Troy Wins With Help From Muther

Troy got its quarterback back, Ocean View had to use a backup and although statistics didn’t show it, those were main reasons for Troy’s 35-7 nonleague victory over the Seahawks Thursday night at Huntington Beach High.

Warrior running back Kyion Grayes rushed for 153 yards and three touchdowns and backfield mate Adrian Vargas ran for 90 yards, two touchdowns and kicked five extra points.

Troy junior Steve Muther, who missed the last 2 1/2 games, wasn’t spectacular, but his steady hand with the Warriors gave Coach John Turek optimism going into next week’s Freeway League opener at Buena Park. Muther completed six of 10 passes for 69 yards. Muther, who was sacked once, also carried four times for 19 yards.

“We were limited in what we could do without him,” Turek said. “He complements the run so well because he can run. This was a confidence builder for us.”

On the other side of the ball, first-year Seahawk Coach Ron Vander Sluis lamented having to play without starting quarterback Jeff Taylor, injured in last week’s 63-21 loss to Estancia. Taylor has thrown for 687 yards and five touchdowns, averaging nearly 23 yards a completion.

Taylor’s replacement, sophomore Scott McMahan was under heavy pressure all night, and did well to complete six of 11 passes for 58 yards.

“Without Taylor, we were very limited,” Vander Sluis said.

Grayes ran 32 yards for a touchdown on Troy’s first possession, then Vargas added a 53-yard scoring run for a 14-0 first-quarter lead.

Ocean View running back Jeremiah Armendariz avoided the shutout with a tackle-busting 40-yard scoring run with seven minutes to play.