Late field goal nets Triton Central season-opening win at Batesville

Nick Tormoehlen’s 30-yard field goal inside the final minute of the game Friday night propelled Triton Central to an 11-10 season-opening win at Batesville.

Tormoehlen missed a 42-yarder midway through the third quarter that would have extended the Tigers’ lead but did not fail on his second opportunity.

Triton Central’s defense was dominant with the exception of one play – Zadiin Small’s 75-yard touchdown run that ended the first quarter and gave the Bulldogs the lead.

Tormoehlen (photo) helped his team with a 50-yard punt late in the second quarter that pinned Batesville deep in its own end. TC’s defense quickly forced a punt and the Tigers’ final possession of the first half started at the Batesville 37.

Braden Brown finished off a 5-play drive with a 5-yard scoring run with 58 seconds left on the clock. Head coach Tim Able opted to go for two points and trusted Brown once again.

The senior All-State running back got away from the first defender to touch him then busted through at least five more Batesville players to reach the end zone for an 8-7 halftime advantage.

Feeling like the game was going to be a defensive struggle, Able chose to go for the 2-point conversion and trust his defense. That plan almost worked perfectly.

Following Tormoehlen’s field-goal miss in the third quarter, Batesville kicker Brady Wonnell connected on a 44 yarder to put the Bulldogs back in the lead.

Triton Central’s offense struggled with momentum-halting penalties the entire game but put together the game-winning drive when it needed it the most.

Junior quarterback Matthew Wilkins (photo), making his first varsity start, guided a 13-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ran the game clock under a minute.

Wilkins hit Zeke Robertson three times on the possession to get across midfield. Brown turned a short pass into a 13-yard gain. A pair of Bo West runs got the offense to the Batesville 20.

Brown handled the ball on the next two snaps and, following a timeout, Wilkins tried to find Henry Kemper in the end zone but missed, setting up Tormoehlen to finish the drive.

Wilkins finished the game 13-for-19 for 140 yards with an interception.

Brown rushed for 96 yards on 19 carries. Robertson had seven receptions for 71 yards. Six more Tigers each had one reception.

Triton Central now preps for its home opener Friday against Hamilton Heights (0-1). The Huskies lost their season opener to Lapel, 23-7.

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