Triton Central opens HLC schedule at Speedway

Tim Kegley had plenty of time to savor his first win Friday as head coach at Triton Central.

The Tigers fell behind 3-0 after one quarter then scored the next 30 points to cruise to the win over Indianapolis Scecina, 30-3.

“I like it the way it happened,” confirmed Kegley of the runaway victory. “It was really good.”

Kegley did admit the Gatorade shower from the players afterward was a little unexpected.

The Tigers improved to 1-1 with the Hoosier Legends Conference schedule now on tap.

Triton Central is as Speedway (2-0) Friday. Kickoff has been pushed back to 7:30 p.m.

Kegley (photo, center, addressing team) has solidified the running game around Landon Ball, has a trusted quarterback in Matthew Wilkins and dynamic playmaker in Henry Kemper in place and a stout defense to rely on. Now he just needs the offense and defense to play better in the opening quarter.

“It took awhile for the defense to wake up (against Scecina),” said Kegley. “And then our offense sputtered a little bit. … It seems to be a weekly challenge for us.”

Triton Central gradually took over against the Crusaders, who rushed for just 53 yards and completed only 45% of their pass attempts and threw two interceptions.

The defense will be challenged this week by an athletic Speedway offense. The Sparkplugs, who went 1-9 in 2025, have scored 96 points in wins over Heritage Christian (47-19) and Indianapolis Tech (49-0). Eleven of their 13 touchdowns have come through the air.

The fast start has Kegley perplexed. The Sparkplugs averaged just 11.2 points per game last season but have a sophomore quarterback and a bevy of receivers that have terrorized two struggling football programs.

“In my mind, I’m not sure (about Speedway),” said Kegley. What I do know is if we don’t cover them, the quarterback is extremely accurate. That’s concerning.”

Speedway quarterback Conner Battle has completed 22 of 32 pass attempts for 498 yards and 11 touchdowns. Seven of those touchdown passes came in the week one win.

Amari Forbes, a junior, leads the team with 160 yards rushing. He is also one of six different Sparkplugs to notch a receiving touchdown this season.

Kellar Socks, another junior, has a team-high eight receptions for 154 yards and three TDs. Miles Cessna, a junior, has five receptions for 125 yards and four touchdowns.

“If we don’t tackle well, it will be a high-scoring game,” said Kegley. “That is not my goal.”

Speedway is looking to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2021.

Triton Central claimed the inaugural HLC title with a perfect 5-0 mark in 2025. To repeat, the Tigers have to keep running back Landon Ball (photo) healthy while Cooper Marlin recovers from a broken collarbone.

In two games, Ball has carried the ball 46 times for 220 yards.

“He can handle it,” said Kegley of the workload for Ball, who will have his time getting defensive repetitions limited for now.

The development of junior receiver Dylan Showalter (photo) to pair with senior Henry Kemper is going well. Quarterback Matthew Wilkins’ top two targets have combined for 19 receptions and 292 yards.

“Showalter has been very good offensively,” said Kegley.

Kemper had two short rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown in the win over Scecina.

Triton Central faced a winless Speedway team in week five of 2025 and trailed 10-7 at halftime. Wilkins connected with Kemper and Conner McClure for touchdown receptions in the second half to survive, 21-10.

That memory should be fresh enough to motivate Triton Central to a faster start in week three.

“Their skills guys are better than last year, and our secondary has not really been tested yet,” said Kegley. “I still think we’re a little more battle tested.”

Of the eight teams in the HLC, Triton Central’s current strength of schedule is second overall (104^th in the state). By comparison, Speedway’s is eighth and 285^th in the state.

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