Troy gridders blank Mission

The Troy High School football team put on an offensive display of balance in a 46-0 victory at Mission on Friday night.

The Trojans ran for 215 yards and had another 188 through the air to keep the Mission defense on its heels.

“We were very consistent with what we were doing,” Troy coach Rich McElmurry said. “We have a lot of the same kids doing the same things for us.”

Jake Alexander had another good game running the ball with 121 yards on 21 carries. Alexander scored on TD runs of 8 yards in the first quarter and 5 yards in the third quarter. Caleb Kelso has also been doing well out of the backfield. He finished with 48 yards on 10 carries and scored on two short touchdown runs along with a two-point conversion run.

Troy’s exceptional running game and passing numbers could be attributed to the offensive line.

“They did some things but our kids up front did a nice job,” McElmurry said. “That was a huge difference in the game. They were huge up front but our kids dominated.”

The defensive line created all kinds of problems for the home team.

“They weren’t as good as they were last year … and they had lost their quarterback the week before to a broken ankle,” McElmurry said. “We executed well.”

Mike Ormiston completed 10-of-20 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Ormiston found Brian Hammrich on a 41-yard TD pass in the second quarter and then hit Kody Hoffman on a 25-yard TD strike in the fourth. Hoffman also scored on a 22-yard run during an explosive first quarter when Troy took a 20-0 lead.

The Troy defense came up with three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

“Probably one of the biggest was from Trent Cratty,” McElmurry said. “He had one in the first half that was just a real nice interception and a nice return after he caught it.”

Hoffman and Cory Orr also came up with picks for the Trojans.

In the third quarter after Troy had taken a 40-0 lead, the game transitioned to a running clock based on the Class B mercy rule.

McElmurry reported that lineman Cullen Metz came out of the game Friday with what could be a pulled calf muscle. Metz stayed on the sidelines during the second half. Kelso also suffered a minor injury but both are expected back for the next game.

Troy (1-0, 2-0) comes home to play Eureka on Friday at 7 p.m. in a key game that will impact the 7-B District standings.