FULLERTON – Yorba Linda lost arguably its best player on its opening drive Friday night, and got better, how?
“Our strength is in our line,” Mustangs coach Jeff Bailey said.
Understudy Jonah Slack replaced injured running back Mason Winter in the first quarter, and Yorba Linda’s offense didn’t skip a beat.
Slack, a junior, carried Winter’s rushing load and finished with 131 yards, as Yorba Linda defeated Troy, 28-7, at Fullerton High.
“Mason’s a strong back,” said Slack, a junior varsity starter this time last year. “I look up to Mason. He’s mentored me from my freshman year till now. This was a great experience.
“Troy has a good defense,” Slack continued. “I’m glad my offensive line created holes for me.”
Yorba Linda quarterback Luke Wilson threw three touchdowns and completed 19 of 21 pass attempts.
Once Slack earned the respect of Troy’s defense, Wilson, a 5-foot-11 junior starting his second career game, picked apart the Warriors’ secondary on play-action passes.
Mustangs receiver Luke Adams had 8 grabs for 111 yards, scoring twice. Luke Lassalle finished with 67 receiving yards.
“It’s easy with an offensive line like ours,” said Wilson, who quarterbacked last year’s junior varsity team. “We have the best offensive line coaches around.”
Yorba Linda (2-0) outgained Troy by nearly 200 yards in the first half.
Aside from separate gains of 20 and 29 yards, the Warriors offense sputtered. Troy (2-1) was playing without versatile quarterback Josiah Norwood, but credit Yorba Linda’s front seven for silencing what to this point had been a potent rushing offense.
“Their misdirection stuff is tough to prepare for,” Bailey said. “But our line came ready tonight.”
Troy running back Skyler Taylor scored in the fourth quarter and finished with 94 yards.
“We have one goal, one mission: to get better every week,” Bailey said.
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@scng.com
