By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
TROY, KS - The Troy Trojans scored touchdowns on each of their first seven possessions offensively, were gifted short fields and forced three turnovers on their way to a decisive 65-0 win over Riverside at Trojans Stadium on Friday night.
The win is Troy's fourth straight overall to round out the regular season, as the Trojans put up a season-high in points and earned their third shutout victory of the season as well, finishing the regular season with a perfect 4-0 record at home.
"That was the most complete game we played in the first half," Troy head coach Derek Jasper said. "It was time. It's week 8. We should be playing our best football, and I thought we did that. That was a complete game on both sides of the football."
Troy got the ball to start the game and scored just five plays later. Senior quarterback Reagan Hartman got the scoring started with a three-yard touchdown run. Hartman then made the point-after to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead with 10:41 left in the first quarter.
Riverside (3-5), who has now lost three straight, struggled to get the offense going early. A big reason for that was junior Percy Duncan leaving the game in the first quarter with an apparent ankle or leg injury.
Duncan, Riverside's leading rusher and receiver, didn't see action after the Cyclones' first series offensively.
Riverside went three-and-out and punted on their first two drives. The Cyclones were also hindered by a lost fumble and two interceptions on their next three series after that.
Troy took permanent control early in the second when sophomore Logan Blevins picked off Riverside quarterback Beckam Griffin and took it back 33 yards for a pick-six, putting the Trojans up 42-0 with 10:21 left in the second.
Blevins had two total interceptions in the victory.
Riverside then had three consecutive drives end with a turnover-on-downs deep in their own territory in the second quarter, which allowed Troy to put up a couple more scores before halftime on short fields.
Hartman was outstanding all night for Troy, completing 12-of-14 passes for 131 yards and five touchdowns. He also had six carries for 42 yards and a score.
Senior Austin Grable had four catches for 37 yards and two scores. Fellow senior Boden Benitz had four catches for 31 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well. Another Troy senior, Jerrit Norris, had four catches for 63 yards and a score. Norris also recovered a fumble.
Another senior showed out Friday for Troy. Preston Christenson had four carries for 44 yards and a touchdown - a 21-yard score to put Troy up 21-0 with 3:55 left in the first.
"Boy, they were ready to play tonight," Jasper said of his nine seniors. "I think they were chomping at the bit all week. We didn't need to get locked in when you're playing kind of a rival, even though we haven't played each other for nine years. The kids still know each other, we're five miles apart and they were locked in all week."
Troy added one more touchdown with 3:20 left in the game. Backup quarterback and sophomore Gannon Bowe engineered a 13-play, 89-yard drive, which Bowe capped off himself with a one-yard touchdown run, to give Troy their final tally of 65-0.
The Trojans were 2-for-2 on two-point tries, and Hartman was a perfect 7-for-7 on point-after tries as well.
Troy will stay home next week to host Mission Valley (3-5) in the first round of Class 1-A playoffs. Riverside will travel to face Jefferson County North (5-3).
Troy has their first winning season since 2018 and the Trojans have their best winning percentage in the regular season since their state title run in 2016.
Class 1-A is a loaded field, but Jasper can't help but be impressed with the way his team closed out the 2022 regular season.
"This team when they're playing at their best has the ability to win a state championship," Jasper noted. "They're going to have to be locked in every week and we're going to see some tough teams here coming up."
Full game broadcast
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