Triway dominates passing game, hands Warriors 26-7 loss

By Carol McIntire, Editor

Carrollton Coach Storm Hill made no excuses for his Warriors after they lost a non-league contest to Triway Friday at Community Field.

“I liked our game plan, but I think we just missed some opportunities,” Hill said after team suffered a 26-7 loss to the Titans.

“I have to make sure we are better prepared whenever they do certain things on the field to make plays.”

Where Carrollton found success on the ground, Triway found it through the air as the Warriors had no answer for the slant crossing patterns and quick receivers of the Titans.

Quarterback Luke Starr connected on 18 of 29 pass attempts for 324 yards and three touchdowns. He threw one interception. Receiver Olley Krupp was his favorite target. Krupp pulled in six passes for 127 yards and one touchdown. Bruin Flinner was on the receiving end of four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Brody Flinner caught one pass for an 18-yard score.

The Warriors, meanwhile, found their success on the ground.

Sophomore Levi Kiko was the work horse in the backfield. He carried the ball 25 times for 150 yards and scored the Warriors’ lone touchdown.

The Titans held the Warriors in check through the air, while the Warriors stymied the Titans ground game.

Through the air, Carrollton quarterback Jacob Whitmore completed six of 17 pass attempts for 59 yards and one interception.

Triway gained 50 yards on the ground with 21 carries.

All the statistics came after the game was delayed for an hour due to lightning. Less than three minutes into the contest, a heavy rain moved in, and lightning could be seen in the distance.

When the game resumed at 8:14 p.m., Carrollton had the ball on the Triway 40-yard line. The offense picked up where it left off. With Whitmore taking the snap and Kiko carrying the ball, they marched to the Titans’ 10-yard line. On a fourth-and-one call on the 10-yard line, the officials called for the sideline crew to bring in the sticks. The ball was just shy of the mark to gain, and the Titans took over.   

The two teams exchanged possessions before, on the next Triway possession, Starr dropped back to pass, was flushed from the pocket and threw a pass that was intercepted by Carrollton senior Ryder Varansky to set the Warriors up on the visitors 37-yard line.

On the second play of the drive, which opened the second quarter, Triway sophomore Brandt Clippinger caught a tipped pass for an interception. Starr found Krupp crossing under Carrollton’s second layer of defense for a 45-yard score with just over a minute off the second quarter clock (10:57).

Triway found the end zone again midway through the quarter when Starr’s number was called in the huddle, and he scampered into the end zone from seven yards out. The 2-point conversion failed. Triway led 12-0 at intermission.

Carrollton put the only points of the third quarter on the board when Kiko broke loose for a 37-yard run at the 4:30 mark. Paycen Havens added the extra point to cut the lead to 12-7.

Triway added two scores in the fourth quarter, a 74-yard pass from Starr to Bruin Flinner12-seconds into the period, and on an 18-yard pass to Brody Flinner with 4:24 remaining in the contest. Starr and Brody Flinner connected on the 2-point conversion pass of the first fourth-quarter touchdown.

Defensively, Dalton Naylor led the Warriors with 10 tackles, one for a loss. Josh Rhiel was credited with five tackles. Varansky also forced a fumble and had a fumble recovery.

Krupp led the Triway defense with 11 tackles and one tackle for loss. Roman Gilbert was credited with three tackles and a sack.

Carrollton hosts Ridgewood Friday at 7 p.m. at Community Field in a non-league matchup.