Oregon Lightning Keep Playoff Hopes Alive, Defeat Tritons 40-24

The Corpus Christi Tritons and the Oregon Lightning faced off in a battle that was pivotal in the playoff race. Both teams needed a win to avoid being eliminated from the playoff race, and they left everything out on the field. Both teams battled it out on Sunday night on Evergreen Now TV.  

Early Defensive Battle

This game started as a defensive battle, with only 30 points scored in the first half. The scoring got started by the Tritons as Fred Payton Jr. rushed for two yards. Oregon took over afterwards, and the Tritons' defense held strong.

These two teams took turns turning the ball over on downs in a back-and-forth defensive battle. A defensive battle isn’t something you normally see in the AF1, but we definitely got that, especially in the first quarter.

Oregon got on the board with Dalton Cole rushing for a two-yard touchdown early in the second to tie the game up. Fred Payton Jr. threw a touchdown pass to Richy Anderson to take a 12-6 lead. He also hit Quintavius Workman for a touchdown.

Workman lived up to his name, being a workman for this team by leading the team in receiving in the first half. For Oregon, Kris Lewis caught a pass from Dalton Cole as well. The game went into the half at 18-12, the Tritons hanging on to a small lead.

Oregon's Second Half

Oregon came out moving the ball quickly in the second half, moving into an up-tempo offense and moving the ball down the field. They had more first downs on their first drive than they did in all of the first quarter.

Maurice Ashley got involved in both the receiving and running game in the first plays. Dalton Cole also looked to get the team fired up after hurdling a Tritons’ defender to get a first down. The play put the Lightning in a down-and-goal situation. They followed that play with a touchdown pass from Cole to Ashley. The Lightning went for two and got it to take a 20-18 lead.

The rest of the third quarter was more of a defensive battle, and the touchdown pass to Ashley remained the quarter’s only score. However, the fourth quarter started with the Lightning keeping the momentum. Dalton Cole ran for a touchdown a minute into the fourth quarter. Another two-point conversion gave the Lightning a 28-18 lead.

The Tritons moved to a no-huddle offense to get some momentum back in the game. Fred Payton hit Richy Anderson Jr. for a nice pass to start the Tritons’ shift. A couple of receiver drops slowed their momentum down as they made their way towards the end zone.

However, Payton hit Richy Anderson again for a touchdown on an excellent catch. Anderson maintained possession after taking a bit hit. Due to the kickers struggling all game, the Tritons went for two, but unfortunately did not convert. The game remained 28-24, the Lightning in the lead.

The Lightning seemingly found their stride, as Cole flipped the field with a long pass to Marquis Sampson. Cole then hit Ollie for a touchdown. The possession only took a minute and seven seconds to get down the field and score the touchdown. This game went from a defensive battle to a back-and-forth scoring battle at times, as the defenses tired.

Oregon had taken a ten-point lead with eight and a half minutes left in the game. However, the Tritons weren’t done yet. They drove down the field and got inside the ten-yard line, but the drive stalled, and the Lightning held strong.

With less than a minute left in the game, the Oregon Lightning took over on downs. They handed the ball off to Maurice Ashley to seemingly run the clock out, and he broke through the middle of the defense for a touchdown to extend their lead to 40-24.

Next Up

Next week, the Corpus Christi Tritons hit the road to face the Nashville Kats. The Oregon Lightning will have a home game against the Billings Outlaws in a true win-or-go-home game, with the winner getting a ticket to the playoffs.