Troy uses strong rushing attack to defeat crosstown rival Fullerton 31-12

Ethan Mundt takes a handoff in the second quarter for Troy. (PHOTOS: Jacob Ramos, For OC Sports Zone).

Behind senior captain running back Ethan Mundt, Troy defended its pseudo-home field advantage against Fullerton, winning 31-12 at Fullerton District Stadium Friday night. The non-league football game took place on Fullerton’s campus, where Troy and Fullerton share game-day facilities. 

Though a stifling defense played a massive role in Troy’s crosstown victory, Mundt was the talk of the town after he put up 95 yards and three touchdowns on the ground to lead the Warrior offense. 

To see additional photos, click on the first picture:

Mundt spoke about his performance postgame to OC Sports Zone.

“There was a couple of open holes I missed … but I saw a lot of cutback lanes and they were tackling high, and I just, I had a good game,” Mundt said. “I always got to keep on going and keep on getting better.”

Despite Mundt’s rushing dominance against Fullerton, Troy’s defense was responsible for putting the senior and his offense in prime field position all night. Picking off three Fullerton passes, Troy was able to dominate both the turnover and field position battles. Noah Torosian, Andrew Green and Paul Ortega all intercepted the ball for the Warriors, capping off three phenomenal defensive reps by Troy (2-1).

Troy Coach Michael Echaves spoke about his defense postgame.

“Defense man, they’re dialed in,” Echaves said. “Coach Takk, our defensive coordinator, does a great job and they have a wonderful staff over there on that side of the ball. And they were prepared.”

Both teams utilize a Wing-T offense, a scheme based on heavy runs and multiple backs in the backfield with the quarterback, something that Echaves noted. He mentioned that his defense seeing the scheme in practice every day helped prepare for the program’s yearly bout with Fullerton.

Not much was needed out of the air attack for Troy on Friday, but quarterback Andrew Acuna did the little things well, completing all five of his attempts for 44 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.

The Warriors will continue their non-league schedule against Foothill next week at Tustin.

As for Fullerton, it was a struggle all night after a 51 yard first-drive touchdown thrown over the middle from Sergio Andrade to running back Caden Wise.

Both the offense and defense made critical mistakes, limiting the Indians to just 12 points on the night. Withholding the massive strike to begin the night, Fullerton could only muster 72 yards through the air, in part to Andrade throwing three interceptions. 

Led by a new but experienced head coach Peter Karavedas, the Indians understand Friday’s loss is just a bump in the road towards potentially much greener pastures. Fullerton claimed two lopsided victories to begin its 2025 season defeating Anaheim and Indio by 34 and 50 points, respectively. 

“We got to play more disciplined football,” Karavedas said, speaking about his team’s performance Friday. “You turn the ball over three times against a good team like Troy and you have penalty-killed drives, you’re not going to win the football game.”

Football fans will recall that Karavedas led Fullerton’s rival Sunny Hills’ football program for years and had a CIF championship to his credit before taking a short break from the sidelines to serve as an assistant principal in the district. Now, he is tasked with righting the ship for a Fullerton program that was winless last year.

“[Fullerton is] the flagship school with the rich tradition and history and it was a program that had fallen on some hard times, but we knew there was talent in the program. So I’m excited about what we’re building here,” Karavedas said when discussing his first season leading Fullerton (2-1).

The game may have been perceived as an interesting challenge for Karavedas’ staff, as they served as the away team on their own campus due to both Troy and Fullerton sharing Fullerton District Stadium as a home field. Despite this, Karavedas was comfortable.

“It’s a little weird at first, and Mike and I have a great relationship so we coordinated as far as making sure our kids don’t run into each other or anything like that [pregame],” Karavedas said, referencing Echaves. “But, you know, once the ball’s kicked, you’re just playing football.”

The rushing attack was a positive for the Indians on Friday, with Evan Tellez-Soria putting up 42 yards and a touchdown on the ground on just eight attempts. Andrade also added value with his legs,  rushing for 25 yards on three attempts.

All told, Friday was a test of adversity for Fullerton, but it was one that Karavedes believes his program can respond to well. 

“We’re going to learn a lot about our boys come Monday, right when they come out to practice,” Karavedes said. “What these boys have shown me and their character since being here is that they’re gonna show me, I think, a very great practice.”

Monday’s practice will be the first session of work before Fullerton takes on Santa Fe in a week three non-league matchup.