Triad drubs Civic Memorial 51-6 for playoff eligibility
Tashon Crockarell races upfield after a reception against Civic Memorial. (Photos by Anthony Jones)
By Anthony Jones
Triad’s most recent football outing proved to be their most dominant of the season.
The Knights, who thrashed Civic Memorial 51-6, improved to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in Mississippi Valley Conference play. Those respective records secured playoff eligibility and second place in conference for Triad.
Most of the Knight scoring came in the first quarter, when they outscored the visitors 30-0. The Eagle offense was also held without a single first down in the opening period.
Triad’s first points came off a two-play drive that started with a 27-yard pass to Tashon Crockarell and a 25-yard scoring rush from Colin Qualls. A Cory Warren extra point extended their lead to 7-0 with 9:53 remaining in the quarter.
Their next score came just over two minutes later with a slower paced 67-yard drive downfield. Quarterback Isaac Ackerman capped off the scoring march with a 28-yard keeper.
Isaac Ackerman races forward versus the Eagles.
Civic Memorial’s next drive ended with a snap over the quarterback’s head for a safety, extending the Knight lead to 16-0.
On the ensuing safety punt, Qualls returned the ball 60 yards for his second score of the evening. Warren, who would finish perfect on the night, converted the following extra point.
Triad’s final score of the first quarter required just a 55-yard trip downfield. This drive, resulting in their fourth touchdown, ended with an 18-yard pass from Ackerman to Ian Dempsey.
Dempsey provided the game’s next score, racking up 54 more yards on a scoring reception. He finished the night with 72 yards and two scores on just two catches.
The finishing touches on their first half domination came in the form of a 54-yard scoring catch from Louis Yohannes and a 33-yard tout from Qualls. Quall’s score upped his season total to 15 through just eight games.
Colin Qualls returns a punt for a touchdown, one of three by the senior in week eight.
Those late scores would push Triad ahead 51-0 at halftime.
Civic Memorial’s lone score of the affair came off a 44-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes remaining. Their 51-6 defeat dropped them to 2-5 on the year.
The matchup also served as senior night for Triad.
“They’ve been through so much. They had a new coach hired in January and they bought in. They really worked hard in the summer to learn the new system. We’ve had good days and bad days, and tonight was a good day,” Coach Calvin Potthast spoke of his first senior class.
Next week, the Knights will close out their regular season with a road game against Collinsville. The Kahoks hold a 5-3 record of their own headed into that matchup.
Coach Potthast spoke highly of their upcoming foe, “They’re super athletic. They’re big, they’re physical and they’re the real deal. We’re going to have to play an excellent football game to compete with them.”
Under the IHSA’s playoff system, both teams are playoff eligible on the basis of having five wins. However, both squads will play for the chance to earn the automatic qualification and the outside chance of hosting a round one game that comes with reaching six victories.
The 256 playoff teams to reach the postseason, which will be announced on the evening of Oct. 21, are selected using a fairly straightforward process.
As aforementioned, all teams that win six or more games will automatically qualify. Most conferences with at least six schools also have an automatic bid for their champion.
As it currently stands, 149 of the 256 slots have been guaranteed to schools.
The rest of the field is filled with at-large teams, starting with those with five wins. These teams are sorted based upon the number of games their opponents have won, which the IHSA refers to as “playoff points”.
Collinsville currently has 39 playoff points, which mathematically guarantees them a spot in the postseason even if they finish 5-4. Triad, on the other hand, still finds themselves at some risk of missing the playoffs at 5-4 with 31 playoff points to their name.
Simply put, if Triad loses to Collinsville, they would have two rooting interests to further insure their strong playoff prospects.
The first would be for their previous week opponents to win their week nine contests. Each of those victories would add to Triad’s playoff point total, which would move them higher on the list of at-large teams to qualify.
Secondly, the Knights would generally hope for four-win teams across the state to lose. If less than 36 of the state’s 72 four-win teams add wins, all playoff eligible teams will qualify because they would all be needed to fill the field of 256.
The IHSA will announce playoff teams and brackets Oct. 21, starting at 8 p.m. Their announcement show can be streamed via the NFHS Network or on St. Louis area television on channel KNLC 24.5.
