Triton football got their first shutout of the 2021 spring season and their first since 2018, with a 48-0 victory over Washington Park from Racine.

In the victory, junior backup quarterback Sam Lagowski made his third career start as well as throwing his first and second career touchdowns.

After an onslaught of the rushing attack in the first three games, the passing game really showed up in Week 4 with Lagowski going a perfect 7-for-7 on 114 yards and two touchdowns to Braedon Curtin and Aiden Wolfram. Sophomore quarterback Joe Otradovec also got into the game, throwing one pass for a 23-yard touchdown to Max Augustine. 

Will Zellner, Hogan Anderson and Jay Strain also scored touchdowns in the win.

“It was nice to get the ball moving in the air again,” Lagowski said. “We have some great receivers that benefit the team with the ball in their hands.”

The defense not only allowed zero points on the day, but they also scored a touchdown on a pick-six from senior Tim Turek. It was Turek’s first career interception.

The next three weeks of the season will present a tough task, with two long road trips to Eau Claire and Stoughton. For Zellner, next week’s trip to Eau Claire’s Carson Park won’t be his last. This past summer, he committed to UW-Eau Claire to play football.

“I’m very excited to play on my future home turf,” Zellner said. “Playing at Carson Park this spring will be a unique experience for me.”

With their fourth win, the Tritons clinched a winning season. In the past, no one really blinked an eye at that, as it was almost expected. But after last year’s 1-8 campaign, it became even more important to this group, especially the seniors, to make the most of this opportunity they weren’t sure they’d get.

“As a team, we are very happy to have re-established the winning tradition of NDA football,” said the senior running back. “Each week is a grind, but we love it, and we’re doing a great job of sticking together and getting wins.”

The Redeem Team moniker from 2020 camp remains and they’ve proved something about this program: that Notre Dame football is back.