By Todd Kraft

Special to the Journal

HANNIBAL — Hannibal’s explosive offense converted multiple third and fourth downs in the first half, resulting in the home team sustaining drives and taking a commanding lead going into halftime Friday before winning 54-26.

Despite the 28-6 halftime score, the Trojan defense did an effective job of getting the Hannibal offense to third and fourth down attempts throughout the first half. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the Pirates’ offense converted each attempt, keeping drives alive.

“That set the tone for the entire game. We got them to a third and 17 on the first possession and then they got a deep ball over the top,” Trojan Head Coach Brett Wiggers said. “It’s frustrating because we talk about it all the time. These are situations we need to win, and we didn’t get it done tonight.”

The Pirates ability to keep drives moving with big plays resulted in 21 straight points to start the game. Hannibal’s mobile quarterback, Wyeth Dorsey, kept several drives moving with his feet by alluding the Trojans’ rushing attack and picking up yardage with his feet.

“The quarterback scramble was a problem for us tonight,” Wiggers said. “They have an offense we don’t see very often, but we thought we had it taken care of and then the quarterback would slip out and we can’t let that happen.”

In addition to the early 21-point lead, these sustained drives forced the Troy defense to remain on the field for extended time in the 90-degree heat.

Hannibal’s first possession included a long pass completion on third-and-19 to the Trojans 26-yard line, a fourth-and-7 conversion to the 14-yard line and then a fourth-and-1 rushing touchdown. The drive consumed 6 minutes and 30 seconds of the first quarter.

These big plays seemed to establish a trend for much of the game.

The Trojan offense attempted to establish the run during the first quarter with no success. Running back Carter Dowell was held in check during the first quarter and the Trojans offense went three and out on two straight possessions.

After a successful debut last week, sophomore quarterback Carter Shafer faced a stout defense that made it a tough night. He completed 6 of 19 passes for 114 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore running back Tre Lococo led the Trojans with two receptions for 71 yards.

“We made a couple mental mistakes with a false start early on and that put us behind the chains. It’s much harder to move the football when you get behind the chains,” Wiggers said.

After a 43-yard punt by Shafer pinned the Pirates inside their 25-yard line, the home team went on the attack again, quickly moving the ball deep into Troy territory.

A quarterback sack by senior linebacker Talan Rowland forced a Hannibal fumble and a big loss of yardage back to the 43-yard line. The defense would not take advantage of this big play.

On the next play, Dorsey escaped the Trojan defensive rush, finding room down the field for a long touchdown run, making the score 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pirates continued their dominant start with a 59-yard drive, resulting in a 4-yard rushing touchdown at 9:54 of the second quarter to extend the lead to 21-0.

The Trojan offense came to life in the second quarter. Dowell and senior running back Chris Wenger led the offense to the Pirate’s 15-yard line with big runs. The Trojans broke into the scoring column when Dowell broke through the Pirates’ defense for a 15-yard touchdown, making the score 21-6 with 4 minutes and 57 seconds left in the second quarter.

Dowell led the Trojan ground game with 108 yards rushing on 20 carries. Wenger also ran the ball well, adding 106 yards on 9 carries.

“The ground game got going and then we ran the ball relatively well tonight, but it’s hard to win when you give up 54 points,” said Wiggers. “On that possession we got back to the basics and to our identity of running the football.”

The Pirates offense added a touchdown reception with 27 seconds left in the half, making the score 28-6 going into the half.

“At halftime I challenged the players to battle. We were down 28-6 at that time and I didn’t think there was a huge difference in talent levels,” said Wiggers. “I just didn’t think we played well early on.”

The Trojans continued to play hard in the second half. Wenger added a rushing touchdown from 43-yards out, making the score 28-12 midway through the third quarter. Wenger scored his second touchdown of the night on a 27-yard rush. He also ran in the PAT to make the score 35-20 at the end of the third quarter.

“The players continued to battle. We competed in the second half,” said Wiggers. “Obviously it got out of hand at the end there and we’re frustrated with the results, but I like our football team and their ability to get better and go win football games.”

Dowell scored on a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to complete the Trojans’ scoring for the game. The Pirates put the game away with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

The Trojans (2-1) are back in action Friday as they travel to Wentzville to battle Timberland (1-2).