Triton shuts down Warriors
By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on October 23, 2011 12:49 PM
Two big plays.
One turnover.
That's all that prevented Triton from avoiding Eastern Wayne's ambush on a chilly Friday evening at Little Big Horn. Dedrick Stacker rushed for two touchdowns and the Hawks' defense logged its third shutout of the season in a 22-0 victory in Eastern Carolina 3-A Conference action.
Triton (8-1 overall, 5-0 ECC) entertains South Johnston for the regular-season championship Friday. The Warriors (2-7, 2-3) conclude regular-season play at North Lenoir.
Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. for both games.
The Warrior defense forced the Hawks to punt on their first four possessions, but suffered two costly breakdowns during the final six minutes before intermission.
Brandon McLean's 45-yard gallop set up Todd Penny's 6-yard dive with 5:12 left in the quarter. On the Hawks' next possession, Dedrick Stacker muscled through the defense for a 57-yard run, and capped the 73-second drive with an 11-yard scoring run.
Stacker led all rushers with 89 yards on 16 carries.
"We had two guys out of place on the reverses, but other than that the defense stood tall all night," said Eastern Wayne head coach Guy "Bubba" Williams. "I think they've gotten progressively better all year."
A turnover inside the Warriors' 25-yard line set up Stacker's second TD run of the evening in the fourth quarter.
Eastern Wayne, however, struggled on offense.
The Warriors successfully converted just 2 of 13 third-down plays and never ventured into the Hawks' red zone. Triton's defense permitted just 52 yards of total offense in the second half and 195 for the game.
"I think a lot of it was more what Triton was doing to us," said Williams. "We couldn't get anyone into space ... Tykwan (Days) or our other guys. They were bigger up front than us and we knew that going into the game. They prevented us from getting out on the corners.
"We'd have a decent play, then come back and self destruct on the next play by getting in a second-and-long or third-and-long. You can't do those types of things against good teams."
Days accounted for 148 of the Warriors' offensive output. The senior grinded out 63 yards on nine carries, and hauled in three passes for 85 yards. Quarterback Jake Wiser completed four passes for 96 yards, including an 11-yard strike to Javon Darden late in the second half.