Sports Blog: Troy High Tops Romeo 24-20 in Season Opener

Going into the 2012 season, the plan was for Troy High School’s Justin Losey to make the switch from quarterback to wide receiver and focus on playing defense. In Troy’s opening game Thursday night, those plans changed.

Losey, Troy’s starting quarterback the past two years, relieved an injured Jay Darish during the second quarter and his play helped Troy hang on for a 24-20 victory over Romeo in a non-league game.

Troy (1-0) got off to a quick start scoring on its first drive and built a 21-0 lead behind three touchdowns and 95 first half yards from running back Terrance Cherry.

Romeo’s defense had no answer for Troy’s run game in the first half, as Cherry, Losey and Darish controlled the clock and combined for 160 rushing yards in the first half. The second half proved to be a different story for Cherry as he was held to just 25 more yards, finishing with 120 on 23 carries.

It looked like the game would be a blowout before Darish left with a right knee injury. Darish did not return and Troy coach Gary Griffith said the team will know the extent of the injury until it gets the results from an x-ray Friday.

“Jay got hurt and obviously we hadn’t planned on that, and it completely changes the dynamics of the offense,” Griffith said. “With Jay, if they’re going to put eight guys in the box we’re going to throw it. Justin’s an option-type quarterback so we have to try and do different things.”

On the first Romeo possession following the Darish injury, the Bulldogs got on the board with a 4-yard touchdown run from Joe Gardner with one minute remaining in the half.

At that point, Losey entered the game at quarterback and led the Colts on a drive that ended with an Erich Hagen field goal just before halftime. The score gave the Colts a 24-7 lead and those points turned out to be very valuable as Romeo staged a furious second half comeback that fell just short.

With Losey at quarterback, the Colts opted not to keep him on the field at defensive back and risk an injury. The Bulldogs took advantage of the now shorthanded Troy defense.

Romeo quarterback Evan Richardson found Zach Rizo wide open on a slant for a 32-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter. On the Bulldogs’ next possession, facing a 4th-and-20, Richardson found Gardner wide open down the middle for a 36-yard gain. The two connected again moments later for a 6-yard touchdown, bringing Romeo to within 24-20 following a missed extra point.

As Romeo began to rally, Griffith said the team began to look to Losey for leadership.

“Justin’s a great high school athlete; he’s not the biggest kid and he’s really not the fastest kid, but he’s got heart the size of Troy High School,” Griffith said. “If you noticed he was the one getting everyone pumped up before the game and he was the one keeping them pumped up during the game.”

Romeo held Troy to a three-and-out on the next possession, and the Bulldogs got the ball back with 3:35 left in the game.

Losey began rallying his teammates to get one more stop to preserve the victory.

“The kids all like Justin, they rally around him,” Griffith said. “We’ve had good times, we’ve had some terrible times and he’s been through the ups and downs. He’s able to right the ship and help the kids with a little direction on where they need to go.”

With Losey watching from the sideline, the Colts got their stop. Romeo tried the same play that worked for them on 4th and 20 earlier, but this time Troy’s Danny Wunderlich was ready for it.

Wunderlich read the play and made a leaping interception on Richardson’s pass intended for Gardner, sealing the Troy victory. He said the defense was determined not to let Romeo score on that final drive.

“It took everything we had,” Wunderlich said. “The previous couple drives we let them score and we knew that this was the drive of the game.”

A 20-yard run from Quincy Walker allowed Losey to simply take a knee to run the clock out, which set off a wild celebration in front of the Troy student section.

Troy will look to build on its strong start next Thursday when the Colts travel to face Rochester in an Oakland Activities Association Red Division game.

OTHER LOCAL RESULTS

Warren Mott 41, Troy Athens 6

Rochester 38, Utica 7

Auburn Hills Avondale 42, Hazel Park 6

Birmingham Seaholm 9, Ferndale 0

North Farmington 28, Bay City John Glenn 13

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