By Todd Kraft

Special to the Journal

TROY — Even without their starting quarterback, the Troy-Buchanan Trojans dominated the O’Fallon Panthers 42-7 in Friday night’s first home football game of the season.

The Trojans’ scored touchdowns on six of their seven possessions of the game, resulting in a commanding 42-0 lead midway through the third quarter.

“This was a total team effort tonight,” Trojan Head Coach Brett Wiggers said. “The offensive line did a great job opening holes. The running backs did a great job. Again, a total team effort tonight,”

The Trojan offense came out committed to running the ball and they succeeded. On the first possession, senior running back Carter Dowell rushed for big gains, quickly moving the ball into Panther territory.

The Panther defense temporarily halted the drive with a sack of sophomore quarterback Carter Shafer. Shafer came into the game after senior Hunter Humphrey hurt his knee on the second play of the game and would not return to the field.

A holding penalty on the Trojans created a third down and 30 from midfield. This led to Shafer connecting with senior wide receiver Carson Twellman on a perfectly thrown ball down the middle of the field for a touchdown. The PAT failed, making the score 6-0.

“Carter took over in the first series and this was his first meaningful varsity playing time. He delivered a phenomenal game,” Wiggers said. “The future is incredibly bright for him. We are fortunate to have two great quarterbacks.”

The Trojans’ next possession began with dominate running plays, quickly moving the ball to the Panthers’ 24-yard-line. A penalty negated a 24-yard rushing touchdown by Dowell.

The Trojan offense converted a big fourth down and five and then the offensive line cleared the way for Dowell to score from the one-yard line. After a two-point conversion run by Dowell, the Trojans led 14-0.

With three minutes left in the first half, Troy’s special teams recovered a Panthers’ muffed punt attempt at the eight-yard line.

Powered by an offensive line creating ample running room for Dowell and senior running back Chris Wenger, the offense added two more rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. Both touchdowns came from Wenger, stretching Troy’s lead to 27-0 at halftime.

“We want our identity to be smash-mouth football, and we want to control the line of scrimmage,” Wiggers said. “Our kids have worked extremely hard in the weight room all off season. They have done a great job of controlling the line of scrimmage.”

The Trojan defense was equally dominating throughout the first half. The defensive line consistently stifled the Panthers running game, limiting them to one first down in the first half.

“The defensive has had a phenomenal start to the season,” Wiggers said. “We’ve allowed 7 points in the first eight quarters of the season, so the defense has been stout. The defensive line has been strong, and the backend has held up well. We’ve been very, very pleased with the defense.”

The Trojans’ scored on their first two possessions of the second half, taking control of the game. Wenger scored a rushing touchdown with Dowell running in the PAT and sophomore Kyle Eisenbath caught a score later in the quarter to cap the scoring.

Wenger finished the game with three touchdowns including two on the ground on nine carries for 67 yards and one through the air where he caught three passes for 62 yards. Dowell meanwhile ran the ball 13 times for a team-high 78 yards.

Shafer turned in a great varsity debut, completing 11 of 14 passes for 214 yards and three scores. He spread the ball around with six different receivers, led by Twellman with three catches for 82 yards.

Troy is back in action Friday night as they travel to Hannibal to take on a Pirate team that historically, has been a tough matchup for the Trojans. After losing their opener 23-20 to Jefferson City Helias, Hannibal won their first game of the season Friday 67-0 over Lutheran St. Charles.

The two teams have split their most recent games, with the home team winning each by six points. Troy beat Hannibal 35-29 last year after losing 34-28 in 2023.