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Damian Calhoun. Sports Newsroom Assistant.

// MORE INFORMATION: Associate Mug Shot taken August 24, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Final score: Buena Park 42, Troy 19

The game: Turnovers. Turnovers. Turnovers. That’s the best way to describe the early stages of Friday’s game. Troy fumbled three times in the first quarter. Buena Park quarterback Zach Taylor had a pair of passes intercepted in the opening quarter. The first points came off of a turnover when Devon Cooley fell on a fumble for a touchdown. Once the Coyotes settled in, then the offense was nearly unstoppable, running the ball (Elijah Bynum led with 93 rushing yards) and of course through the air with Taylor (350 passing, three touchdowns). In their seven victories this season, the Coyotes are averaging 47 points a game. Troy put up a valiant fight in the second half, but couldn’t fight its way from the early struggles on offense.

Key to the game: Late in the first half, Troy leading rushing Draytwoine Shaw went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury. If he’s able to work in the second half, then maybe the Warriors can stay in the game, pound the ball with Shaw and keep the Coyotes off of the field.The score was just 14-0 at halftime, so the Warriors were still in striking distance and they scored on their first possession of the second half, but the Coyotes pressure was eventually too much.

Player of the game: Jeremiah Hawkins. He’s not tall, but that doesn’t matter. Hawkins made some nifty and shifty moves in traffic all game and showed excellent breakaway speed to eat up chunks of yardage. He finished with 10 catches with 159 yards. I would guess that he had more than half of his yardage after the catch. He’s certainly a player to watch, if you can keep up with him. “We have weapons of mass destruction over here,” Taylor said. “All of them can plays. I’m confident that if I get the ball to either of them, they can make a play. It’s great.”

What it means: The victory sets up a showdown for second place next week for Buena Park against Sonora. Troy would need an upset over La Habra to finish the regular season over .500. A loss by Troy would drop the Warriors to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in league. Even though the Freeway League is one of the toughest leagues in the Southwest Division, I’m not sure how attractive an under .500 record and three consecutive losses would look to the selection committee.

Looking ahead: The Sonora-Buena Park game next week has the potential to be wild from start to finish. The Coyotes need to understand that they can’t turn the ball over three times against the Raiders. That’s a team, with Cole McDonald and Jacob Fimbes, that will make you pay for those mistakes. “We have to start the game off playing our football,” Taylor said. “Not try and force anything too early. Play BP football from beginning to end.”