Redskins Come From Behind On The Road!

In a big Hoosier North Athletic Conference matchup, the Knox Redskins headed to Burbon to take on the Triton Trojans, as teams in Indiana begin to gear up for postseason play. The regular season still proves to have some excitement left in it though, as was the case at Triton High School on Friday!

On a gorgeous night in Bourbon, the socially distanced crowd on both sides of the field were treated to incredible displays of athleticism, both offensively and defensively, as Knox and Triton played an outstanding game. The Redskins would get off to a bit of a slow start, as the Triton Trojans’ defense proved to be too much on the opening drive, forcing the Redskins to punt after picking up just one first down. Triton’s offensive attack would catch the Redskins on their heels, initially, as the balanced attack of the Trojans would keep Knox guessing. Hunter McIntyre along with Anthony Schuh, Trace Schuh and Lucas Cabrera would prove to be a great combination for the Trojans throughout the game. On a first and ten from the Redskins’ thirty yard-line, it would be McIntyre who would get the call for Triton. After the Trojans shifted the strength of their line from the right to the left, the ball would be snapped, with some defenders for Knox still not fully set after the shift, the handoff would be given to McIntyre heading towards the left of the formation. A couple of great kick out blocks by Junior Cameron Fairchild and Senior Jeremiah Farrell, would open up a hole for McIntyre, who made a perfect cut to the inside of the blocks, wove his way through the linebackers, into the secondary, then the end zone for the first score of the ballgame! The Redskins would be able to salvage something from the drive, as they were able to block the extra point attempt, leaving the score at 6-0 with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter.

The second drive of the game for Knox would end the same as the first. The Trojan defense was controlling the line of scrimmage as the Redskins would struggle to move the ball consistently, and getting forced into another punting situation. The Trojans’ momentum would continue to grow on their next series, as they moved the ball steadily down the field, pounding the ball at the Redskin defense. Following a couple of penalties against Triton, the Trojans found themselves in a punting situation giving the ball back to the Redskins with only seconds remaining in the first quarter. Knox would begin to pick up some momentum, as they kept the ball on the ground, relying on a big run by Cade Short to get the Redskins into Triton territory. Once again, the Trojan defense would tighten things up, forcing the Redskins to punt, after it looked as though they were going to be able to find the end zone. Triton would take advantage of their next opportunity. On a fourth down and long situation, the ball would be put in the hands of Freshman quarterback, Cole Shively. The 6’0 155 pound gunslinger would drop back to throw, not interested in merely getting a first down. Shively dropped back, with a strong pocket being formed by his offensive line, the Freshman unleashed a bomb into the back right corner of the end zone, where he found Senior teammate Lucas Cabrera who was able to bring the ball down in bounds for the second Trojan touchdown of the game! After a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Trojans found themselves leading 12-0 with just 2:26 remaining in the first half.

The show was not over though as the Redskins went back on the attack. On the ensuing kickoff, the Trojans would be penalized on a facemark call, giving the ball to the Redskins at their own 35 yard line. On the first play of the drive, Sophomore Cohen Watson would demonstrate that he was ready for the spotlight as the starting varsity quarterback for Knox. Watson would drop back to throw on first and ten. The Trojan defense would apply pressure, forcing Watson out of the pocket, which he seemed to be more than okay with. The Sophomore tucked the ball up, running to the left of the offense, and lowering his shoulder to pick up another couple yards at the end of his first down run. With 45 seconds remaining in the half, the Redskins would find themselves on third down with twenty-five yards to go for the first, in their own territory. Knox would then give the ball to Senior Cade Short who would provide an electrifying run picking up thirty-seven yards and getting out of bounds with thirty-six seconds remaining in the half. The Redskins would pick up another first down, as Watson completed another pass, this time to Kole McIntire, who was able to get out of bounds at the thirty-eight yard line of the Trojans, with eleven seconds remaining. The “Air Watson” attack was not yet done! Cohen would complete another pass to McIntire for one final first down, after which, the Redskins would burn their final timeout with 4.8 seconds remaining in the half and the ball resting at the twenty-four yard line. As the Redskins broke their huddle, they came to the line of scrimmage with three receivers to the left of the formation. Watson dropped back out of the shotgun formation, and unleashed another rocket into the air, looking for McIntire once again. As the ball sailed through the air McIntire would fight through a defender, who would be called for pass interference. The penalty would not matter as the Junior wide receiver for Knox was able to haul in the pass as he went to the ground in the end zone to get Knox on the board for the first time in the game! On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Knox would turn to their Mr. Reliable, Cade Short, who would truck his way into the end zone to make the score 12-8 in favor of Triton as the two teams headed to the locker room at halftime.

