Todd Kraft

Special to the Journal

TROY—The Trojans rolled over GAC South conference foe Francis Howell North on Friday night by the score of 73-6.

The Trojans offense scored on every first half possession, the defense forced and recovered two fumbles and created a safety, and the special teams’ unit scored a touchdown-all before the first half ended.

At the end of the first half, the home team had built a commanding 59-0 lead and were headed toward a share of the GAC South Division conference championship.

As he often does, Head Coach Brett Wiggers was quick to point out dominant performances like tonight start on the offensive and defensive lines.

“Our lineman are passionate about their job and they understand their job. They make everything happen for us. We are very fortunate to have great groups up front on both sides of the ball,” Wiggers said.

The offensive line created plenty of space for senior running back Carter Dowell to score four rushing touchdowns in the first half. Dowell scored on runs of 46 yards, 22 yards, 3 yards, and 14 yards.

In two quarters of play Dowell piled up 92 total yards rushing on just five attempts for an 18.4 yard per carry average. He has scored 18 touchdowns and accumulated an impressive 1,195 yards rushing through eight games of the season.

Chris Wenger added a rushing touchdown from 13 yards out and finished the night with three rushes for 22 yards and one reception for six yards. Wenger has scored 15 touchdowns and has amassed 811 total yards through eight games of the season.

“It’s a blessing to have two dynamic weapons whose styles are different. They make it a big-time challenge on defenses. You also have to give credit to the big guys up front who are making the path a little bit clearer for them,” Wiggers said.

Another Trojan who displayed explosive playing making skills was wide receiver Carson Twellman.

Twellman’s big play capabilities added two touchdowns to the scoring, one on a 17-yard reception from quarterback Carter Shafer and one on a 75-yard kick return at the end of the second quarter.

Running backs Tre Lococo, Spencer Landry, and Jason Arechederra, each crossed the goal line Friday evening, adding one rushing touchdown each.

Shafer had an efficient night leading the Trojan offense. He completed five of six passes for 55 yards and one touchdown.

“Carter is growing every single week,” Wiggers said. “It has been a process for our coaches to adapt to a different style of play, and our offense is evolving from week to week. Carter is getting better and better every week, and the game is slowing down for him.”

The Trojan defense had an equally dominate performance throughout the first two quarters.

The defensive unit forced and recovered two fumbles, limited the Knights to three first downs and allowed a total of two offensive snaps in Trojan territory.

Talan Rowland led the Trojans with 10 tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery. Donovan Miller added seven tackles, Noah Vollmer had four tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery, Marco Herrera and Caleb Jacobsmeyer added one sack each, and Tristan Wilke had five tackles.

The defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the first half, limiting the Knight’s offense to 29 rushing yards.

The Trojans defense and special teams play created starting field position for the offense that coaches dream of in their game planning.

“We were able to own the field position game all night long. They did a great job. We emphasize all three phases of the game. We also put a lot of time into special teams and that’s an area we want to be a strong team in,” Wiggers said.

As a result of a strong special team’s unit, the Trojan offense started six of their seven first half possessions in Francis Howell territory and four of those possessions started inside the 25-yard line.

Sophomore Kyle Eisenbath was one of the Trojans responsible for creating great field position for the Trojan offense.

Eisenbath returned three punts for a total of 78 yards, two of those punt returns gave the offense starting field position inside the Knights 25-yard line.

Senior Night is a special occasion for players, coaches, fans, and families. Coach Wiggers has a special connection to this group of seniors.

“Getting to watch these kids grow up is such a fun part of what I get to do,” he said. “I’ve known these players since they were sixth graders and I taught at the middle school. I’ve seen these seniors grow up in front of my eyes. From the middle school kids they were then to the young men they are now; these young men mean a lot to me. They are talented on the field, but they’re a special group off the field.”

The Trojans will host the Battle High School Spartans next Friday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in their final game before districts.