Knights Fall In 29-10 Contest Against Undefeated Braves

By Anthony Jones, Reporter

Triad’s football team lost their third straight game this past week in their regular season finale against the Mt.Zion Braves. The loss drops the team to 6-3 on the season. Their first round playoff game will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Marion.

The Knights started their game off last Friday evening by kicking the ball off to Mt.Zion. The home team quickly moved deep into Triad territory with a deep pass to the Triad 16  yard line. They scored a 14 yard touchdown shortly afterwards and followed it up with a successful two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead.

Triad managed to return the ensuing kickoff out to their own 32 yard line to have solid starting field position, but they could not capitalize as they lost a fumble to Mt.Zion. This set their foes up at their own 42 yard line. However, a Geno Riggar interception a short while later gave Triad the ball back.

The visiting squad moved the ball 94 yards over the next four minutes for a touchdown. The score came from Logan Wongler on a one yard rush after a lengthy rush by Amaziah Lusk put Triad near the goal line. A Travis Speer extra point put the Knights down 8-7.

Triad’s defensive unit quickly gave the ball back to their offense by forcing the Braves to punt after a short drive. The offense drove down to the Brave’s 5 yard line as the first quarter ended and Speer kicked a 21 yard field goal to start the next quarter. He followed it up by delivering a touchback on the subsequent kickoff.

Mt. Zion responded to falling behind with yet another lengthy scoring drive. They took 6 minutes and ended with a 1 yard rushing touchdown. Triad managed to block the extra point try to keep the deficit to 14-10.

The Braves carried their momentum into their next defensive drive, where they forced the Knights to punt quickly. Mt.Zion’s offense was threatening but an Andrew Gula sack pushed them back and ultimately forced them to punt. Triad elected to run out the remaining time in the half on the following drive.

Triad received the opening kickoff in the second half but were unable to capitalize, so they punted the ball back to their opponent’s. The home squad had great starting field position at their own 48 yard, but their drive was ended after Riggar forced a fumble that Thomas Walsh recovered at mid-field. Unfortunately for the Knights, they had a fumble shortly afterwards that the Braves recovered.

Triad’s defense stood tout and forced the Braves into a fourth down at their own 29 yard line, where they boldly went for it and converted. The Knights would get the ball soon enough however, as an Anthony LaRue interception set them up on the home side of the field. Offensively, the visitors could not take advantage of the possession and turned the ball over on downs at their foe’s 24 yard line.

The first points of the half were scored by the Braves on an 81 yard touchdown scamper. An extra point added on afterwards put the home squad up 21-10. On the ensuing kickoff, Triad committed a penalty and was forced to start at their own 7 yard line. The clock ran out in the third quarter before that drive could end.

Triad’s offense was on the field for the next 8 minutes of the game. They ended up deep into Mt.Zion territory and were held to a field goal attempt. This attempt was blocked and recovered by the Braves who ran it back to their own 45 yard line.

The visiting’s defense forced a quick stop by making the Braves punt. That drive ended unsuccessfully as the Knights threw an interception that was returned back to their own 11 yard line. Another Mt.Zion was scored from there to take a 27-10 lead.

The Braves elected to go for a two point try afterwards, which they converted.

Triad started the following drive at their own 35 yard line. They made several quality plays to move into their opponent’s territory, but ended up fumbling the ball away again.

The Braves ran out the clock on the game during the next drive to maintain their 29-10 lead.

The loss drops the Knights to 6-3 on the season. All three of their losses have come against teams that have qualified for the playoffs. Triad will look to rebound next week in a playoff contest where they visit Marion.