PICO RIVERA – Draytwoine Shaw’s 2-yard touchdown run with 3:23 to play clinched Troy’s 28-21 victory at El Rancho Friday night.
But the best player on the field was the Warriors’ Dominic Vaccher.
The Troy senior caught touchdown passes of 55, 30 and 35 yards, intercepted El Rancho quarterback Andrew Perea twice, knocked down a couple more passes and did an outstanding job punting for the Warriors (2-0).
Vaccher has five touchdowns in two games, not including three that were called back on penalties.
“I love the way this year has started,” Vaccher said. “I just want to have my teammates’ backs, because they’re so supportive of me. We really need to work on our penalties, because it’s been aggravating.”
Troy quarterback Thomas Becerra hit Vaccher on a 55-yard strike to end the first quarter, and their 30-yard connection with 3:45 left in the half gave the Warriors a 14-0 lead.
El Rancho (1-1), aided by double-digit Troy penalties, was able to tie the score at 21 with just under 10 seconds to play in the third quarter when Isaiah Copado scored on a 2-yard run. It was Copado’s second touchdown run in a 1:41 span.
Vaccher caught a game-high six passes for 142 yards and the three scores.
Shaw finished with a game-best 101 yards on 21 carries for Troy, and Becerra completed 10 of 16 passes for 160 yards and the three touchdowns.
Perea had a rough night in his 11 of 29 effort for the Dons, which included three interceptions, another one called back on a penalty and he was sacked four times.
Stephen Leday sacked Perea twice, including on the final play of the game to seal the victory.
