Gordon: Titans’ defense must control Carrington’s backs

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The Dickinson Trinity football team knows Carrington is going to try and win tonight’s Class 2A, West Region football game on the ground.

Titans head coach Randy Gordon said the key to stopping the No. 3-ranked Cardinals is the doing exactly what they did during a 32-0 season-opening shutout victory over Killdeer.

“We definitely have to stop their ground game,” Gordon said. “We’ve got stop that part and be good tacklers. Defensively, we’ve got to be disciplined and stop our ground game. We can’t let those guys get away from us.”

Last season, Trinity lost at home to the Cardinals 27-21 in overtime. In that game, Carrington tailback Seth Abaurrea — then a freshman — rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown.

The Titans don’t have to contend only with Abaurrea though. He’s one of three Carrington running backs who shredded Trinity for 272 yards last season.

Senior Casey Murphy rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns in Carrington’s 28-22 season-opening win over Griggs-Barnes County last Friday. Senior fullback Austin Schuldheisz had a pair of rushing TDs against the Titans last year.

“They pretty much just run it right at you,” Trinity senior lineman Jesse Kubik said. “If you keep contain and keep them inside, I think we’ll be alright with them.”

The Titans (1-1) are trying to bounce back from a 28-18 nonconference loss they suffered against Valley City last Friday. The Hi-Liners had a 14-0 lead before Trinity could get anything going offensively.

“We’ve got to be physical,” Trinity senior tight end and linebacker Isiah Binstock said. “We’ve got to know our jobs, know what we’re supposed to do and know where the ball is. Losing last week is definitely going to pump us up to win this one.”

Gordon said Trinity’s defense just wasn’t the same as it had been against Killdeer.

“We didn’t see that pursuit defense, we didn’t see the excitement, the hustle, in different areas,” Gordon said. “In Killdeer, one area shined and in Valley City, it didn’t.”

Offensively, Trinity is still trying to find an effective balance between its ground and air threats.

Senior quarterback Ben Gordon has thrown for 265 yards and six touchdowns to three different receivers while rushing for 84 yards.

In the backfield, seniors Brendin Steiner and Mason Heth have shouldered the load, but neither was consistently effective in both games.

“We just want to be disciplined and mentally ready to give them a good shot, and I think we can,” Randy Gordon said.

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