NTL FOOTBALL: TROY ROLLS PAST ATHENS (2024-09-15)
Northern Tier Sports ReportTROY — In their first divisional game of the season the defending NTL Large School champions, Troy, made a statement in their 55-0 win over Athens on Saturday.
The Trojans led 34-0 after the first quarter as they amassed nearly 350 total yards on the day, while holding Athens to just 61.
“Athens has scored 90 points in the last couple of games so one of our goals was to keep them from scoring,” said Troy coach Jim Smith. “We did that, and got a lot of kids in again, so I was happy with how everything went.”
Brendan Gilliland led the way with three rushing touchdowns on 64-yards off of six carries, while Mason Smith ran twice for 32-yards and a score. Jayden Kutt, Evan Woodward, and Reed Palmer also had rushing touchdowns, while Lincoln Chimics had an 80-yard kick-off return to the house.
Gavin Lykon-Leffler was 7-for-8 on PATs for the Trojans, who got picks from Chimics and Joseph Frye.
“It’s super important,” Smith said about his team’s big play capabilities. “The special teams did a nice job as well as the defense, overall, did a good job. We’re going to be highly critical of these kids, though, we can’t just settle. We have a group of good athletes, and we need to look at this film, and really be critical of them, and see what kind of things we can do to achieve better.”
Evan Woodward was efficient in the pocket, going 5-for-7 for 111-yards, with Chimics his top target. Chimics had two catches for 62-yards, while Palmer and Roland Smith each had a 32-yard catch.
Chimics opened the scoring with an 80-yard kick-off return for a touchdown to put the Trojans up 6-0.
Gilliland then punched in a 3-yard run for a 13-0 lead after the Lykon-Leffler extra points. Woodward would add a 1-yard scoring run to make it 20-0 after Lykon-Leffler’s kick.
Smith would score on a 29-yard run, followed by another 3-yard Gilliland punch. Lykon-Leffler was good on both kids for the 34-0 lead.
In the second Palmer added a 1-yard run followed by Gilliland scoring on a 36-yard run. Lykon-Leffler made both kicks for a 48-0 lead at the half.
Jayden Kutt scored on a 15-yard run in the third for the only touchdown of the second half. Lykon-Leffler added the point after for the 55-0 final.
Troy (4-0) will host Towanda (3-1) next week for their homecoming.
“Every week is playoff week,” Smith remarked. “The most important week is the next week to play, and you can’t have a letdown. We’ve got a big target on our back, and most of the teams we’re playing have nothing to lose, and they’re going to bring it. It’s an interesting place to be, and we have to be aware of it - play our best or bad things happen, that’s why the games are played. We have to take every game very seriously.”
TROY 55, ATHENS 0
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
T: Lincoln Chimics 80-yard kick-off return (Kick failed)
T: Brendan Gilliland 3-yard run (Gavin Lykon-Leffler kick)
T: Evan Woodward 1-yard run (Lykon-Leffler kick)
T: Mason Smith 29-yard run (Lykon-Leffler kick)
T: Brendan Gilliland 3-yard run (Lykon-Leffler kick)
Second Quarter
T: Reed Palmer 1-yard run (Lykon-Leffler kick)
T: Brendan Gilliland 36-yard run (Lykon-Leffler kick)
Third Quarter
T: Jayden Kutt 15-yard run (Lykon-Leffler kick)
Individual Stats
Athens
Rushing
Connor Davidson 13-13, Lucas Persun 5-10, Brendan Cooke 10-5, Riley Campbell 1-(-8)
Passing
Connor Davidson 6-18-39-0-2, Kade Rowe 1-1-2-0-0
Receiving
Sean Peters 4-18, Gage Marmor 1-12, Ryan Cook 1-7, Keegan Congdon 1-4
Troy
Rushing
Brendan Gilliland 6-64-3, Garret Parks 5-46, Mason Smith 2-32-1, Jayden Kutt 4-24-1, Evan Woodward 3-17-1, Kael Millard 5-15, Noah Ellis 2-4, Evan Allen 2-2, Reed Palmer 1-1-1, Spencer Martin 2-0
Passing
Evan Woodward 5-7-111-0-0, Spencer Martin 1-1-32-0-0
Receiving
Lincoln Chimics 2-62, Reed Palmer 1-32, Roland Smith 1-32, Mason Smith 2-17
Team Stats Athens Troy
Rushes/Yards 29/20 32/205
Passing Yards 41 143
First Downs 6 16
Penalties/Yards 4/25 7/53
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 3/3
Interceptions: Troy (Lincoln Chimics, Joseph Frye)
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PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON
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