Troy Clinches the Freeway Title

Troy’s 28-0 Freeway League victory over Sunny Hills Friday at Buena Park High exorcised 14 years of ghosts.

The Warriors (7-2-1, 4-1 in league), led by the running of Larry Montgomery and Matt Frobenius, clinched their first league championship since 1979.

“We’re real excited,” said Coach John Turek, who was hoisted on his players’ shoulders following the victory. “We’ve been close a lot of years and Sunny Hills has always been our nemesis. I’m not concerned about the playoffs right now, I really want to savor this one.”

Montgomery rushed for 160 yards and scored two touchdowns in 24 carries, and Frobenius rushed for 138 yards and scored a touchdown on 23 carries to lead the Troy running attack, which finished with 343 yards.

Troy forced three turnovers and held Sunny Hills to four first downs in the first half, allowing the Lancers (4-6, 2-3) to penetrate Troy territory just twice.

Trailing 7-0 with 45 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Sunny Hills turned the ball over on downs after Brad Knyal was pressured into throwing an incomplete pass on fourth and four at the Troy 25.

Protecting a 21-0 lead, Troy’s John Pelzer recovered Henry Naliielua’s fumble at the Troy 10 with 3 minutes 37 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

“They say defense wins championships and tonight was a perfect example of that,” Troy quarterback Brian Logan said. “It was plain and simple tonight, no tricks, no gimmicks, and everyone just went out and did their jobs.”

Logan, who completed just two of seven passes for 12 yards, just gave the ball to Frobenius and Montgomery, who made use of the holes opened by their offensive line.

Robert Viera, Matt Watson, David Mitchell, Jeff Fewell and Kelly Kim consistently dominated the Lancers’ defense, springing Frobenius for a 14-yard score and Montgomery for touchdown runs of four and 36 yards.

Montgomery, a sophomore who was playing in only his second varsity game, had rushed for 120 yards in last week’s 21-17 victory over Fullerton.

“He turned 15 on Halloween so we just brought him up to the varsity last week,” Turek said. “Pretty good back, isn’t he?”

Montgomery’ four-yard touchdown run capped a nine-play, 75 yard drive that gave the Warriors a 7-0 lead on its first possession.

Frobenius’ score capped a 17-play, 75-yard, second-quarter drive that took 6:07. The Troy offense dominated play, keeping the ball for nearly 30 minutes.

Montgomery’s 36-yard burst gave Troy a 21-0 lead with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter. Larry Vasquez scored Troy’s last touchdown on a five-yard run with 6:24 remaining.

Craig Borsari led Sunny Hills, rushing for 61 yards in eight carries. He caught three passes for 62 yards.