Arlee rumbles past Troy Trojans, 62-20
Troy freshman David Avidya heads upfield on a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Arlee on Friday, Oct. 7. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Troy freshman Emerson Downey (23) is congratulated by teammate Rowyn Shupe (13) after intercepting a pass against Arlee on Friday, Oct. 7. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Troy freshman Carson Orr (3) and junior Derek Cole (77) team up to tackle Arlee's Jace Arca (22) on Friday, Oct. 7. (Scott Shindledecker/The Western News)
Tackling Arlee’s physical runners and receivers proved to be a tough task for the Troy Trojans in a 62-20 loss Friday night in 8-man football.
The home-standing Trojans did have some moments in the game as freshman David Avidya returned a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown and senior Trevor Grant scored twice, including a 43-yard gallop and a 68-yard kick return.
The Trojans (1-5) also forced four turnovers.
Freshmen Carson Orr and Emerson Downey each intercepted passes while Grant and sophomore Kempton Sloan each recovered fumbles.
But the Trojans didn’t convert any of the takeaways into points as Arlee (4-3) rolled to a 40-6 halftime lead.
The Warriors scored first when Charley Crawford got behind the defense for a 45-yard TD catch from quarterback Kendall O’Neill just 47 seconds after kickoff. Jace Arca ran for the conversion to make it 8-0, a lead Arlee never relinquished.
The Trojans did answer quickly though when Arvidya broke up the right sideline and outraced everyone for a 70-yard kick return. The 2-point pass failed and Arlee led 8-6.
The Warriors added first half scores from Arca on a 10-yard run, a 31-yard TD catch by Kaiden Ostby, and two TD runs by Jake Knoll to take a 40-6 halftime lead.
Orr also saw time at quarterback in the game after Arvidya got dinged up in the first half while running the ball. Senior Paxton Fisher had a quarterback sack in the first half. But he also went to sideline early in the second half after a collision. Fisher did walk off under his own power and was back in action later in the game.
Troy hosts Victor (1-5) on Senior Night this Friday. Victor earned its first win of 2022 last week with a 44-12 win over Plains. The Trojans got their lone win of the season on Sept. 16 with a 52-46 win over the Horsemen.
