BOURBON, IN. - Early on it was like a punching match. LaVille would jab, Triton would counter, LaVille would hook, Triton would counter. Then came LaVille's big body blows and the uppercut that ultimately came with the knockout punch as the Lancers left Triton with a 56-14 HNAC victory. LaVille improved to 2-0, 1-0 in the HNAC. Triton evened out 1-1, 0-1 in the HNAC. LaVille's defense set the tone early, forcing Triton to punt following nine plays and almost five minutes off the clock. A 59-yard punt by the Trojans, including a friendly bounce that rolled back to the LaVille 10 would put the Lakeville visitors 90 yards from paydirt. But the Lancers adjusted their helmets and went right to work. An array of ball carriers muscled their way through the holes created by LaVille's offensive line to move the ball down the field. A steady diet of Noah Richhart, Lucas Plummer, Owen Smith, and Paul DeWitt chewed up precious real estate for the LaVille offense to power its way into Triton Territory. On the 11th play of the drive, DeWitt hustled his way for a 16-yard touchdown run. Plummer added the point-after to put the Lancers up 7-0. "Our first drive was huge for us," said LaVille head football coach Will Hostrawser. "We methodically moved the ball down the field obtaining a lot of information as we went. We felt we could win up front on offense and run several different inside plays. Our guys did a nice job marching down the field and punching it in. I think that drive set up the rest of the game for us." After another Trojan punt, LaVille's offense went to work again. The big play was a tough body shot as Plummer found Smith open for a 43-yard pass play and first-and-goal at the six. Three plays later Plummer would call his own number, pick up nice blocks from the left side of the LaVille line and go untouched into the end zone for a 9-yard TD run. Plummer booted the second of seven PATs on the night to put the Lancers up 14-0. Triton, however, fought back. The Trojans countered on two straight possessions to tie the score at 14-14 right before halftime. Triton standout Anthony Schuh showed why he is one of the brightest talents in the HNAC with a solid 69-yard run as THS closed to within 14-6. The PAT was blocked. The Triton defense got the ball right back after forcing LaVille's offense to the sidelines on downs. This time, it was an 8-play drive that helped tie the score. Two big third down conversions helped the Triton cause. The first was a big 16-yard run by Schuh on third-and-five. Then a 13-yard scramble by Triton quarterback Cole Shively put the Trojans at the LaVille one. On the eighth play of the drive, Shively scored on a QB sneak. Shively also hustled his way around the left side and dove to the pylon for the 2-point conversion and knotted the score at 14-all. "Triton knocked us on our heels during their second TD drive," said the LaVille skipper. "Our defensive communication broke down and we were not aligning properly according to our plan. We started guessing instead of trusting the scheme and as a result we played slower. When that happens, nothing good comes of it. At halftime, we simply regrouped defensively, re-emphasized our plan, tweaked a few things and encouraged them to play harder for the last 24 minutes." LaVille would jab again, getting the ball with 1:38 left before half at their own 35. Plummer calmly led LaVille down the field, highlighted by a 44-yard pass play to Collin Czarnecki to put the ball at the four. Plummer would call his own number on the next play and, with the help of his offensive line, plunged in from the four to give a 21-14 halftime lead. "One of our weaknesses in the past was the execution of our 2 minute offense," explained Hostrawser. "This year, we work on it regularly each week so when the situation arises, our team is better prepared to execute. A 2 minute offense needs a lot of communication and fast crisp execution. Our offense did a nice job doing both and we got the result we were after. The pass play we ran that Plummer hit Czarnecki, Coach Bogunia and our skilled guys put in extra time after a practice this past week to put it in and practice it." The third quarter would prove to be the crucial round in this punching match. LaVille would score four pivotal touchdowns to throw the ultimate knockout punch. Plummer started the series of body blows with a 40-yard touchdown strike to Smith. After a Triton punt, DeWitt finished off a 71-yard drive with a 34-yard run. Then, after the Trojans fumbled the kick-off, Plummer landed another body shot with a quick 41-yard TD pass to Smith. LaVille would benefit from a blocked punt by Collin Allen and land at the Triton 3-yard line. DeWitt would land the knockout punch by working his way into the end zone from the three and a 49-14 lead. "I thought the whole thing started when we ran the fake punt and Paul DeWitt and the Triton player both caught the ball and Paul ripped it away from him giving us a crucial 4th down conversion," Hostrawser said of his club. "We scored the next play. I thought that took the air away from Triton for the moment - then our kick-off coverage unit (which was our weakest point last week against Bremen) did a fantastic job all night pinning Triton inside their 20 numerous times - and doing so with some big hits from numerous players - David Mitchell, Dustin Gill, Clay Borton to name a few. "Special teams played such a big part - we blocked a PAT, blocked a punt, recovered an onside kick, converted a fake punt and pinned Triton inside their 20 on all but one of our kick-offs. No one ever notices those plays - but they are all huge and they helped us seize and keep momentum." Triton kept trying to counter to gain some momentum, but were unable to gain any leverage against the LaVille defense. LHS would score one final time with the junior varsity offense. Brayden Schwitz hit David Mitchell from 31 yards for the final score. DeWitt led LaVille's rushing attack with 112 yards on 14 carries. Plummer finished 6-of-7 for 179 yards and two touchdown passes to Smith. "Owen Smith was huge on both sides of the ball," said Hostrawser. "Lucas Plummer really shined on both the offense and special teams units. Our guys in the trenches also played very well again this week - I thought their pass blocking was the best it has been to this point. Finally, Xzavian LaFave did a lot of little things on offense and defense - making key blocks on offense and key tackles on defense. When asked what impressed him the most, Hostrawser said, "Executing the 2 minute offense at the end first half and our ability to regroup without panicking at halftime then coming out and playing to our abilities the second half." Schuh led the Triton offense with 145 yards on 15 carries. The Lancer defense was led by Xzavian LaFave with six tackles, Richhart and Justin Brown five, and Smith four. Cody Allen and Brown had fumble recoveries for the LHS defense. LAVILLE 56, TRITON 14 LaVille 7 14 28 7 – 56 Triton 0 14 0 0 – 14 Scoring Summary LV – Paul DeWitt 16 run; Lucas Plummer kick LV – Plummer 7 run; Plummer kick T – Anthony Schuh 69 run; kick blocked T – Cole Shively 1 run; Shively run LV – Plummer 4 run; Plummer kick LV – Owen Smith 40 pass from Plummer; Plummer kick LV – DeWitt 34 run; Plummer kick LV – Smith 41 pass from Plummer; Plummer kick LV – DeWitt 3 run; Plummer kick LV – David Mitchell 31 pass from Brayden Schwitz; Brandon Nettrouer kick LV T First Downs 17 12 Yards Rushing 213 230 Comp-Att-Int 7-9-0 5-8-0 Yards Passing 210 23 Punts-Avg 0-0 3-38 Fumbles-Lost 0-0 7-2 Penalties 2-30 4-37