Inconsistency keeping Triton Central from stacking wins

Triton Central and Greenwood are a pair of two-win teams searching for consistency.

The Tigers and Woodmen are coming off disheartening losses that followed impressive wins. Triton Central lost at Shelbyville, 41-21, while Greenwood suffered a 41-7 defeat at Beech Grove.

“When we play our best, we win. When we’ve played well, we’ve won,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Kegley. “When we’ve not played well, we’ve lost.”

Triton Central (2-3, 1-2 Hoosier Legends Conference) is at Greenwood (2-3, 1-2 HLC) Friday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

The Tigers fell behind 13-0 at Shelbyville in the game’s opening seven minutes. The Golden Bears marched 68 yards and scored on the opening possession of the rivalry game then Carson Nance intercepted the first Tigers’ pass of the game and raced to the end zone.

Triton Central hung around but never recovered.

“It’s not good enough. There is a standard to winning,” said Kegley. “What are we going to do about it? We’ve got to find ways to win. We haven’t had all three levels of football (offense, defense and special teams) in a game together.”

At McKeand Stadium Friday, the TC offense rushed for just 51 total yards and quarterback Matthew Wilkins was intercepted three times. The defense had three blown pass coverages that resulted in three Shelbyville touchdowns. And the special teams units had an extra-point kick blocked and an 11-yard punt.

Triton Central did not have its top two running backs in uniform at Shelbyville but may have found another option in Tevian Faulkner (photo), who rumbled for 53 yards on 14 carries, and will get another start Friday at Greenwood.

“He stepped in and did well,” said Kegley. “I like the burst he has. He handled it well and didn’t turn the ball over which was great for us.”

Cooper Marlin, who has not played a down this season, is still recovering from a broken collarbone. He is expected back before the end of the regular season to shore up the run game.

Landon Ball missed the Shelbyville game with an illness. He is expected to play at Greenwood, but mostly on the defensive side of the ball.

The loss at Shelbyville would have been worse if not for Dylan Showalter’s big night. The junior (photo) had seven catches for 211 yards and touchdown receptions of 70 and 31 yards.

“It was nice to see that happen,” said Kegley. “We’ve got to get other people on the same page.

“It’s cool to see this. He played mostly JV last year. He’s become a big play guy for us in nearly every game. We need that to continue.”

Greenwood is the third straight Class 4A program on Class 2A Triton Central’s schedule. Quarterback Brady Smith and sophomore running back Trentyn Breeding have combined for nearly 700 yards rushing this season with six touchdowns.

Smith is completing 52% of his pass attempts for 675 yards and eight touchdowns. The junior’s favorite targets are senior Benjamin Hommell (27 receptions, 451 yards, six touchdowns) and junior Jackson Davis (12 receptions, 159 yards, two touchdowns).

“They are challenging,” said Kegley. “They seem to do a lot of different things depending on the opponent. I think they will play like they did at Speedway (50-21 win on Sept. 11) where they ran the football and had big plays in the passing game.”

Kegley wants to make the Woodmen one dimensional by controlling the run game.

“It’s concerning for us to see if we can close down the run game,” he said. “They seem to do it quite well. We need to force them to pass the ball.”

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