Troy Stays on Solid Ground in 12-0 Victory Over La Serna

FULLERTON — Troy dominated with its running game, rushing for 278 yards to defeat Whittier La Serna, 12-0, Thursday night at Fullerton.

The Warriors stayed on the ground on a five-play, 54-yard scoring drive in the first quarter to take a 6-0 lead.

A 16-yard run by Steve Harris and a 22-yard scramble on a broken play by quarterback Stephen Muther set up the touchdown. Adrian Vargas scored from the seven with 2 minutes 56 seconds left in the first quarter. The conversion failed after a bad snap.

Troy increased its lead to 12-0 on the first play of the fourth quarter on a six-yard bootleg by Muther. The extra-point attempt again failed. The scoring drive, which covered 85 yards, included a 31-yard run by Muther and a 28-yard pass from Muther to Mark Ahlberg, only one of three completions in the game for Troy (1-2).

The Warrior defense limited the Lancers (0-3) to 18 yards in the first half and 111 for the game.

Troy squandered three other scoring opportunities. In the second quarter, Ceasar Ortiz recovered a Troy fumble in the end zone to end one and Nick Mancillas intercepted a pass on the Lancer three to stop another. Sean Christensen had a 38-yard field goal attempt blocked in the fourth quarter.