Camauri McDougald carries for Triton in a 46-0 win over Western Harnett.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Triton’s varsity football team celebrated its Homecoming by winning, 46-0, over visiting All American 3-A/4-A Conference and Harnett County rival Western Harnett on Friday night.
“We challenged them at the beginning of week,” said Triton coach Ben Penny. “We’re not looking past these guys. We know what kind of rivalry this is. Our mode was ‘practice fast, play fast and come out tonight and take care of business.’ And they did that.”
On the night he was named Homecoming King, senior Eligah Holmes had a career night to lead the Hawks (4-3, 3-1 AAC). Holmes ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns on three carries and had a 37-yard touchdown reception.
“That was another point of emphasis: We had to get Eli going,” Penny said. “We know his ability and we know what he can do. He’s been struggling the last couple of weeks and tonight he was seeing the hole and he was making the right cuts. He got better doing the things he had been struggling with and we’re pleased to see that and very proud of him.”
Camauri McDougald ran for 66 yards and a touchdown on six carries. A.J. Dewar ran for 43 yards and a touchdown on eight carries. Jalen Evans completed one pass for 37 yards and a touchdown and ran for 41 yards and a touchdown on two carries. Malichi Harris-Daye ran for 40 yards on five carries. J.J. Cowan ran for 35 yards and a touchdown. Shyheim Cooke ran for 18 yards on two carries.
Triton’s defense held the Eagles (0-7, 0-4) to just 62 total yards of offense.
“Proud of them,” Penny said. “We’ve gotten better defensively since the beginning of the year. Coach (Cameron) Bailliez is doing a great job with those guys. Right now they’re playing at a high level and hopefully they’re going to be able to continue to do that.”
Senior Trent Botts completed 7-of-18 passes for 49 yards, with one interception and sophomore Carlos Caraballo had five receptions for 47 yards to lead the Eagles.
Eli Diaz-Avalos ran for 13 yards on six carries and had a two-yard reception. J.J. Moore ran for 10 yards on four carries. Jaylen Baldwin ran for five yards on three carries.
The game’s opening drive saw Cowan intercept a pass on defense and convert that into points when he scored on a three-yard run. That started the barrage of Triton’s 46 unanswered points.
Triton travels to conference leader Pine Forest (5-2, 4-0) and Western Harnett is at conference foe E.E. Smith (1-6, 0-4) on Friday.
J.J. Moore looks for running room for the Eagles.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
J.J. Cowan (5) runs the ball for the Hawks on Friday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Eligah Holmes is in the clear on a 43-yard touchdown run.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Joshua Degraffenreid (53) gets a sack for the Hawks.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Myke McNeill (70) records a sack on Friday night.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Western Harnett quarterback Trent Botts delivers a pass.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
