NTL FOOTBALL: TROY TRAVELS TO TOWANDA FOR BIG NTL TILT (2023-10-06)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
There’s a big NTL tilt Friday when undefeated Troy (6-0) travels to Towanda (4-2) with big district standing implications on the line, along with Large School title reverberations.

Both are coming off wins, with Towanda downing Athens 27-6 last week.

“We did a much better job at being consistent last week in our game with Athens,” said Towanda coach Craig Dawsey.

Troy is coming off a 51-7 win over Wellsboro. Their 50.0 PPG is currently ranked seventh in the state and second in District IV, though they have one thorn in their side they’d like to remedy.

“We have hurt ourselves with hundreds of yards in penalties that equate to an even larger number of yards offensively and on special teams the last few weeks,” said Trojan coach Jimmy Smith. “It’s something we have to clean up. As competition improves this will certainly effect us in the future if we don’t improve on this.”

Towanda, the fourth ranked team in the district for Class AA, knows that it’ll be a tall order to take on Troy, the second ranked team in the district.

“Troy is a very, very good football team, and they pose a lot of challenges on both sides of the ball,” Dawsey said. “If you are not ready they can really do a lot of things to score, and they play great defense.”

They’ve had quite some battles at Endless Mountains Stadium, with Towanda taking Troy to the wire back in 2019, the last time Troy earned an NTL title.

“Towanda has a good team,” said Smith. “We cannot take them lightly, obviously. They have a good program, smart coaches, and are improving every week. They have tough players, tackle well, and will be well prepared. Offensively, they are crafty, and will force us to be very disciplined.”

For Troy the one player they’re keying on is Riley Vanderpool. After leading the league in rushing the first half of the season he threw for over 250 yards in the win over Athens last week.

“We have to tackle well this week,” said Smith. “We have to read our keys well. We have to stay home, not over pursue, and get 11 players to the ball. You hear it every week, but we cannot let their best player beat us. Riley Vanderpool is a good player - period. Our focus will be keeping him in check.”

For the Knights Troy has any number of players that can hurt them - Evan Woodward, Mason Smith, Brendan Gilliland, Lincoln Chimics, Camryn Harwick, Charles Oldroyd, and Jackson Taylor - just to name a few.

“If you do not do things fundamentally well you will be in trouble,” said Dawsey. “We had some losses to our team so we will have to have players step up and step in in various ways.”

KEYS TO THE GAME

Troy - Keep tabs on Riley Vanderpool on both sides of the ball. His offensive numbers speak for themselves, but he’s also one of the best defensive backs in the league. He can get back in coverage, or come up for run support - neutralizing him on defense will be just as important as on offense.

Towanda - Pick your poison but drink it slowly. Towanda can’t focus their defense every where, so there will be some areas for Troy to take advantage of. However, if the Knights bend but don’t break, like they did against Northwest, they can live with giving up first downs, and give their offense a chance to hang.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brendan Gilliland, Troy, WR/RB - Gilliland has nine touchdowns on the year - seven receiving, two rushing. Nine touchdowns on 20 offensive touches, that’s about as good as it gets. His nose for the end zone will likely come in handy against Towanda.

Hayden Space, Towanda, DB - The Black Knight defensive backfield will be tested like they haven’t been this year. Space, Vanderpool, Will Shrawder, Tahshon Garner, and everybody else in coverage will have to play their best. Space has 13 tackles this year, one pass defense, and one interception.

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