NTL FOOTBALL: TROY ROLLS PAST WELLSBORO (2023-09-30)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportTROY — Troy had nearly 500 yards of total offense as they as they rolled to another mercy rule win, defeating Wellsboro 51-7 during NTL football action Friday.
“We were dominant,” said Troy coach Jimmy Smith. “But there’s a lot of things that we can clean up. A lot of penalties - we’ll have to get on film and see what they were and go from there - but, certainly, we did hurt ourselves with an interception and a fumble, which is just kind of uncharacteristic of us. I do give a lot of kudos to Wellsboro - I thought they played hard. They kept our offense on the field longer than we have the last several weeks, and it was really good for us. It was a hard fought game and good for both teams.”
Quarterback Evan Woodward had himself a day, accounting for four touchdowns. He was 9-for-10 for 106 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while running for two scores on three carries for 39-yards. He also caught a 40-yard pass when Troy dug deep into their bag of tricks.
“It feels good,” Woodward said about getting the homecoming win. “It’s a big night, but I’m just glad we got the win.”
Eight different backs ran the ball, while five different players recorded receptions, and five different players scored touchdowns on the day for the Trojans.
“It feels good to be able to spread the defense out like that,” said Woodward. “Use multiple weapons that we have.”
Brendan Gilliland added two more touchdown receptions on the year, giving him seven so far. He also had a long run for a touchdown, leading the team with 127 yards on eight carries to go with his two catches for 44 yards.
Jackson Taylor had four carries for 40 yards with a score, Mason Smith added 50 yards on the ground off four carries, while Charles Oldroyd had four carries for 25 yards.
Even JV back Noah Ellis got into it with a 64-yard rushing touchdown near the end of the game.
Through the air Lincoln Chimics had three catches for 43 yards, while Smith hauled in two passes for 17 yards.
“It’s been a blessing with the kids that we have,” said Smith. “We can really mix it up, and it makes us a little more unpredictable. I think that we’re in a really fortunate position with the kids we have.”
Defensively they held the Rams to 137 total yards on the day, keeping them to three yards on the ground in the first half.
Troy’s only blemish was their nine penalties for 90 yards, many of which came in the third quarter.
Ryder Bowen had 44 yards rushing on 15 carries to lead Wellsboro, while Hayes Campbell had five carries for one yard and a score.
Marek Mascho was 8-for-15 for 83 yards, with Campbell his top receiver as he hauled in 52 yards on three catches.
The Trojans took the opening kick-off and went 62-yards on five plays to pay dirt. An 8-yard run on third-and-five by Taylor opened things up. Woodward then hit Smith for a 19-yard gain down to the 30-yard line.
From there Woodward kept it on a read-option and went nearly untouched for 30-yards to the end zone.
“I made a read and then I just saw green grass,” said Woodward. “I went for the pylon.”
The extra point was no good but Troy led 6-0 2:08 into the contest.
The Trojans would force a Wellsboro punt on their ensuing drive, setting themselves up at the Hornet 32-yard line.
This time they needed six plays to get into the end zone, ending with a Woodward to Gilliland 17-yard strike. The key play of the drive was a 17-yard gain from Smith on a third-and-six back in their own end.
Woodward found Gilliland for the 2-point conversion for the 14-0 lead with 3:38 left on the clock.
The Hornets were able to churn out some yards on their ensuing drive, starting at their own 30 and getting to midfield on eight plays before punting.
The Trojans took over at their own 22-yard line and immediately went for the big play with a wide receiver pass to Woodward for 40-yards as Campbell made the touchdown saving tackle.
The Hornets were able to force a fumble three plays later, taking it over at their own 28-yard line.
However, Troy got it right back three plays later as Avery Sens scooped up a Wellsboro fumble. A targeting call by the Hornets on the play set Troy up at the Wellsboro 8-yard line.
They only needed one play to get into the end zone as Taylor punched it up the gut 8-yards to score with 6:49 on the clock.
The 2-point conversion was no good but the Trojans led 20-0.
The Hornets were able to get to midfield but a Jack Burbage tackle for loss on second down set Wellsboro back, and they turned it over on downs.
With just 1:11 left to play the Trojans went into their 2-minute offense as, starting at their own 44-yard line, Woodward hit Chimics on back to back plays of 17 and 14 yards to get down to the 25.
