Trojans drop non-conference game at home, fall 58-0
<p>Zach Cotten comes up just short of deflecting the touchdown pass to Conrad's Austin Padilla in first quarter vs. the Cowboys Sept. 2. (Paul Sievers/The Western News)</p>
The Conrad Cowboys blanked the Trojans on Friday in Troy, manhandling their way to a 58-0 victory in the Trojans’ second loss of the season.
Troy head coach Kody Hoffman said despite the loss, his team is growing each week.
“We’re executing our plays a little bit better,” he said. “We’re still having a little problem on blocking but we’ll adjust that this week.”
Troy quarterback Tucker Winn had 44 of the Trojans’ 84 offensive yards on Friday, going 6-for-13 through the air and picking up 19 yards on the ground. Running back Mason Chapel grabbed 19 yards for the Trojans and wide-out Hunter Leighty pulled down three receptions for 17 yards.
The Cowboys claimed most of their yardage on the ground with 282 rushing yards and 118 yards receiving. Conrad quarterback Bert Paulsen had 126 yards rushing on Friday with all 118 yards through the air on 5-for-8 passing. Running back Hunter Mycke rushed for 120 yards on 10 carries and caught one pass for 5 more.
Conrad put up 23 points in the first quarter via Mycke, who posted 26 points after four quarters, and Austin Padilla, who totaled 57 yards and a touchdown in the contest. Conrad was relentless in the first half, piling up the lead with two-point conversions before heading into the locker room with 38-0 on the scoreboard.
Conrad posted another unanswered 20 points in the second half.
“They were big and hard to bring down,” Hoffman said of Conrad’s backfield duo of Paulsen and Mycke. “Our biggest guy is not even as big as that running back. He’s a big man, is what he is.”
Troy managed to string a few drives together on offense, including a 23-yard reception from Winn to Chapel that landed in the end zone, but was called back after a flag on Troy. Leighty made another run for the end zone with an 11-yard reception and Winn followed up with a 3-yard keeper, but the Cowboys again stuffed the Trojans in the red zone to keep them off the board.
Hoffman said he hopes senior leadership will help turn Troy’s scoreless season around before facing Deer Lodge this week.
“We’re going to try and get the intensity up,” Hoffman said. “I’m hoping our leaders can step up a little bit and prove that they can lead this team. We need to get some points on the board to win.”
Troy will head to Deer Lodge on Friday for another non-conference matchup at 6 p.m.
Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 293-4124 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.