Hawks defeat Southern Lee at Homecoming, 27-7

Triton used an open date before its Homecoming on Friday night to get caught up on missed practice time and the Hawks defeated Southern Lee, 27-7, for their first win of the pandemic-adjusted season.

“We used it as an opportunity to get back to fundamentals,” said Triton alumnus and coach Ben Penny “We went over alignment tackling and things that we just missed by speeding up and hurrying to play. I felt like we got the missed practice time back this week.”

The Hawks weren’t able to scrimmage before the season due to COVID protocols.

Triton had not beaten the Cavaliers since 2013 but got its scoring started with a 51-yard run by quarterback J.P. Petoletti.

Freshman Javon Cowan had a pair of interceptions for the Hawks. His 25-yard pick six accounted for Triton’s second TD.

A 41-yard touchdown run by Malachi Batts helped the Hawks to a 19-7 lead at halftime.

Batts scored again on a 1-yard run.

A bad snap by the Cavaliers resulted in a safety for Triton’s final points.

The Hawks had 325 rushing yards with Batts gaining 89 yards on 11 carries. Kyle Dunkins had 17 carries for 72 yards. Petoletti’s nine keepers produced 70 yards. Cowan also ran nine times for 70 yards.

Petoletti completed two of three passes for 47 yards with Ramsey Jones making both catches.

“Very proud of these guys,” Penny said. “It was a very emotional win.”