Even a veteran football coach like Tim Able can appreciate a good win.
With an incredible defensive effort and a late touchdown throw from Sam Collier to Zeke Robertson, Triton Central upset Class 2A, No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran 16-13 Friday night to end the Saints’ 45-game win streak – third longest all-time according to the Indiana Football Coaches Association record book.
“We backed off a little bit, did not watch a lot of film,” said Able Saturday afternoon of the unique reason for a change to the Tigers’ morning routine. “Some of the coaches had to go to ball games or had family things. We went about an hour less than normal.”
Friday night in Fairland was anything but normal.
“We played well enough to win but we can still play better,” Able admitted.
Robertson had a pair of touchdown receptions and more than 150 total yards in the contest and Braden Brown knocked down one last Jackson Willis pass in the game’s final seconds to secure the victory.
“We really emphasize the start of 90% of our practices with defense after we do special teams,” said Able. That helped the Tigers limit the Saints to just one offensive touchdown after they scored 75 points in their first two wins of the season.
After a scoreless first quarter, Triton Central scored first in the second quarter on a Nick Tormoehlen 30-yard field goal. The Saints responded immediately with a D’Marco Wilson 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for a 7-3 lead.
Zeke Robertson
Robertson’s first touchdown catch of the game, from 10 yards out, came late in the second quarter and gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead at halftime.
Willis, Lutheran’s highly-regarded two-time state champion quarterback, broke through the line of scrimmage for a 46-yard scoring run that put the Saints back on top 13-10 with 8:20 to go in the third quarter. The extra-point attempt failed.
Triton Central missed a game-tying field goal late in the third quarter but its defense kept the Saints in check.
The final drive had big plays. Chase Chandler hauled in a third-and-14 pass and just got to the first-down marker. Robertson had another big catch over the middle to keep his team going.
From the Lutheran 7-yard line with 65 seconds left, Robertson, working from the slot receiver position, broke all alone to the side of the end zone and Collier connected with him just before he went out of bounds.
Braden Brown
Willis moved the Saints to the Triton Central 41 but his fourth-down throw was batted down by Brown, who sealed the week two win at Hamilton Heights with an overtime interception.
Notes: Lutheran is the three-time reigning Class A state champions and arrived in Fairland with 45 consecutive wins, trailing only the top two streaks of Lafayette Central Catholic (48 wins from 2009-2012) and Bloomington South (60 wins from 1967-1973). … The Tigers now have early control of the race for the ICC title. They are on the road for a week four contest at Monrovia (2-1, 1-0 ICC), a 44-7 winner over Indianapolis Ritter Friday. … Triton Central and Lutheran could meet again this season in the regional round if both programs win sectional titles.
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