Troy vs Howell 2012

590 KFNS Sports Caravan comes to Troy,written by Steve Runge

Over 154,000 votes brought the 590 KFNS and St. Louis Rams Sports Caravan game of the week to Troy last Friday night, and on arguably the biggest football night in recent years, the buzz saw known as the Francis Howell Vikings, handily defeated the Troy Trojans 34 to 3.

Jim Powers, host of the 590 KFNS Sports Caravan, partnered with Troy’s local radio station 1280 AM KYRO, and has been following the progress of the Troy football team during its best start in 25 years. Powers has included the Troy Trojans in their post-game show all year. When Troy ranked number 2 in the GAC South conference and had to faceoff against the number 1 ranked Francis Howell, the matchup made it to the list. He put the game on the website, and they beat out the East St. Louis vs. O’Fallon (Illinois) game with 54 % to 46% of the vote.

“The fan base here in Troy is really fantastic,” said Powers, as he hosted the pre-game show live from Troy Buchanan High School. He added, “the support from the local community is one of the best I’ve seen. Its nice to see such a huge turnout.”

Powers was joined by former St. Louis Rams Runningback Arlen Harris. Harris also owns a sports training company called Runit Performance, and Harris had his eyes set on two competing runningbacks in Friday night’s game that have participated in his program.

The area’s number 5 ranked runningback, Devon Fuller, from Troy and the number 16 ranked runningback, Donte Harrell, from Francis Howell, both competed in Arlen’s Star 33 Runningback Showcase held last Fall. The showcase featured only the top runningbacks in St. Louis.

With a packed house, and the Fox 2 News helicopter flying overhead, the game began on schedule at 7:00 pm. Although Troy’s Nick Travis was setup to return the opening kickoff, the #3 ranked kicker, Zac Perkins sent the ball into the end zone.

Troy went three and out in the opening possession, and then brought the crowd to their feet with a Ben Chaney interception on Howell’s ensuing drive. Chaney, a first team all conference safety in 2011, and also Troy’s starting quarterback, picked off a pass over the middle from Howell’s Mike Glass. Troy then shocked the Howell Vikings with a methodical dose of Devon Fuller and Justin Sutphin drive that chewed up most of the first quarter, and gave Troy a 3 to 0 lead going into the 2nd quarter.

The 3 points from Troy would come off of a Devon Fuller field goal following a devastating false start penalty on Troy from the Howell 1 yard line on 3rd and goal. Those would be the only points Troy would score all night.

Howell would score 34 unanswered points with a fantastic display of offense and defense, to the likes of which Troy has not seen this year. Sophomore Quarterback Mike Glass, who was in for the injured Brett Siebenshuh was 6 for 10 with 93 yards passing. His air attack was very effective, however, his ground and pound was something to see.

Runningbacks Donte Harrell and Desmond Niboh had a combined 200 yards rushing on the night. Harrell tallied four touchdowns and Niboh had one. The combination of the two was simply too much for the Troy defense.

Troy’s Devon Fuller was held to only 58 yards on the night, and the team as a whole racked up a total of 123 yards. The offensive highlight for Troy came late in the game from a Chaney to Sutphin swingpass to the left side that resulted in a 65 yard run after catch.

Defensively, Howell was simply on fire. Howell’s Calvin Munson came into the game ranked 2nd overall with 58 solo tackles, and 78 combined. That alone is more than Troy’s top four tacklers combined. Munson was all over the field, and after the first quarter, put a stop to virtually anything Troy tried to send down field. Munson also came in on crucial 3rd and 4th down plays as a fullback in the jumbo formation, and brought the Howell fan’s to their feet with his amazing athletic ability.

Overall this was a game Howell was expected to win, and a test that Troy was looking forward to. Troy’s coach Par Pitts said before the game his team was ready, and although they took the field with a well executed first quarter, Howell simply overpowered them the remaining three quarters of play.

On the 590 KFNS post-game show, Howell’s head coach Bryan Koch was very pleased with the performance of his team.

“The 1st quarter was interesting,” Koch said, “the Troy offense showed exactly what they could do, and we had to make some adjustments.”

In an interview with Arlen Harris, Harris said he was very impressed with Donte Harrell, and named Harrell the Runit Performance Player of the Week. Harris was also surprised by the toughness of Troy’s Devon Fuller and commented on how hard Fuller runs the ball.

Coach Koch was pressed for comment by Jim Powers on the upcoming CBC game at the end of the year, but told Powers that they had to focus one game at a time, and would prepare for Timberland next Friday night. Powers laughed and noted what a politically correct answer that was.

Troy’s record dropped to 4 and 2, and they will travel to Francis Howell North next Friday night and square off against the winless 0 and 6 Knights. Troy remains the second seed in the GAC South. That game will be broadcasted live on 1280 AM Westplex Sports Radio, and also streamed on line at www.westplexnewstalk.com.