After an incompletion and negative yardage play it was third-and-12. Woodward ran right first, then came back left. Just as he was about to tuck and run he saw Gilliland break for the empty end zone and hit him for a 27-yard scoring strike.
“I saw the defender that was on our guy turn his back for a second so I hit him,” explained Woodward.
Burbage punched in the 2-point conversion to make it 28-0 with 41 seconds until the half.
The third quarter was frustrating for both teams. Wellsboro had two straight 3-and-outs, while Troy turned it over on their first drive with an interception.
Their second drive, though, they started at their own 24-yard line, and methodically went eight plays to get into the end zone.
Taylor led things off with a 15-yard run, then on third-and-2 Oldroyd got them a new set of downs with a 5-yard run.
After a big pass interference call against Wellsboro set the Trojans up at the Hornet 14-yard line a 5-yard Woodward run got them inside the 10.
However, a false start backed them up, but Taylor got them inside the five with a 9-yard run.
On third-and-1 Troy’s o-line pushed the Hornet defense into the end zone as Woodward used a quarterback keeper to break the plane from four yards out. Oldroyd added the point after for a 36-0 lead with 43.4 seconds left in the third.
The Hornets scored on their ensuing drive, going 57-yards on six plays, ending with a Campbell 1-yard punch on fourth-and-goal. Carl added the point after for the 36-7 score with 8:38 left.
Troy wasn’t done scoring, though. On their ensuing drive penalties backed them up to third-and-17 when Gilliland found running room to his right and took it 66 yards to the house. Chimics added the point after for the 43-7 led with 5:57 to play.
After a Hornet 3-and-out Troy got a 63-yard run out of Ellis, also around the right side. Jayden Kutt ran in the 2-point conversion for the 51-7 final.
Troy (6-0) will now travel to Towanda (4-2) next Friday in a match-up of two of the tops teams in District IV, Class AA.
“The focus will be on us,” said Smith. “It will be cleaning things up. We got to be pretty loose in practice last week - not a bad week, but a loose week. I feel like we need to increase our intensity a little bit, and focus, because we’ve got to clean up some of these penalties. Sooner or later we’re going to run across the team where that kind of stuff can really hurt you.”
Troy 51, Wellsboro 7
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
T - Evan Woodward 30 yard run (kick blocked), 9:52
T - Evan Woodward 17-yard pass to Brendan Gilliland (Woodward to Gilliland), 3:38
Second Quarter
T - Jackson Taylor 8-yard run (run failed), 6:49
T - Evan Woodward 27-yard pass to Brendan Gilliland (Woodward run), :41.7
Third Quarter
T - Evan Woodward 4-yard run (Charles Oldroyd run), :43
Fourth Quarter
W - Hayes Campbell 1-yard run (Jonathan Carl kick), 8:38
T - Brendan Gilliland 66-yard run (Lincoln Chimics kick), 5:57
T - Noah Ellis 64-yard run (Jayden Kutt run), 2:18
Individual Stats
Wellsboro
Rushing
Ryder Bowen 15-44, Hayes Campbell 5-1-1, Marek Mascho 4-11, Cole Knapp 5-0, Max Mascho 1-(-2)
Passing
Marek Mascho 8-15-83-0-0
Receiving
Hayes Campbell 3-52, Jacob Dean 1-1, Jonathan Carl 2-21, Ryder Bowen 1-(-3), Max Mascho (1-12
Troy
Rushing
Brendan Gilliland 8-127-1, Mason Smith 4-50, Jackson Taylor 4-40-1, Charles Oldroyd 4-25, Evan Woodward 3-39-2, Joseph Frye 1-(-2), Jayden Kutt 1-6, Noah Ellis 1-64-1
Passing
Evan Woodward 9-10-106-2-0, Mason Smith 1-2-40-0-1
Receiving
Brendan Gilliland 2-44-2, Lincoln Chimics 3-43, Mason Smith 2-17, Evan Woodward 1-40, Camryn Harwick 1-2
Team Stats
Wellsboro Troy
Rushes/Yards 30/54 26/350
Passing Yards 83 146
First Downs 7 19
Fumbles/Lost 3/1 2/1
Penalties/Yards 7/44 9/90
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PHOTO CAPTION: Troy’s Evan Woodward and Brendan Gilliland celebrate their touchdown hook up against Wellsboro…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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