FULLERTON — The Troy football team used a 22-point fourth-quarter to rally past a tough El Modena squad, 35-21, on Friday night at Fullerton High.
After the Vanguards were unsuccessful in extending their lead to a two-score game early in the fourth quarter, the Warriors were able to seize the moment.
Troy (1-0) tied the game 21-21 after a rushing TD by quarterback Andrew Acuna and a 2-point conversion by Noah Tapia and then took a 28-21 lead after a pick-6 by Noah Torosian on the next play from scrimmage.
Warriors running back Ethan Mundt ran for 143 yards and a touchdown while his teammate and best friend Charlie Rippon added a late TD run of his own to seal the victory.
Troy coach Michael Echaves was impressed by his team’s resiliency.
“For our guys to come out and compete the way they did and, you know, in the end, we were victorious in this one, but I’m just super proud of the program and the step that we took tonight, that’s the bottom line.” Echaves said.
The Warriors trailed 21-13 entering the fourth quarter as El Modena (0-1) faced a critical third down at the Troy 21-yard line. After an incomplete pass by quarterback Ethan Sorenson, he attempted a 31-yard field goal that missed the mark.
“It was crucial.” El Modena coach Matt Mitchell said. “I mean, I’ll take responsibility, because I was calling the offense. So, yeah, it’s the first game and we’re trying to figure out what we can do, what’s good, what’s bad. I didn’t have a good sequence of plays offensively for us.”
“We already talked about it as a staff and we probably should have done something different, but, you know, we could have walked away three (points), but that’s the way the game goes.” Mitchell continued.
After the Warriors opened the scoring on Acuna’s 1-yard QB sneak, the Vanguards responded by tying the score 7-7 on a 77-yard punt return by Thomas Sheehan.
Then Sorenson, who was making his first Varsity start, and wide receiver Sam Jackett connected for a 59-yard strike to set up De La Vega’s 1-yard TD run to give El Modena a 14-7 lead.
Late in the second quarter, Mundt broke free for a 36-yard fourth-down run to bring the Warriors within one, 14-13 after a missed extra point.
The Vanguards dialed up a sensational play to pad their lead, a double pass from Sorenson to Jackett, who then flung it to Jeremy Rusell for a 23-yard TD pass and a 21-13 lead.
Troy won the turnover battle 3-0, with the final one proving to come at a costly time.
Echaves was proud of Torosian for making the pivotal play on defense and credited Fisher McDonald for his role as well.
“To see him come to fruition and make that play for us was so special.” Echaves said. “And again, a kid that has waited his turn, played freshman football, played JV, came up as junior year now and just a monster. That play was unreal, and you’ll see on that play Fisher (McDonald) his job was quarterback on that option play, and he did the right job and put the pressure in his face and forced that turnover.”