Tigers ferocious second quarter buries Beech Grove in 56-26 victory

FAIRLAND – A dominant second quarter put Triton Central one win away from an Indiana Crossroads Conference championship.

The Tigers scored four touchdowns in the final 10 minutes of the second quarter Friday to overwhelm Beech Grove and cruise to a 56-26 victory. With wins by Triton Central, Monrovia and Indianapolis Lutheran Friday, there is still a three-way tie atop the ICC standings with one week to go in the regular season.

“We’ve been telling the kids every Friday from now on is championship Friday because the championship is on the line,” said Triton Central head coach Tim Able after the win – TC’s third straight.

Triton Central (6-2, 5-1 ICC) scored first and never trailed.

Bo West had two scoring runs in the first quarter and added a third at the start of the second quarter on a career night for the junior. He finished with 147 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Quarterback Sam Collier hit Braden Brown for a 41-yard scoring strike that extended the lead to 28-12. Chase Chandler then took a catch along the sideline and evaded three Hornets to reach the end zone from 42 yards out.

And with 56 seconds left until halftime, Brown broke free and raced 84 yards for a backbreaking touchdown that gave the Tigers a 42-12 lead at halftime. The scoring run was the fifth-longest in program history, matching Jonah Thacker’s 84-yard run against Indianapolis Scecina in 2014.

Brown finished the game with six carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns and six receptions for 113 yards and another touchdown.

“We had some huge holes (to run through) and that was really nice to see for our offensive line and running backs,” said Able.

The Tigers ran for 307 yards against the Hornets and Able felt like that set up the passing game for Collier, who threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns.

“We had a nice mix and a nice balance tonight and that helps us,” said Able. “It all starts with the run game. It sets it up and makes the defense be more wary of the run game and opens up the passing lanes.”

Moore dove into the end zone from the 1-yard line to get Beech Grove its third touchdown of the game. He connected with Saul Hernandez for a 34-yard catch and run that ended in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter.

Collier found Chase Chandler late in the game from 14 yards to complete the scoring.

Triton Central kicker Nick Tormoehlen was a perfect 8-for-8 on extra-point kicks, leaving the junior one short of tying the program record of nine made in a game by Bryan Sullivan in 2008.

“That’s good. That’s really nice,” said Able. “He had to sit out a couple days because he is a soccer player and he was overtraining a little bit. … He did a fine job for us. We need that because every one of those points count.”

Triton Central will host Speedway (4-4, 3-3) next Friday at Mendenhall Field. The Sparkplugs lost Friday to Lutheran, 49-7.