Knox Protects Their Home Field on Senior Night

On a cold, wet, drizzly evening, the Knox Redskins and Triton Trojans came on to Community Field wanting nothing more than to get a Hoosier North Athletic Conference win, and to build momentum heading into the final week of the regular season. Neither Knox coach John Hendryx, nor Triton coach Rodney Younis would allow the weather to be an excuse for their squads.

“We would’ve liked to have thrown a bit more than what we’re probably going to,” Hendryx said prior to the start of the game, “They do a lot of things offensively. We have to get some formations and stuff identified pretty quick”.

“Our kids play hard” said Younis during pregame warmups. “They aren’t going to give up. They’re going to fight to the end and we just have to make sure we’re taking care of the football”.

It was the Trojans who struck first on this cold evening, as Sophomore Gavyn Ness showcased his athleticism on a 40-yard explosion off of a blocked punt, which he recovered and returned for the score with 7:33 left to go in the first quarter. After the 2-point conversion failed, it was the Redskins turn to get the offense going. The ensuing series for Knox went only four plays, which took them sixty-eight yards down the field and into the end zone on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Zac Rose to Braxton Geller. After the failed extra point attempt, the scoreboard showed a tie ball game at 6-6.

The Redskins were not done with their first quarter scoring however. On another 4-play series, the Redskins this time were able to cover forty yards, with the drive ending on the first of Payton Baugh’s three touchdowns on the night, as he punched it in from six yards out with just thirty-two seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Redskins were able to convert the 2-point conversion to give Knox a 14-6 lead.

Just three and a half minutes into the second quarter, it would be Baugh once again finding the end zone, as he capped off a five play, fifty-five yard drive, scoring again from six yards out. The Redskins once again called on Baugh for the 2-point conversion, a responsibility the Junior was more than willing to accept, as he was able to convert on the 2-point try to give Knox a 20-6 lead with 8:32 remaining in the half. The final score of the half came with 4:00 left. As the Trojans lined up to punt from deep in their own territory, an errant snap forced Triton to fall on the ball in their own end zone, giving the Redskins an extra two points, making the score 22-6 in favor of the boys in red, white, and blue.

The third quarter went by with each team able to move the ball with a decent amount of success, but neither team successful in finding the end zone. With the score remaining at 22-6 heading into the 4th quarter, the game still did not feel like it was out of reach for the Trojans, if they could just get a couple of breaks in their favor. The breaks, however, would not come. The Redskins continued to utilize their rushing attack with a steady dose of Payton Baugh and Gunner Wagner. It was Baugh who would put the final exclamation mark on the game, as he found pay dirt for the third time, scoring from seven yards out, on the eighth play of the Redskins’ final scoring drive, to give the final score of 28-6.

Both programs were able to show that they have things moving in the right direction as the post-season continues to inch closer. In this ballgame, the Redskins were able to get much more out of their running game as they were able to run the ball 37 times as a team for 327 yards, while the Trojans had 35 attempts on the ground, but were only able to accumulate 112 yards as a team. Payton Baugh was the leading rusher for Knox as he pounded the ball 16 times for 111 yards and 3 touchdowns. Gunner Wagner added 7 carries for 72 yards as part of a very balanced rushing attack for the Redskins. For the Trojans, it was Hunter McIntyre who carried the load, as he ran the ball 21 times for 47 yards while Gavyn Ness added 4 carries for 37 yards and the lone touchdown of the game for Triton.

Despite the wet conditions on the field, the Trojans were still able to have a decent amount of success in the passing game, as Senior quarterback Connor Pitney went 8-17 passing for 101 yards, with Quinton Amsden pulling in 3 of those passes for 55 yards.

In all, the Trojans ended up with more offensive plays than the Redskins in the ballgame (52-45), but it was the Redskins’ ability to pick up bigger chunks of yardage with their opportunities, as they accumulated 361 total yards compared to the Trojans’ 213.

The Redskins improve to 7-1 on the year, including 5-1 in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference, while the Trojans drop to 2-6 overall, and 1-5 in conference play. The final week of the regular season will see Knox going to Caston, while Triton will be on the road once again, as they head to Pulaski County to take on Winamac. With Sectional play right around the corner, the Redskins and the Trojans both appear to be moving in the right direction!

*Statistical Information In This Article Provided by Knox Statistician Tim Knowlton*