Trojans Avenge Playoff Loss to Triton in Shootout Victory

(KWMN)-

Rushford-Peterson (1-1) defeated the Triton Cobras (1-1) 34-28 in a back-and-forth brawl. The Trojans picked up a gusty victory under their home crowd for the first time this season.

The Cobras fired the first shot with 29-yard touchdown pass from Graden Thomas on a post-route down the middle of the field to Braxton Koss to give Triton a 7-0 lead. Carson Johnson answered the bell with a 45 yard-gain from jet sweep to put the Trojans in enemy territory. Owen Lange finished off the drive with a one-yard touchdown to tie it up 7-7 at the end of the first quarter.

The Trojans started to pick up where they left off in the second. Johnson came out big again with an 18-yard swoop on the Cobras with a spin and dive in the endzone. With a 14-7 lead, Rushford-Peterson were on their heels, with Triton driving to their one-yard line. With less than a minute, a fumbled exchange between Logan and Graden Thomas gave Owen Lange a chance to recover the only turnover in the game and leave the score 14-7.

The fireworks started firing in the third quarter. Graden Thomas found senior receiver Jackson Kraemer for 59-yards to knot it up again. Creighton Hoiness pulled the ball on a dive from Owen Lange to walk into the endzone to regain the lead 21-14. The next play from scrimmage, a 83-yard strike for Braxton Koss, who finished with 140 receiving yards on the night.

Jaxon Johnson ran an outside run to the pilon for a 9-yard touchdown in the fourth to give the Trojans a 27-21. Thanks to a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Rushford-Peterson would not convert on the two-point conversion. Carson Johnson would seal the game with a 35-yard scamper 34-21. He would go on to finish the game 17 carries, 256 yards, and two touchdowns. A Koss 50-yard score and failed onside kick would conclude the first victory of the season for the Trojans.