St. Clair’s Running Is the Difference in Troy’s Victory

Troy High School’s David St. Clair figures to rank among the finest passers in Orange County’s this season but Friday night, he let it be known he is far from being a one-dimensional player.

The 6-foot-0, 180-pound senior, who threw for more than 1,000 yards last year, created more havoc with his running ability than his arm as he led the Warriors to a convincing 34-10 nonleague victory over host Garden Grove in front of a crowd of 1,000 in the season opener for both.

St. Clair rushed for 107 yards on 9 carries and scored 2 touchdowns in the first half. He kept Garden Grove off balance by passing for an additional 107 yards and 2 touchdowns, one in each half.

Troy Coach John Turek realizes his quarterback’s legs are as valuable as his right arm. Turek had St. Clair returning kickoffs in the opener and didn’t even cringe when St. Clair took a hard hit on a return late in the game. St. Clair justified his coach’s faith, bouncing right back up.

“He’s a tough kid,” Turek said. “It doesn’t bother me at all to put him back there (on kickoffs). He’s a good runner and a fine football player.”

Troy opened an early lead, scoring on its first possession. The Warriors (6-5 last season) drove 75 yards in 15 plays, with senior running back Torey Shinault scoring on a six-yard run with three minutes left in the first quarter.

Garden Grove had a chance to get come right back when Matt Truman took the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to the Troy 44. But, as was to be the case all night, the Argonaut offense lacked the firepower to do much.

Troy forced a punt after three unsuccessful running plays and St. Clair took over from there. After an incomplete pass, St. Clair made a good fake and swept around right end. Following the blocking of tackle Don Haro, he sprinted 62 yards untouched to give Troy a 13-0 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Minutes later, St. Clair was at it again. He rolled to the left this time and threaded his way through the Garden Grove secondary for a 25-yard touchdown run. Sophomore Todd Murdock made it 20-0 with the second of his four extra points.

St. Clair put the game out of reach with eight seconds left in the first half, connecting with David Doidge in the corner of the end zone on a 10-yard pass play. By halftime, St. Clair had completed 9 of 16 passes for 103 yards. He finished with 10 completions in 22 attempts.

After St. Clair hit Shirota with a 14-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the third quarter, Garden Grove finally got untracked.

Tailback Bart Limas had runs of 31 and 28 yards and added a one-yard scoring plunge to give the Argonauts their first points. Carlos Ornelas added a 22-yard field goal with 7:11 left in the game but Garden Grove couldn’t come back after that.