Out of the many highlights the two teams provided spectators at the game, none was perhaps bigger, or more surprising, than the first touchdown of the second half. After Knox was able to take the ball down the field, it appeared inevitable they were on the verge of getting into the end zone yet again, as they lined up with the ball around the Triton twenty yard line. The Redskins would attempt to run a sweep play to the left of the formation. The timing, however, would get thrown off, allowing Lucas Cabrera to intercept the lateral attempt by Cade Short, who had temporarily taken over at the quarterback position. The 6’1 185lb linebacker would rumble eighty-four yards down the field to increase the Trojan lead, 18-8, with 2:22 remaining in the third quarter! It would not be the end of the third quarter scoring, however, as Knox would once again shrug off a less than stellar play. On the ensuing kickoff, Senior Payton Baugh would get a great return, as he brought the ball back across midfield, giving Knox the ball at the Trojan forty-eight yard line. Air Watson would waste virtually no time in getting the Redskins back on the board. On the first snap of the drive, the Sophomore would drop back to throw once again, this time looking for Senior Braxton Geller, who had blown past the linebackers and secondary, exploding down the middle of the field, where he hauled in the spiraling pass from Watson, and put his Redskins back in the ball game, following the potential back breaking defensive play by the Trojans, just seconds earlier! The Trojan defense would not lose their focus on the extra point attempt, as they were able to break through the line and block the kick, preserving their lead at 18-14.

The fourth quarter would see the two Hoosier North Athletic Conference teams continuing to go back and forth, with neither team able to take complete control. With about five minutes remaining in the game, the Redskins would take the ball over, after a beautiful punt by Triton and a penalty against Knox, the situation would be first and ten for the Redskins from their own two yard line. Knox would not panic, however, behind a balanced attack, the Redskins would steadily move the ball down the field. The drive would last a duration of fourteen plays, eating up nearly five minutes. One of the biggest plays for the Redskins on the drive would come with 3:30 remaining, as Watson would heave the ball down the field, towards Senior Kenan Collins, who would elevate high in the air to make his lone catch of the game for a pickup of twenty-four yards. The Redskins would continue to move the ball down the field, with the clock still in motion. Still not afraid to go to the air, the Air Watson attack would continue to find open targets, mainly big Kole McIntire, who was able to pull down another timely pass to move the Redskins another twenty yards down the field. After getting the ball inside the twenty yard line, the Redskins would then turn to Cade Short to take control of the offense. Now under center, Head Coach Russ Radtke would continue to call Short’s number. With just under a minute left in the game, Cade would take the snap, and bulldoze his way five yards into the end zone, for the game winning touchdown! Short would not yet be done, as on the two point conversion, he would take the snap from center once again, and find the end zone to give the final score of 22-18 in favor of the Knox Redskins.

The Starke County CO-OP Play of the Game, on WKVI, was Cade Short’s game winning five yard touchdown with forty-seven seconds remaining in the game to give the Redskins their fourth win of the season.

The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game went to Knox quarterback Cohen Watson, who went 8-17 passing for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns, to go along with 7 rushing attempts for 16 yards in his first game as the starting varsity quarterback for the Redskins!

The Redskins improve to 4-4 on the year and 3-2 in Hoosier North Athletic Conference play, while the Trojans drop to 3-4 overall with a 2-3 HNAC record.

Game Statistics

Knox(22): 52 plays, 353 yards (161 rushing, 192 passing) 3 touchdowns

*Carries-Yards-Touchdowns*

Rushing: Cade Short 22-133-1; Payton Baugh 5-19; Cohen Watson 7-16, Gunnar Krause 1-0

*Attempts-Completions-Yards-Touchdowns*

Passing: Cohen Watson 8-17-192-2

*Receptions-Yards-Touchdowns*

Receiving: Kole McIntire 5-95-1; Braxton Geller 2-73-1; Kenan Collins 1-24

Triton(18): 46 plays, 244 yards (182 rushing, 62 passing)

Rushing: Hunter McIntyre 10-70-1; Anthony Schuh 12-55; Lucas Cabrera 6-47; Trace Schuh 4-29; Cole Shively 6-11

Passing: Cole Shively 4-8-62-1

Receiving: Lucas Cabrera 3-57-1; Anthony Schuh 1-5

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