By Todd Kraft

Special to the Journal

TROY—The Trojans crushed the Battle High School Spartans Friday night by the score of 49-0, improving their season record to 7-2.

The Trojans literally ran away with the game by scoring six rushing touchdowns in the first half., one of which set a new individual Troy record.

“We like to run the football. That’s who we are as a team,” head coach Brett Wiggers said. “The offensive line paved the way again for two special players. Chris and Carter are special at running the football and the offensive line opens the holes.”

The duo of Carter Dowell and Chris Wenger accounted for all six rushing touchdowns.

Dowell scored four TDs and set the Troy Buchanan record for most touchdowns in a career. Dowell now holds Trojan records for most rushing touchdowns (29) in a season and most touchdowns (61) in a career, 57 of which came on the ground. He finished the night with 14 carries for 163 yards.

“It’s a great feeling to break the record. This line I play with is great. I’ve been able to play with most of them my whole life,” Dowell said. “Those guys work so hard. They put in the work in the weight room and they execute so well. They’ve helped me achieve everything.”

Dowell also expressed an incredible part of his experience as a Trojan is a result of his relationship with head coach Brett Wiggers.

“He’s a great coach. He understands the mental and physical part of football and then he understands the part outside of football also,” Dowell said. “He will help you with anything and everything. My sophomore year I broke my collarbone, and he was checking on me every day to make sure I was ok. He’s a great coach and a great person.”

Chris Wenger continued to add to his impressive resume as a Trojan rusher by scoring two touchdowns and converting a rushing PAT for two points. Wenger had six rushing attempts for 68 yards, giving him 879 total yards for the season.

Quarterback Carter Shafer and wide receiver Joe Thompson teamed up for a 33-yard touchdown reception with :33 seconds left in the second quarter making the score 49-0 at halftime. Shafer completed four of five passes for 66 yards and one touchdown.

The Trojan defense held the Spartans offense to 36 total yards and four first downs in the first half.

“The defense did a phenomenal job tonight of not allowing them to move the ball. We held them to 30-some yards at halftime,” Wiggers said. “The special teams did a nice job of controlling the field position and our offense took advantage of it. It was a great all-around team win tonight.”

For the evening, Talan Rowland led the team with nine tackles, Tristen Wilke had five tackles and one sack, Mason Kimble added five tackles, and Caleb Jacobsmeyer had four tackles and a sack.

The commanding lead at halftime provided the Trojan’s junior varsity players the opportunity to play the third and fourth quarters. The junior varsity defense stepped up and held the Spartans varsity offense scoreless for the shutout.

Coach Wiggers explained the success the Troy Buchanan football program is experiencing is a result of a coaching staff invested and focused on creating a culture that sets every player up for success.

“Every coach on this staff has a crucial role to play and everything they do is intentional,” Wiggers said. “I want to give credit to our coaches because it’s not just a Friday night thing. We run a year-round program, and every coach is invested fulltime. Their dedication makes things go. I couldn’t do this without those guys. Every day they are helping our players be successful.”

The win moves the Trojans season record to 7-2 and builds momentum as they look toward a home district playoff game against Francis Howell on Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6:30 p.m.

Both teams played three weeks ago when Troy ruined the Vikings’ homecoming game with a 43-27 win. The game remained close from the start with Troy holding a slim 24-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.

But that lethal Trojan running game took over in the final 12 minutes as the Troy outscored Francis Howell 19-6 to pull away for the two-score win. 

Dowell finished with 276 yards in the game, his second most of the season, while Wenger tacked on season and career-best totals of 19 carries on 207 yards. Wenger also scored three TDs as he and Dowell accounted for all but 12 yards from scrimmage for the Trojans in the win. 

Francis Howell (5-4) come in winners of two of their last three, beating Timberland 44-24 and Francis Howell Central 42-17 before losing to Rock Bridge last week 38-21. 

The Vikings are led by Jaylen Ballard who has run for 1,120 yards on 131 carries with an 8.5 yard per carry average and 16 touchdowns. 

Playing in the highly competitive District 4, the Trojans are seeded fourth, behind top-seed St. Dominic (9-0), Liberty (No. 2, 7-2) and Fort Zumwalt West (No. 3, 7-3) who beat the Trojans 21-7 two weeks ago.

The winner of Friday night’s game advances to a semifinal road game against St. Dominic Friday, Nov. 7.