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FOOTBALL: TROY PREVAILS IN BATTLE OF DIVISION LEADERS (September 19, 2026)

BY TIM TAYLOR

Northern Tier Sports Report

TROY — Troy overcame a slow start and a series of third-quarter penalties to defeat Montgomery, 14-7, in a battle of NTL division leaders at Alparon Park here Friday night.

Facing a second-and-30 following three penalties in a span of 73 seconds late in the third quarter, the Trojans got those penalty yards back on a 7-yard run by Jayden Kutt, then back-to-back passes from Spencer Martin to Trey Teribury for 39 yards to the Red Raiders’ 12-yard line.

“(We were) playing with urgency and knowing that, it's a little frustrating when you hurt yourself, and we did. We had like 30 yards in penalties,” coach Jim Smith said. “We had no other choice but to test out the passing game at that point, and it actually became a blessing because I think the kids did a great job giving Spencer some time and we were getting some open guys and we caught the ball. Proud of the kids.”

It didn’t hurt that Martin had a couple of tall targets in Pesesky and Teribury.

“Yeah, both 6-4, 6-5 kids and they're athletic, and so they're a problem,” said Smith. “They did a great job tonight when we called their number.”

Kutt closed out the period with a 3-yard gain to the nine and picked up another five yards on the first play of the final stanza. Following an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Montgomery, Kutt took it in from the two in the game’s first points with 11:28 remaining in the game. The PAT kick failed, leaving Troy with a 6-0 lead.

The Troy defense stepped up and held the Raiders to five yards on their next possession and took over at the visitor’s 46 following a punt.

“The defense played tough tonight,” Smith said. “That's a good football team. They're probably going to win the rest of their games in the regular season and if they can stay healthy, more than likely will go on to win a district title and maybe even more. So this is a good win for us.”

Kutt ran for 11 yards on three consecutive carries and two plays later Josiah Pesesky ran for 19 yards to set up a first down at the 19. Kutt ran twice for another 11, giving the Trojans a first-and-goal at the five. Pesesky ran it in on the next play and Martin found Reed Palmer open with the PAT pass to give Troy a 14-0 cushion.

Montgomery responded with a 13-play, 74-yard scoring drive which was highlighted by a 35-yard gage-Furman pass to Logan Joy at the Troy 14. A penalty on the play moved the ball to the seven, and two plays later, Josh Knoebel tallied on a 4-yard run.

The onside kick attempt was unsuccessful, Kutt and Pesesky picked up a first down with a pair of 6-yard runs and the Trojans ran out the clock.

The game started out a little sluggish for both offenses as Troy punted on its first two possessions and the Raiders punted in between.

A 30-yard run by Trace Furman sparked Montgomery on its second possession, but the Raiders coughed the ball up at the Troy 38 with Kutt coming away with the loose ball.

The Trojans moved the pigskin down the 10, but ended up turning the ball over on downs at the 11 early in the second quarter.

Montgomery worked the ball to the Troy 37, but Peseky ended the threat with an interception at the 27.

The Trojans moved the rock to the Montgomery 25, but Trace Furman came away with an interception at the 20 and returned it to his own 49. The Raiders would miss a field goal attempt at the halftime buzzer.

Troy picked up 274 yards offense with 155 coming on the ground while Montgomery had 194 yards total offense.

Pesesky ran the ball 10 times for 67 yards and added 28 yards receiving on three catches. Kutt toted the rock 16 times for 66 yards. Spencer was 8-13 for 119 yards and tacked on 15 yards rushing on seven carries. Teribury had four receptions for 83 yards.

Knoebel was the workhorse for the Raiders, lugging the ball 28 times for 86 yards while grabbing one pass for 34 more. Joy added one reception for 35 yards.

Troy improves to 3-1 overall and sits atop the Large School Division at 2-0. Montgomery slipped to 3-1, but shares the lead in the Small School Division with Muncy at 2-0.

On Friday, the Trojans head to Wellsboro while Montgomery hosts Muncy.

Scoring Summary

Fourth Quarter

T - Jayden Kutt 2-yard run (kick failed), 11:58

T - Josiah Pesesky 5-yard run (Spencer Mason pass to Reed Palmer), 6:06

M - Josh Knoebel 4-yard run (Dylan Sherman kick), 1:53

Individual Stats

Montgomery

Rushing

Josh Knoebel 28-86-1, Lincoln Miller 6-12, Trace Furman 3-0

Passing

Gage Furman 10-20-108-0-1