Freeway League : Troy Stuns Fullerton, 42-13; Only Third League Loss in 3 Years

Troy High School exploded for 35 points in the second and third quarters and romped to a 42-13 win over Fullerton Friday night in front of 1,600 fans in Fullerton District Stadium.

It was a stunning loss for Fullerton, only its third defeat in the Freeway League in the past three years. The defending Central Conference champion Indians fell to 1-1 in the league, and Troy improved to 1-1.

Fullerton opened a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and then watched the Warriors score five consecutive touchdowns. David St. Clair, the Warriors’ versatile quarterback, ran for two touchdowns and passed for another in the offensive blitz.

The Warriors also piled up 278 yards rushing and intercepted Fullerton quarterback Victor Williams twice.

It hardly looked like the same Troy team that was coming off a 13-6 loss to Sunny Hills in its league opener. The Warriors had problems getting its offense moving in that game, and Coach John Turek said his team actually outplayed Sunny Hills despite the loss.

“I think the kids finally got tired of losing tough ball games,” Turek said. “It seemed like we put it all together tonight. We pressured Williams, our secondary played well and we ran up and down the field all night. I’m very happy.”

St. Clair, who came into the game with only 588 yards passing, credited his offensive line for the turnaround. He completed 6 of 12 passes for 135 yards and ran for 73 yards on 7 carries.

“I haven’t gotten blocking like that all season,” St. Clair said. “I couldn’t believe the holes our line was opening. This was our best game of the year.”

The offensive line is considered the strength of the Warriors’ team and the group of David Doidge, Jeff Sant, Erik Wright-Hay, Paul Gardner, Don Haro and Jim DiFillipo are all returning letterman.

“We were able to control the ball with those guys doing the job,” Turek said. “From tackle to tight end, the whole offensive line played great. We ran our basic offensive, nothing special, but we executed awfully well.”

In Fullerton’s defense, the Indians didn’t play that poorly. Two interceptions and a fumble resulted in three touchdowns for Troy as the Indians lost for only the second time in seven games.

Williams completed 16 of 29 passes for 193 yards and threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Curt Daggett with three seconds remaining in the game. Daggett caught five passes for 69 yards.

Troy also shut down the Indians’ ground game, perhaps the team’s biggest weapon. They totaled only 52 yards in the game, and failed to gain a single net yard in the second half.

Fullerton also compounded its problems with 90 yards in penalties.

In other Freeway League action:

Sonora 30, Sunny Hills 13--The Raiders rolled up 356 yards in total offense in upsetting the Lancers before 2,000 in La Habra Stadium. It was Sonora’s first win since a season-opening 14-7 victory over Dana Hills. Sonora quarterback Ron Lesperance completed 12 of 25 attempts for 172 yards and Duane Bell scored two first-quarter touchdowns as the Raiders improved their league record to 1-1 and overall record to 2-5. Sunny Hills is 1-1 and 3-4.

Interceptions by Sonora’s Brian Miller set up two of the Raiders’ three first-quarter touchdowns. A one-yard scoring run by 295-pound tackle Tyrone Harris gave them a 6-0 lead with 7:47 remaining in the first quarter. Bell had touchdown runs of one and two yards later in the quarter as the Raiders took a 19-7 lead.

The other Sonora scores came on a 29-yard option pass from running back Steve Stamper to Gary Stick with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Jay Johnson added a 42-yard field goal with just more than five minutes left in the game.

Sunny Hills, which was held to 162 yards in total offense, briefly took the lead in the first quarter at 7-6 when Tim Imperiali returned a kickoff 86 yards. Juan Rasilla added the extra point.

David Wackerman, Sunny Hills’ leading rusher, was limited to 55 yards on 25 carries.

--DALE RUHE

La Habra High 43, Buena Park 16--The Highlanders scored 23 points in the first quarter to roll to an easy win at Spaulding Field in front of 900.

The Highlanders (2-0, 5-2) scored on back-to-back plays early in the first quarter.

Buena Park punter Rodger Leitner was tackled in the end zone for a safety for the game’s first score. La Habra’s Adolph Renaud returned the following punt 60 yards for a touchdown. Jim Dean’s conversion kick made the score, 9-0, with 7:16 reamaining in the first quarter.

On La Habra’s next possession wide receiver Paul Peppard caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Shackelford. Peppard also caught a 37-yard scoring pass from reserve quarterback John Robertson in the third quarter.

La Habra’s Chuck Weatherspoon seemed to be everywhere, as he scored two touchdowns on runs of 1 and 11 yards, carried the ball 15 times for 163 yards and also intercepted a pass. Jim Dean added field goals of 38 and 37 yards.

Buena Park’s (0-2, 1-6) one bright spot came late in the fourth quarter as Orlando Robbins returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. Robbins also caught five passes for 25 yards.

“Our offensive line did a good job tonight,” La Habra Coach Bob Rau said. “I was pleased with the way our team started out in the first quarter. Weatherspoon played another great game, along with our quarterback Matt Shackelford.”