Brown leads Class 2A, No. 10 Triton Central to key conference win over Class 3A, No. 13 Indian Creek

FAIRLAND – Class 2A, No. 10 Triton Central defeated Class 3A, No. 13 Indian Creek with a running back playing quarterback.

Braden Brown (photo) continues to build a legacy in Fairland with game-altering performances like Friday at Mendenhall Field. The senior carried the ball 28 times for 104 yards and a touchdown, and he completed 2-of-3 passes for 44 yards and another touchdown to lead the Tigers to a 17-14 victory which keeps his team atop the standings in the Hoosier Legends Conference (HLC).

“He is a big-play player. He is a hybrid player that can play multiple positions with unbelievable athleticism,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able. “He still has a lot of untapped ability. He is getting better each and every week.”

Triton Central lost starting quarterback Matthew Wilkins late in the first half last week in a 21-14 loss to Lebanon. And with reserve quarterback Bo West unable to play while still recovering from a concussion, Able prepared Brown, fellow senior Conner McClure (photo) and sophomore Dylan Showalter to play quarterback this week.

“We tried to mix (McClure and Brown) so we didn’t have to run Braden so much,” said Able of the game plan against Indian Creek. “We knew we had to run more and when you don’t play quarterback for three years (in the case of McClure) and you all of a sudden play on a Friday night, it is so difficult.”

Friday started very difficult for the makeshift Triton Central offense. The first series lost seven yards and resulted in a punt.

Indian Creek (4-3, 1-2 HLC) promptly marched 72 yards down the field and scored on an Evan Clark 1-yard run for an early 7-0 lead.

The Tigers’ second series gained positive yardage but not a first down and ended quickly with a punt.

Triton Central’s defense dug in for its second series and forced the Braves’ first punt of the game.

Then the running game finally came to life for the Tigers who gashed the Indian Creek defense with a steady dose of runs from Brown and Cooper Marlin (photo). Brown secured the final five yards on a pair of runs and a touchdown to tie the game early in the second quarter.

“We were trying to run our regular offense without our regular people,” said Able of the early struggles. “When you play a running quarterback, it’s 11 on 11. When you play a quarterback handing it off and not running, it’s 10 on 11.”

Indian Creek got a long run from Drew Pingleton to get into the red zone but the drive stalled from there and Triton Central shut down Pingleton for a 2-yard loss on a fourth-down run.

The Braves had a chance to get to halftime tied but an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the Tigers past midfield and set up Brown to do something he hasn’t done – complete a pass.

Henry Kemper (photo) hauled it in for a 34-yard completion that moved Triton Central to the Indian Creek 13. Two plays later, Brown completed his second pass – 10 yards to the corner of the end zone – to fellow Friday night quarterback Conner McClure.

Indian Creek opened the third quarter with a 98-yard scoring drive that ended with Pingleton getting a 32-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

Triton Central’s defense was dominant from there.

Marlin intercepted a Clark pass to end the next drive. Then the Braves had a bad snap on a punt attempt that resulted in Clark trying to complete a pass downfield that failed.

Triton Central took over at the Indian Creek 14 and settled for a Nick Tormoehlen (photo) 27-yard field goal – his third game-winning kick of the season – and the lead 17-14.

The Tigers stuffed the next drive and forced a punt that gave Triton Central the ball with exactly three minutes on the clock.

“Our defense was stellar. It always is,” said Able. “They always find a way to make the play. They created the turnovers in the second half. Those takeaways were huge. That set everything up for us.”

The Tigers forced Indian Creek to use its final timeout and burned all but 54 seconds off the clock before punting. In the push to block the attempt, an Indian Creek player crashed into Tormoehlen which resulted in a first down that sealed the win.

“The kids were unselfish. They took what we offered to them and ran with it,” said Able. “I am happy for them, but we have to regroup. We can’t over celebrate. We can enjoy it for 24 hours, but we have to come back and be ready because Beech Grove is a talented team and we have to play at their place.”

If Triton Central defeats Beech Grove (2-5, 1-2 HLC) next Friday, it will secure outright the first HLC title.

Class 3A, No. 8 Tri-West defeated Monrovia, 42-6, Friday to stay in contention for the title. The Bruins (6-1, 3-1 HLC) finish their conference schedule on Oct. 17 at Beech Grove.