BOURBON — Second verse, same as the first. Sort of.

The second installment of Triton versus Caston had a very similar outcome to the conference rivals’ first meeting back in Week 3, but the Trojans took a little different route getting there. Instead of airing it out like it did back on Sept. 1, the home team piled up 236 yards on the ground on the way to their Sectional 41-opening win.

The end result was the same as the Trojans rolled to a 42-13 win that was probably even more lopsided than the final score suggested.

“I think it’s important to try and get as many of our guys involved. We have a lot of talented people on the team,” said Triton coach Ron Brown. “We can run it; we can pass it. We just have to make good decisions. When we do that we come out on the positive end.”

Quarterback Bo Snyder threw 30 passes on his way to 232 yards and four touchdowns in Triton’s previous meeting with the Comets but connected on six of just 15 attempts for 96 yards and a score Friday. Instead, the Trojans used a three-back attack splitting runs between Snyder, Max Slusser and Ethan Berry to do their damage.

Berry put his team on the board with a 59-yard ramble on a fake kickoff on fourth and long from the Triton 41 at the 7:23 stop of the first period and finished the night with 75 yards in only four carries. Backfield mate Slusser needed just nine touches to reach 111 yards and four scores — the first a 6-yarder around the right side at the 3:15 stop of the first that gave the Trojans (7-3) their first lead of the night at 12-7 and the longest a 32-yard run on the first play of the second stanza that pushed the home team to a 20-7 advantage just 10 seconds into the quarter.

“We thought that they would allow us to throw the ball more by packing the box, and they didn’t so we took what they gave us,” explained Brown of his team’s run game against Caston (1-9).

“It’s a great problem to have to not know who to give the ball to. It’s great having (Berry and Slusser) on the team.”

Slusser had already earned a hat trick by halftime when he found pay dirt on an 18-yard run up the Triton sideline with 1:06 remaining before the break. Berry’s 61-yard punt return set the Trojan offense up with a short field at the start of the second half, and Slusser converted the opportunity just three plays later on a 15-yard run as Triton ballooned its lead out to 36-7 at the 10:53 stop of the third quarter. Alongside his 111-yard, four-score running performance, Slusser also led the Trojan receiving corps with two catches totaling 46 yards.

“Max is a senior. He has great leadership. He drives his legs hard. He’s looking to go to a few places; we took some visits,” said Brown. “He’s a great kid, and he plays a big role for us in the secondary also.”

“It felt good, but I always want to give it up to the O line. They did a good job tonight blocking and just made it all work together,” said Slusser of his career-high four touchdowns.

Fall Break and a car accident involving three of the Trojans provided some distractions heading into Friday’s game.

The accident left kicker Brandon Lenker sidelined and limited receiver Delano Shumpert — although he did finish with two catches and Triton’s only receiving touchdown of the night, a 20-yard catch and carry on a shovel pass midway through the third period — while two-way lineman Billy Smith was unharmed despite taking the brunt of the impact. It was a scare for the Trojans and an all-too familiar situation after junior Cameron Scarberry was killed in a car accident on Sept. 17 in a tragedy that shook the Bourbon community.

Lenker’s absence left Triton without a PAT kicker, and the Trojans were forced to go for two on each of their six touchdowns, converting half those on Snyder passes to Drew Stichter and Shumpert and a run by Berry.

“This week was tough. We had all sorts of distractions. We had three of our players get T boned on the highway,” said Brown. “That’s why we were going for two all the time. Concentration was a factor early on, but I think once they got comfortable after the first series, they started to reel things in, and they did their job.”

Triton was whistled for a false start on the opening kickoff and the ensuing kickoff sailed out of bounds, setting Caston up with a short field on its first possession of the night. The Comets took the initial lead with a seven-play, 60-yard drive capped off by Brandon Kinser’s 13-yard connection to Gavin Hickle and Myles McDonald’s point-after kick. But the Trojans struck back a little more than a minute later on Berry’s long run, and the Triton defensive unit held Caston scoreless until Kasey Ault scored on a 3-yard run up the middle with the reserves already on the field with only 3:43 left to play.

“Like I’ve said all year, all the teams in our conference are pretty good. Just because the record may not indicate that they’re going to battle, Caston came here and they battled for that first quarter,” Brown said. “Unfortunately, their numbers played a factor and then our endurance was able to take over. We rotated a bunch of guys in on our defensive line, and that was an advantage to us. I’m glad we were able to do that.”

Friday’s victory pushed Triton out to seven wins — as many wins as the program tallied over the past three seasons combined — as the Trojans head into another rematch with a Winamac team it beat by a convincing 36-19 margin on the road Oct. 13. Triton plays host to the Warriors this time around with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. once more.

“It feels great. This is the best start we’ve had in I don’t know how long, over 40 years. It feels good, and we’re just ready to move on next week,” said Slusser.

“I always want to play the people in the uniforms, not the team and not past history. If we went by past history we wouldn’t have any wins this year, would we?” Brown said. “I think it was alright. I think we need to get a lot better if we’re going to go in and hope to beat a Winamac team a second time. That’s going to be a tall task.”