Week 3 football preview: Caston seeks to bounce back vs. Triton

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Triton (1-0, 0-0 Hoosier North) at Caston (1-1, 0-1), 7 p.m.

After breaking their 29-game losing streak with a win over West Central in their opener, the Caston football team lost to Class 1A, No. 10 North Judson 50-8 last week.

Still, Caston coach Will Porter saw positives in the team’s first-half performance despite trailing 23-8.

“They had a little bit more depth than us,” Porter said. “We were kind of hoping that we could get the ball rolling. We did actually have some positive things go on. The score isn’t as indicative as what it really was. … Hats off to them. They were clearly the better team on that night, but we didn’t really execute well on offense.

“The defense was able to get some stops in the first half and got us the ball back a few times. But offensively, we just struggled.”

Sam Smith ran for 141 yards and a touchdown in the loss, but Caston did not complete a pass.

Landon Shafer and Grant Hickle attempted three passes each against North Judson. Hickle’s three pass attempts came on halfback option plays. Porter, who is in his first year as coach, said the team has emphasized the fundamentals of the triple-option offense he has brought to Caston. He also has emphasized making quicker reads of the opposing defense.

Triton had a bye week last week. They were initially scheduled to play LaVille, but that game was canceled due to coronavirus exposure at LaVille.

Triton beat South Central (Union Mills) 23-20 in their opener on Aug. 21. Senior Hunter McIntyre ran for 106 yards against South Central.

“He’s definitely going to be a concern for us,” Porter said. “We’re going to need to make sure we stop him. I’m looking forward to the Triton game. I think our matchup is better with them than it was with North Judson. … On film it looks like we match up better with Triton.”

Porter also praised Caydin Webb, who might be considered undersized at 150 pounds but who plays the nose guard position on Caston’s three-man defensive front.

Triton won only two games last season, but one of them was a 41-0 win over Caston. Triton has won the last five meetings against the Comets, including sectional games in 2016 and 2017.