redskins would chunk out play after play, setting up a key third and short conversion by Short to the Triton five with 1:05 to go. Short would get the call again and pound in the final five yards, then add the two-pointer to take a 22-18 lead with 47.9 seconds to go.
The Redskins would create two sacks in Triton’s final desperation, the last play a Trent Messer pull down of Shively as time expired.
Triton’s first touchdown came on its first possession with Hunter McIntyre racing up the gut for a 30-yard touchdown scamper.
Also lost in the little details were three missed extra points, two kicks and a two-pointer, which made up four points on the scoreboard. In a 22-18 loss, Younis made sure to include those on his list of talking points for next week.
“We had the opportunities to win this game, and it’s disappointing we are looking at a four-point loss,” Younis said. “Unfortunately, it’s been the same mistakes that we’ve done throughout the year. There’s necessities you have to make especially when you are playing a team like Knox. We’ll get another tough one next week, hoping to see if we can clean up some of these mistakes.”
Knox bumps to 4-4 on the season and 3-2 in HNAC play with a home game with Caston next week. Triton slips to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the HNAC, staring down a matchup at home next week with Winamac.