Horses use ground game to complete division sweep

Rayshawn Johnson scored three touchdowns as Troy used an effective running game to beat Mohonasen, 32-13, in a Class A Southeast Division game Friday night.

Troy won the division with a 4-0 record and goes to 5-2 overall while Mohonasen went to 1-3, 2-5.

Johnson only carried the ball three times in the first half, but scored twice. He reached the end zone from 14 and 11 yards.

Mohonasen coach Dennis Corbitt was impressed with Johnson along with the other Flying Horses running backs.

“Johnson is a gifted runner. We broke down several times. Both teams committed turnovers. The Class A is tough. We didn’t pack in our helmets, and the kids hung in there,” said Corbitt.

Troy took advantage of a Mohonasen turnover to help punch in the first score. Defensive back Pat Chamberlain recovered a fumble at the Troy 44. It didn’t take long for the Flying Horses to score. Maurice Jones ran twice for 36 yards and that put the ball at the Warriors’ 20.

Johnson picked up six yards and then he got the call again and made some twists and turns for a 14-yard touchdown with 4:43 left in the first quarter.

Then Dom Montgomery returned the kickoff 26 yards to the 36. The Warriors put together an effective 14-play, 64-yard scoring drive culminated with a 21-yard touchdown pass from Justin Kretzler to Montgomery and a 7-7 tie.

Taking advantage of a short Mohonasen punt, Troy took possession on the Warriors’ 33. Again, the Troy running game went to work. Dan Reichelt raced 22 yards for a first down and Johnson hit the Mohonasen line and cut left for an 11-yard touchdown run and a 14-7 advantage.

Troy scored again before the first half ended as Reichelt broke tackles and darted toward the sidelines for a 60-yard touchdown run and that just about deflated Mohonasen.

Johnson wasn’t done showing off his talents scoring from five yards away. He went through the Mohonasen line untouched and Troy increased its lead to 26-7.

Now it was time for Mohonasen to show it could make big plays. Starting from the Troy 46, Kretzler found Montgomery open on the first play for a 46-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit, 26-13.

On the next series, Mohonasen tried a fake punt with Kretzler at its 49. The Troy defense dropped Kretzler for an eight-yard loss and took over on downs. It took six plays before Nick Valenti scored on a five-yard touchdown run to put the game away.

“The little guys ran hard. We got some small backs and Danny Reichelt broke a big one. The offensive line did their job tonight. We made some mistakes and turned the ball over. We’re going to the playoffs now and it’s 0-0,” said Troy coach Jack Burger.

Reichelt was the top rusher for Troy with 129 yards on 11 carries.

“We play for another week, and the kids are excited about that. We gave it our best shot tonight. It’s just a matter of time. We haven’t consistently showed what we’re all about. We’ll be ready,” said Corbitt.

Troy 7 13 6 6 — 32

Mohonasen 0 7 6 0 — 13

T-Johnson 14 run (Waters kick)

M-Montgomery 20 pass from Kretzler (Corbitt kick)

T-Johnson 11 run (Waters kick)

T-Reichelt 60 run (kick failed)

T-Johnson 5 run (kick failed)

T-Jones 46 pass from Chamberlain (kick failed)

M-Perone 5 run (pass failed)