Troy sacks Mission

ST. IGNATIUS — Things were looking pretty good for Mission’s football team after senior Jarred Brown took over the first quarter.

Troy’s rushing attack proved too much for Mission, however, as the Trojans wore down the Bulldogs in the second half and took a 34-21 victory in fog so thick you would never know the opposing sideline was there.

Brown took over the start of the Bulldogs’ senior night, stuffing a fourth-down Troy run and catching a 46-yard bomb from Nick Durglo for a Mission TD on the Bulldogs’ third play from scrimmage.

On the next defensive possession, Brown picked off Troy quarterback Gabe Hickman and returned the ball to the Trojans’ 5-yard line, setting up an Emilio Bravo 1-yard scoring plunge.

“It was just intensity for the last game. I just wanted to make my mark,” Brown, one of three Bulldogs seniors, said. “We were pumped all day. We were excited to get this game going. We’d been wanting it all week.”

Troy’s grinding rushing attack, led by Hickman, Sean Opland and Luke Haggerty got stronger throughout the game. The Trojans finally took the lead, 28-21, with 9:58 remaining in the game.

“I had a feeling we were going to start off crappy,” said Jim Dasios, the Trojans’ coach. “I just had that feeling that nothing good was going to come at the start.”

Neither coach thought the dense fog played a significant role in the game.

“Our receivers were able to see the ball, but I couldn’t see across the field,” Dasios added.

With the Bulldogs clinging to a 14-12 lead at the half but momentum waning, Mission tailback Raymond Matt returned the second-half kickoff 84 yards to the house to give the Bulldogs some cushion.

“That was a great return,” Mission coach Rich Ferris said. “Some guys hit their blocks and were able to get him into the end zone.”

That was the last offensive spark the Bulldogs would ignite, though, as everything seemed to go wrong at once.

Ryce Hegwood—one of three Mission seniors along with Brown and Patrick Eichert—was forced to leave with an injured forearm.

“We’ve been best friends since fifth grade,” Brown said. “It was pretty hard to see him go out in our last game together.”

The Bulldogs also lost a fumble and suffered a crippling unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after a player spiked the ball following a first-down run.

It was insult to injury for Ferris’ young club to get worn down and dominated by the bigger, more physical Trojan trenchmen.

“We’ve just got to get our guys to commit to the team and commit to the workouts,” Ferris said. “They’re great kids, and they’re young, but they like each other and they play hard for each other. We’re just not physically able to compete yet.”

Matt, a junior and the de facto leader of the returning corps, echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“It’s been a rough season,” he said. “What we’ve got to do is work hard in the offseason to get better.”

The tailback has faith in his young offensive line to continue to make strides.

“They were developing pretty good over the year,” Matt said. “… We’re returning our entire line next year, so that’s a good thing.”

As for Brown, he was just happy to get a chance to play football one last time.

“It was a blast,” the senior said. “I’m going to miss it, definitely.”