BREMEN – Bremen left the door open for a hot minute Friday night. When Triton didn’t respond, the Lions slammed it shut in a 42-0 win at a soggy Don Bunge Field.

The first quarter saw five total turnovers, three by Triton, which resulted in 21 eventual Bremen points. A fumble on the first Triton series had Bremen score on its first play, a 39-yard pass from Matt Box to Grant Klockow. After 48 seconds, Bremen was on the board. A play later, Triton’s James Snyder was picked off, and an 18-yard pass from Box to Damon Young made it 14-0.

The wheels could have completely fell off the Trojan carriage, but Triton forced a pair of Bremen fumbles, the second of which got Triton deep into Bremen territory. But the turnover theme appeared again, as Bremen’s Klockow was in the right place at the right time to pick off Snyder’s pass.

Evan Martin then pulled in a 34-yard pass, setting up a 13-yard pitch and catch from Box to CJ Starr. Game over.

“I told the kids that football comes down to blocking, tackling and not making stupid penalties,” started Triton head coach Ron Brown. “Unfortunately, we didn’t do any of those things well.”

Triton could not move the ball with any effectiveness the entire night. Triton really moved the ball on only two possessions, the opening possession and the drive that ended with the Klockow interception. In all, Triton managed just 49 total yards in the game. Martin had 45 just on one Bremen punt return in the second quarter. Bremen finished with 415 yards, a bulk majority of those in three quarters of play.

Briley Leeper had a five-yard score, Klockow scored on a 13-yard option in the final minute of the first half, and Patrick Lacher scored the game’s only second half touchdown on a three-yard plunge.

Triton (0-4) lost to its third straight ranked opponent with the Lions sitting at No. 8 in the Class 2-A poll, with 1-A No. 3 Pioneer and 1-A No. 10 LaVille also handing the Trojans lopsided losses.

“Football is a special thing because it takes 11 guys to accomplish goals,” Brown stated. “If all 11 aren’t doing things correctly, you’ll fail. And that is a credit to Bremen. They dominated the line. This is the result we got from it.

“I think we have to go back to basic fundamentals. Those are the things we have to get right. When I go to the film tonight, I’m going to see a bunch of arm tackles. See people not finish their blocks. When people don’t do those things, these are the types of results we can expect.”