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NTL FOOTBALL: TROY ROUTS DISTRICT VI POWER JUNIATA IN OPENER (2023-08-27)

BY BRIAN FEES
Northern Tier Sports Report
TROY — Facing a team that’s won three straight district titles the Troy Trojans set the tone early, scoring in the first two minutes of the game on their way to a 56-21 win over Juniata.

Juniata has won three straight District 6, 4A titles and they have gone 23-9 over that stretch, but the Trojans wasted little time getting out in front on Saturday.

After a defensive stop by the Trojans the special teams went to work as Mason Smith hauled in the punt, got behind a wall of blockers and took off for a 64-yard touchdown just 1:59 into the game. Brady Spalding hit the extra point and Troy led 7-0.

“Anytime you can get a freebie like that, that sets the tone and that wall was set up perfect and Mason read his blocks well and it was a whole team effort,” Troy coach Jim Smith said. “Anytime you can score in that facet of the game it certainly helps.”

Troy senior Clayton Smith knew how big that play was for the team.

“That was awesome, I was so proud of my brother,” he said.

And, Mason Smith knew that was a big moment for the Trojans.

“It just set the tone for the game, we were ready to go after that,” he said.

For Troy quarterback Evan Woodward it took a lot of nerves off to get off to the quick lead.

“Definitely that helped,” he said. “Relieved a little stress and got us up quick so that was nice.”

The game stayed 7-0 into the second quarter, but that’s when the Troy offense really came alive, scoring 28 points in the quarter on their way to the win.

Troy closed out the first quarter by tightening up when Juniata got inside the 30, forcing two straight incompletion to end the drive.

Troy then went to work on a 10-play 72-yard drive, capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Kael Millard with 9:26 left in the half. Spalding made the kick and it was 14-0.

Just one play later the Troy defense went to work as Ben Warburton got a pick six, running back and interception 63 yards for a score just 33 seconds after the previous score. Again Spalding hit the kick and it was 21-0.

“It feels great,” Clayton Smith said of the win. “They are a big school and I’m happy we could pull it off.”

“It feels great,” Woodward said. “Get the wheels going and hopefully we can keep it going.”

Juniata got their offense going on the next drive as Wyatt Ehrenzeller hit Jasper Shepps on a 73-yard touchdown catch with 7:43 left in the half. Ehrenzeller hit the extra point to make it 21-7.

Troy went back to work as they drove 58 yards, keyed by a 30-yard pass from Woodward to Cameryn Harwick, and a roughing the passer penalty by Juniata on the play. Clayton Smith capped the drive with a nine-yard run with 4:08 left in the half and Spalding hit the kick to make it 28-7.

A Woodward interception set up the next score for Troy as Charles Oldroyd ran in from a yard out with 1:33 left in the half and Spalding hit the kick to make it 35-7.

“We started switching up our defense and getting more pressure on the quarterback and things went downhill for them,” Clayton Smith said. “Definitely set the tone and showed what our defense was made of.”

The Trojans knew Juniata had some good skill players, with Shepps hauling in seven passes for 158 yards and two scores in the game, but the pass rush didn’t give Ehrenzeller much time to find those weapons.

“Pressure on the quarterback was the key, that wide receiver, he’s a good player,” Mason Smith said.

“Our defense showed up tonight, we had a few miscues, but over all we did pretty well,” Woodward said.

Jim Smith knows how big the pressure by the defense was for the win.

“We didn’t give him time, we over pursued a few times, and there were some things we have to do a little big better in coverage,” Jim Smith said. “Blew some of our zone overage stuff, but that’s stuff you plan to see in a week one game and you hope it gets better in week two, because I think the Montoursville team is a quality football team and we are not going to be able to go in there and play bad and beat them.

“The quarterback (Ehrenzeller) was running around a little bit and that was key. He didn’t have time to just sit there and wait for him to get open. But, they did make some plays, kudos to them. They have some player makers. I give them a lot of credit, because they could have gave up and they just never did. They kept grinding. I give them credit for that.”

Juniata got on the board to end the half as Shepps hauled in a 35-yard pass from Ehrenzeller to get them to the 12 and a play later Seth Laub scored from 12 yards out with 49 seconds left in the half. The kick failed and it was 35-13 at the break.

Troy came out in the final seconds of the half and Woodward quickly hit two straight passes to two different receivers for 32 yards. He had three completions on the drive and finished the game 7-for-11 for 76 yards, with two of those incompletions being spikes to stop the clock.

“It was nice to see Evan, I don’t know statistically what he was, but his passer rating had to be pretty high,” Jim Smith said. “I don’t think he missed many, but again that is set up by the fact that everyone knows we run the ball. It’s rare that we have the amount of capable men in space that can hurt teams. Teams are definitely going to have to consider that in the future I think.”

