Ocean View Grounded by Troy

For the first half of the 1999 season Ocean View has shown it has an offense that can’t be stopped.

But on Friday Troy showed Ocean View that it can be beaten.

The Warriors did to the Seahawks what four other opponents could not: absorb every blow tendered by Deshai Houston and his cadre of wide receivers then use a relentless running game to grind Ocean View into submission.

When the dust settled, the Warriors had a 66-37 victory before an estimated 2,300 at Fullerton High.

Tailback Brett Murray led Troy with 272 yards and five touchdowns in 30 carries. Fellow running back Tom Osborn had 161 yards and two touchdowns in 20 carries.

The Warriors (4-1) gained 598 yards of offense. Only 30 came on the passing of quarterback Jordan Oliver, who rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown in seven carries.

That was plenty to offset Houston’s 304 yards passing and four touchdown passes. But he only completed 17 of 37 attempts, was sacked four times and was hit hard by the Warriors many other times.

The Seahawks (4-1) had 384 yards in offense. They also had a 10-point first quarter lead and, despite giving up 33 points in the second quarter, only trailed by 39-31 at halftime.

But Ocean View only scored one more time. Troy’s defense never let down in the second half, and its offense never let up.

Before the game both coaches said they were hoping their defenses could have a significant impact on the other team’s style of play.

“We need to find out if we can play defense against a physical, running team like Troy,” Ocean View Coach Harold Eggers said.

Troy Coach John Turek, who made some changes in his starting secondary after Orange Lutheran had a big night passing two weeks ago, was eager to see how this unit could cope with the Seahawks’ catch-and-run wideouts. “I’m confident in the defense,” Turek said. “But this is another good test.”

Neither defense was able to make a stand. The teams combined for 70 points in the first half.

Houston got the Seahawks off to a 16-6 first quarter lead with a seven-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Smith and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Campbell. After each score, Houston ran in a two-point conversion.

Troy’s only first-quarter answer was a five-yard run by Murray. But the Warriors, who continually tore huge gaps through the right side of the Ocean View defensive line, scored five touchdowns in the second quarter.

Osborn scored on runs of 21 and 15 yards. Murray had touchdowns of three and 39 yards. Oliver scored on a 58-yard run.