Troy outmuscles Rochester for pivotal OAA-Red victory
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TROY — A year ago Troy football coach Gary Griffith felt his team peaked in the first game of the regular season, a 31-7 triumph over Romeo. Perhaps this year’s Colts are taking a different approach.
After dropping its opener to Romeo this season, Troy has now made it two straight convincing wins, thumping visiting Rochester, 31-10, in a key OAA Red Division clash Friday .
The Colts pounded Royal Oak (56-20) last week.
Troy, which missed the playoffs as an at-large team last season by a point, outmuscled Rochester at the line of scrimmage and simply wore the Falcons down, turning a four-point lead after three quarters of play into a 21-point triumph.
“I really felt that last year we didn’t improve much after we beat Romeo. We played a great game against them and didn’t improve as the season went along,” noted Griffith.
Apparently, this year’s players have learned from last year’s miscues.
NO WHERE TO RUN: Troy's Tyler Horne goes in for the tackle on Rochester's Cody Devoe during Friday's OAA Red Division clash. Horne and the Colts dominated the line of scrimmage in a 31-10 victory over the Falcons. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
With the Colts’ front five on the offensive line all intact from last season, including Greg Webber and Tommy Richardson, Troy chewed up a lot of clock and yardage on Rochester, moving the ball almost at will. The main recipient was senior running back Oliver Jiang, who rushed for 190 yards on 29 carries — the latter a career high.
He scored on runs of 5 and 37 yards.
“My offensive line helped me out a lot,” said Jiang. “They got a big push of the ball and opened big holes for me. I just had to make cuts. They deserve the credit.”
The players doing the dirty work in the trenches is the Colts’ strength, according to Griffith.
“We have some big linemen. My guards are 270 (pounds) apiece, both juniors, (who are) Tommy Richardson and Greg Webber,” offered Griffith. “Greg has been with us since his freshman year, so this is his third year starting on the offensive line. This is (Tommy Richardson’s) second year starting, so we’re pretty seasoned up front. With those two big guys we feel we can matchup (with anyone) and then the line starts moving.”
Troy (2-1, 2-0), which now shares the OAA Red Division league lead with Clarkston and Lake Orion, never trailed against Rochester, building a 14-0 advantage midway through the second quarter.
The Colts took the opening drive 65 yards on just six plays, with Jiang racing in for the score from 37 yards out with 8:41 left in the opening frame.
SPINNING THROUGH TRAFFIC: Troy's Oliuver Jiang maneuvers through Rochester'sdefensive line during the Colts' 31-10 triumph. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
On Troy’s third possession, Jiang ended an eight-play drive with a 5-yard jaunt to put the Colts up by 14 with 5:19 to go in the second frame.
The Colts stopped the Falcons inside the 40 twice in the contest, including once inside the 30 on the Falcons’ first drive, and even had an interception.
Rochester (1-2, 0-2) did gain some momentum back late in the first half, as Michael Brighi drilled a 30-yard field goal as time expired at the end of the second quarter.
The Falcons opened up the third period with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that ended with sophomore Demetrius Magee hauling in a 9-yard fade pass in the corner of the end zone from quarterback Jack Glancy.
With Rochester losing three offensive weapons to injury in the first half — Cody Devoe, Manny Mendoiza and TJ Dean — the Falcons struggled to move the ball with any consistency for the second week in a row.
Rochester turned the ball over on downs twice inside Colts’ territory, dropped seven passes and was forced to punt on three other occasions. The glaring weaknesses did not fall short of the eyes Rochester coach Erik Vernon.
“They beat us up front. The same thing that happened last week against Lake Orion,” noted Vernon. “We have to fix some things and get tougher at the line of scrimmage. That’s really where they beat us.”
Meanwhile, Troy closed the game with 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Sean Murphy, who finished 4-for-4 on extra points, converted 21-yard field goal with 11:23 left. Quarterback Justin Losey scored on runs of 8 and 5 yards inside the final eight minutes to drive the nails into Rochester’s coffin.
“This was a huge win for us,” smiled Webber. “They beat us last year and we missed the playoffs. We’re hoping this win will make a difference for us.”
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester, Troy
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