Triton Tops Bishop Eustace on Strength of Stifling Defense

While Timber Creek (6-0) has garnered much of the attention around town for its undefeated start to the season, it might just be time to begin paying attention to sister school and district rival Triton.

The Mustangs (5-1), led by a dominant defensive effort and another stellar night from junior running back Josh Woods, battered Bishop Eustace in a knock-down-drag-out fight that didn’t see either offense cross the opponent's 20-yard line until late in the third quarter.

While both teams struggled to move the ball, the Mustangs capitalized on four Bishop Eustace turnovers to pull away in the fourth quarter.

Woods, who totaled only 30 yards rushing in the first half, broke loose for 83 yards and two scores in the second, providing the only scoring of the night in Triton’s 13-0 win over the Crusaders.

And while Woods’ final stat line wasn’t his best of the season, it may have still been his most impressive given Bishop Eustace came into the showdown holding opponents to an absurd five points per game.

Woods, who was injured last season on field turf against Paul VI, discussed overcoming the obstacle of playing on a relatively unfamiliar surface.

“In the back of my mind, I guess I had the Paul VI game in my head,” he said. “With the way our defense was playing tonight, I knew I needed to come out and make some big plays—I expected to do that.”

Despite Triton’s big finish, neither team established itself offensively for much of the game.

Bishop Eustace ran 28 total plays from scrimmage, but never seriously threatened to score in the first half, while Triton failed to score in three first half drives.

Triton head coach Pete Goetz credited Bishop Eustace’s game plan for slowing up his team’s dynamic attack, but also offered an alternative reason for its slow start.

“I think the bye week disrupted our rhythm a little bit tonight,” he said. They have a terrific defense and it’s not to take anything away from them, but we were just a little bit off tonight.”

Ironically, after the two teams traded five failed possessions to start the third quarter, it was a punt that would finally ignite Triton’s offense.

Brian Keller got off a booming punt into the autumn wind that was mishandled by Bishop Eustace and recovered by Isaiah Baylor at the Bishop Eustace 18-yard line. It marked the first red zone trip for either offense of the night.

From there, the Mustangs needed just four plays to take the lead on a Woods’ 6-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.

After Triton linebacker Dan Bekier forced a fumble on the ensuing possession that was recovered by cornerback Chris Baylor, Woods scored his second touchdown of the evening on an electrifying 33-yard dash that mirrored a Barry Sanders highlight.

Woods dodged and weaved through a stout Crusaders’ defense, making several tacklers miss, and shook off an illegal facemask tackle on his way to the score.

After failing to score for the first 37 minutes of the game, Triton put together two scoring drives in less than two minutes.

With the Crusaders trying to mount a comeback, Baylor, who already had recovered the key fumble on the muffed punt, recorded consecutive sacks to force Bishop Eustace into a fourth and long.

That’s when Crusaders’ quarterback Chris Spellman was picked off by Chris Baylor to seal the Mustangs’ fifth game of the season.

“We didn’t play like it throughout the entire game tonight,” said Goetz, “but I think you can see we have a chance to be a really good team and do something special here.”

Triton will have a chance to improve its playoff position and pick up its sixth win of the year when they host Paul VI at home Friday night.