LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
OAKLAND – Saturday, Sept. 28 marked the halfway point of the season for the Tri-County Titans, who hosted an undefeated Lincoln Prairie Conference opponent: the Nokomis Redskins. The Titans were looking to bounce back from a home loss to Arcola while the the Redskins were coming off of a 55-7 home win against Cerro Gordo-Bement. Nokomis outscored their four opponents 193-30 before Saturday’s contest. With a tough two-game road trip coming up, Tri-County knew that this would be a critical game.
Nokomis put any hopes of an upset to bed early.
A strong powerful running attack by the Redskins, who averaged a little under 394 yards per game going into the game, was on full display, combined with a solid defensive attack which shut out the Titans 51-0 and gave the Titans their third straight loss.
After the Titans went three and out on the first possession, the Redskins didn't waste any time marching down the field and getting a score at the 8:23 mark as Nolan Herpstreith found a hole to go 26 yards for a touchdown. Herpstreith ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0. After another three and out by Tri-County, Nokomis used the ground game again, hitting paydirt with 3:20 left as Daryl Evans punched the ball in from one yard out. The two-point conversion was stopped, making the tally 14-0.
Early in the second quarter, the Redskins went back to Evans at the 10:46 mark with a five-yard touchdown run. Evans ran in the two-point conversion to increase the advantage to 22-0. After the Titans were stopped once again, Nokomis continued to use its backfield. Evans scored his third straight touchdown with 6:21 left on an 18-yard touchdown run. Evans ran the two-point conversion in to make the score 30-0. That score held going into the halftime break.
Early in the third quarter, the Redskins hit the end zone again a fifth time, going back to Evans at the 10:47 mark with a 24-yard touchdown run. Herpstreith ran in the two-point conversion to put the score at 38-0.
After another Tri-County stalled drive, Nokomis continued to pummel the Titan defense on the ground, going back to Herpstreith for a 22-yard touchdown run with 6:47 left. The extra point kick was missed, putting the tally at 44-0 with a running clock. The last score of the contest came with 11:16 left as Garrett Englemann ran the ball in from two yards out. Atticus Bertolino hit the extra point to make the eventual final score 51-0.
The Titans managed only 74 total yards on the day, with Jimmy Dillon toting nine carries for 14 yards. Dillon also had two catches for 15 yards. Myles Watson had six catches for 34 yards. Garrett Pollock went eight of 13 passing for 49 yards and an interception. Watson led the defense with four solo tackles while Donnie Loveall had three solo tackles. This game was a learning experience that Head Coach TJ Blake hopes will provide the team with the tools to adjust and improve on things going forward.
"The biggest thing is hats off to Nokomis," Blake said. "They are a big, physical football team. On the defensive side for us, we were there, we just didn't make the play. We are still tackling a little too high, but it is still an improvement in terms of our tackling. That is something we just got to fix during the week as the season goes on… All we can do at this point is just kind of pick things up as they go and continue just to get better each and every week."
Daryl Evans led the Nokomis attack with 10 carries for 85 yards and four touchdowns as part of 302 total rushing yards for the team on the day. Nolan Herpstreith had eight carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Kadynn Petty was three of six passing for 16 and an interception while adding seven carries for 56 yards.