Woodward knows how much it helps having strong backs, and how special the balance is.

“We have some great running backs, they make my job a lot easier,” Woodward said. “Hopefully we can keep that (balance) going and use that through the rest of the games this season.”

Woodward completed six of his seven passes in the first half. In the third quarter it was his legs that helped the Trojans as he had a 64-yard touchdown run just 1:33 into the half. Spalding hit the kick and it was 41-13.

Juniata had a long drive, burning nearly six minutes off the clock as they went 79 yards on 12 plays, with Erhenzeller hitting Shepps on a 22-yard touchdown with 4:47 left in the quarter. Gage Harlon had the two-point run and it was 42-21.

Troy came right back on just one play when Clayton Smith scored on a 49-yard touchdown run just 17 seconds later. Spalding hit the extra point and it was 49-21.

The Trojans capped the scoring with 7:49 left in the game when Brendan Gilliland scored for the Trojans and Spalding hit the kick.

Troy ran for 246 yards and passed for 76 for 332 yards overall, while Juniata ran for 104 and threw for 167 for 271 total.

Clayton Smith had 97 yards on 12 carries with two scores and Woodward ran for 85 yards on just four carries, with a score, while throwing for the 76 yards for 161 total yards in the game.

Oldroyd ran for 31 yards and Millard ran for 11, while Noah Ellis ran for 10 yards.

Camryn Harwick hauled in three passes for 42 yards, Mason Smith caught two passes for 32 yards and Lincoln Chimics caught two passes for 20 yards.

Ehrenzeller was 9-for-17 for 167 yards with two scores and two picks for Juniata. Laub ran for 34 yards, Heath Hutchinson ran for 27 and Talan Barndt ran for 18 and caught two passes for nine yards, while Ayden Dowling had 25 yards rushing.

For the Trojans it was big to open the season with a win over a three-time district champ.

“It’s great to start 1-0,” Jim Smith said. “This was a big one for us. It’s a bigger school. We didn’t know much about them, they have won their last three district championships and they have bigger plans this year. And, it’s 4A football it’s not A or AA football so this was a big win for us.”

The Trojans were ready and excited coming into the season.

“We were excited coming in,” Woodward said. “But, we were able to be calm, cool and collected and we were able to come out with the win, so that’s good.”

For Troy they came out with the mindset that they wanted to open the year 1-0.

“We knew they were defending district champs the past three years and we knew they were big and we just came to win,” Clayton Smith said.

Now, it’s onto game two for the Trojans.

“It feels great, now we are just looking forward to week two,” Mason Smith said.

And, the win on Saturday gives them a boost as they head into the second game.

“All the confidence in the world,” Clayton Smith said.

Troy is at Montoursville on Friday, Sept. 1.

TROY 56, JUNIATA 21

JUNIATA 0 13 8 0 — 21

TROY 7 28 14 7 — 56

FIRST QUARTER

T: Mason Smith 64 yard punt return (Brady Spalding kick), 10:01

SECOND QUARTER

T: Kael Millard 2 yard run (Spalding kick), 9:26

T: Ben Warburton 63 yard interception return (Spalding kick), 8:53

J: Jasper Shepps 73 yard pass from Wyatt Ehrenzeller (Ehrenzeller kick), 7:43

T: Clayton Smith 9 yard run (Spalding kick), 4:08

T: Charles Oldroyd 1 yard run (Spalding kick), 1:33

J: Seth Laub 12 yard run (Kick failed), :49

THIRD QUARTER

T: Evan Woodward 64 yard run (Spalding kick), 10:27

J: Shepps 22 yards from Ehrenzeller (Gage Harlon run), 4:47

T: Clayton Smith 49 yard run (Spalding kick), 4:30

FOURTH QUARTER

T: Brendan Gilliland 2 yard run (Spalding kick), 7:49

TROY

Rushing

Clayton Smith 12-97-2; Camryn Harwick 2-4; Evan Woodward 4-85-1; Kael Millard 2-11-1; Charles Oldroyd 4-31-1; Brendan Gilliland 1-2-1; Noah Ellis 1-10; Jacob Hinman 1-6; Jayden Kutt 1-4; Reed Palmer 1-(-4)

Passing

Woodward 7-11-76-0-0

Receiving

Mason Smith 2-32; Camryn Harwick 3-42; Lincoln Chimics 2-20;

JUNIATA

Rushing

Wyatt Ehrenzeller 12-7; Heath Hutchinson 7-27; Seth Laub 6-34; Javier Lopez 3-7; Talan Barndt 3-18; Ayden Dowling 5-25; Jason Condo 2-(-14)

Passing

Ehrenzeller 9-17-167-2-2

Receiving:

Jasper Shepps 7-158-2; Talan Barndt 2-9

TOTALS