NTL FOOTBALL: TROY TO TRAVEL TO WELLSBORO FOR THURSDAY NIGHT GAME (2022-09-28)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
It’s another short week for the Troy Trojans (5-0), as they travel out to Wellsboro (0-5) for a Thursday night game.

“Wellsboro has a great program,” said Troy coach Jim Smith. “Wellsboro has a well respected team and staff. They have had a tough start largely due to very stiff competition, and injuries to key players. I have seen them play, and know they have some very good players, and, outside of the Canton game, they have been beating all of their opponents handily early in their games. You can never take a quality program lightly. They will be well prepared, and always play physical.”

Troy is coming off a 32-7 win over Athens, a team Wellsboro lost to two weeks ago. The Hornets fell to Towanda 41-19 last week.

“There is no advantage to a short week,” Smith said. “This is our second Thursday game this year. We cancelled JV for the practice time to prepare. I’m not a fan of Thursday games except for the opportunity to see our next opponent live on Friday - that’s the only advantage. We are working hard and adjusting the practice schedule to cover the most important topics of concerns as it pertains to the Hornets. It’s not ideal for either team, but we will make the most out of it.”

Troy has been pounding teams on the ground this season, averaging 315 yards on the ground behind Clayton Smith’s 155 yards per game to go with his 12 touchdowns.

“We need to start fast this week,” coach Smith said. “We started slow last week. I felt like we played nervous in the first half of last week. We need to be confident and play fast from the start of the game. We can’t afford a slow start with some of the teams on our schedule.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Jed Feldmeier, Troy, OL, DT - Feldmeier leads all defensive linemen with 26 tackles on the year, including two tackles for a loss. His play in the trenches will be key in slowing down Wellsboro’s offense.

Ryder Bowen, Wellsboro, LB, RB - Bowen leads the Hornets in tackles, with 55, to go with two forced fumbles. They’ll need to tackle well in order to get the Troy offense off schedule, and keep themselves in the game.

KEYS TO THE GAME

Troy - Play fast and physical. Basically, Troy just needs to play like they have been. The Hornets are banged up, and gave up nearly 300 yards of total offense last week in their loss to Towanda. 

Wellsboro - Take it one play at a time. Wellsboro will be without several key players, including receiver and defensive ace Joe Brown. They need to get some stops early, and build momentum to try and pull off the upset.