NTL FOOTBALL: TROY HEADS TO CANTON AS THEY BATTLE FOR THE OLD SHOE (2025-10-22)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
Troy (8-1) will travel south to Canton (2-7) as they battle for the Old Shoe with a 7 p.m. kick-off Friday.

Both teams are coming off big successes last week as Canton held on to beat Sayre to break a 7-game losing streak, while Troy racked up 70 points in their win over Central Mountain.

“They are getting excited to play in the Old Shoe Classic,” said Canton coach Tyler Sechrist. “I don’t know if they completely understand how awesome it is to be part of this great rivalry, but one day they will look back and realize what a great opportunity it is to play in front of our two great communities.”

The two teams have had different seasons but Troy coach Jim Smith isn’t taking anything for granted.

“We are always excited for the Old Shoe Week,” he said. “It is a historic rivalry that has remained very competitive as far as the series goes. It always brings our communities out, and is always well attended. The old adage is that you can throw away the records has been a real thing at times over the years. It’s certainly important we don’t look at the records. Although Canton is young, had injuries, and had their struggles, they come into this week with some confidence, and certainly nothing to lose. They have a great coaching staff who is very crafty and experience, and will have their team prepared and fired up. We are excited for rivalry week.”

As for Canton they know this will be their toughest test of the season.

“Troy is a complete team,” Sechrist remarked. “Jimmy Smith is a great football mind and coach that gets his football teams to buy into his game plan, not just for each individual game for the season.”

The Warriors had one of their best offensive out puts in the first half win over Sayre last week and Sechrist hopes that carries over.

“We are very grateful for the win over Sayre last week,” he said. “It was nice to get back into the W column. We had way too many penalties and mistakes, and need to clean that up this week against Troy.”

As for the Trojans this is the final step before they start their state title defense in earnest.

“As the pre-season is winding down it’s important we play clean,” Smith said. “Limiting penalties, turnovers, and executing our plays with good fundamentals is the most important thing. To have a chance to play into December you cannot be sloppy in any way. Doing things right adds confidence, and we are looking for that heading into the playoffs.

KEYS TO THE GAME
Troy - Tighten things up in the secondary. Central Mountain was able to get some big pass plays last week agains the Trojans, while Canton’s Owen Moore threw for three touchdowns last weeks, and could have had a couple more. 
Canton - Bend but don’t break defensively. Troy put up 70 points last week, they probably could have put up 70 most weeks this season. The Warriors will need to stop the Trojans at least a couple times in order to keep it close.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Mason Smith, Troy, QB - Smith lit up Central Mountain last week with eight touchdowns and over 400 yards of total offense, it’ll be hard not to notice him on a football field.
Owen Moore, Canton, QB - Moore had three touchdown passes last week against Sayre as Canton got their big play offense going. They’ll need a few to hang with Troy.

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