Quite a rush: Pontiac uses ground game to chew up Troy
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY— How things can change.
The Troy defense had just surrendered a 67-yard Pontiac touchdown run, but the offense was at it again on Homecoming, trying to lead the Colts to a three-game drive to the playoffs.
Suddenly, Pontiac returned a red zone interception 92 yards for a touchdown and the momentum changed.
The Phoenix piled up 415 rushing yards to spoil Troy’s Homecoming game and probably its playoff hopes, 50-24, in OAA Red Division play.
“That was as thorough a butt-whipping as anyone could ever go through,” Troy coach Gary Griffith said.
After an intentional grounding penalty moved Troy back to third-and-20 at the 26, sophomore quarterback Jay Darish came in and threw an interception, which Pontiac returned for a score. On the ensuing Troy possession, beginning at the Colts’ 6, junior quarterback Justin Losey and senior quarterback Oliver Jiang fumbled an option pitch, and the Phoenix recovered in the end zone.
Troy scored in 10 plays on its next drive, cutting the deficit to 38-17, but that brought up the Colts’ biggest weakness on the night — defense.
Pontiac ran roughshod over Troy, using its quick, shifty running backs to get into space up the middle and around the ends. It ran big play after big play.
“They had tremendous speed, and I think our kids got intimidated by how fast they were,” Griffith said. “We couldn’t simulate it in practice, and when they got out there and saw it for themselves, our guys just kind of shut down.
“Speed, agility,” Losey said of the Troy defensive problems. “He could see the field really well. He knew where his cut-back lanes were, he knew where everyone was, and his offensive line blocked really well for him.”
The Phoenix ran for touchdowns of 3, 11, 67, 54, and 22 in addition to the two defensive touchdowns. Following the Colts’ score that brought it to 38-17, Pontiac scored on the next play from scrimmage to make it a four-touchdown game again.
The teams traded touchdowns again, making it 50-24 with just 4:41 left.
Losey and Darish combined for 17-for-26 passing with 230 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
Senior running back Oliver Jiang carried 15 times for 57 yards, but all of the backs faced tough sledding all night. Jiang started the second half with five carries for four yards.
The game opened with promise for Troy. The Colts forced a three-and-out on the first series, and then scored a touchdown in two plays. They surrendered the lead by giving up two touchdowns in the next three series, but kept it close at 14-10 with a Sean Murphy 30-yard field goal.
The defense kept Troy in the game heading into the half with a fumble, an interception, and a drive that ended the half. But the Colts never got another stop until the last series with the game iced as the Phoenix racked up 36 points in the second half.
“We didn’t play a very good game,” Griffith said. “I don’t know about the effort, but we reached a point where we just stood back and watched and went ‘Wow, that was really, really fast.’”
Troy will try for its first win of its current three-game home stand on Friday night with an OAA Crossover game against Rochester Adams (4-3, 3-3 OAA White). The Colts are all but eliminated from playoff contention with four losses.
“It’s football,” Griffith said. “I told the kids it’s like a prizefight — you walk in the ring, and the other guy’s not going to feel sorry for you, you get what you get, and tonight we got whipped.”
Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Troy
