BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
The game that seemed fated from the beginning of the season - Troy (11-1) vs. Southern Columbia (11-1) - finally here. This year it’s for the District IV, Class AA title with kick-off at 7 p.m. on Friday down at Catawissa.
“It feels great,” Jayden Kutt said about being back in the district title game for the third year in a row. “We’ve worked hard all season, and it’s just great to be back.”
The Tigers had gotten the best of the Trojans when they’ve matched up in the playoffs in recent years, including a grueling mud bowl win for the district title two years ago, but Troy struck back last season when they hung 69 on Southern Columbia in a district semifinal win en route to the state title.
“I feel like it’s well deserved,” Troy coach Jim Smith said. “Our kids have worked really hard, with a bunch of new faces. Not a lot of people thought we would be able to get back to this point, so I’m really proud of the kids. We see it as a huge opportunity. They have a great venue, several thousand of their people are going to show up, and there’d be no better place to beat them than in front of all their people.”
The Tigers took care of business last week when they beat Bloomsburg (41-21) in semifinals to run their win streak to 11 games in a row after losing their season opener to Wyomissing (49-27).
Troy out paced Warrior Run (48-34) in a shoot out last week as they jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game.
“It feels good that we finally showed up at the beginning of the game this week,” Kael Millard said.
The Trojans ran for nearly 500 yards a week ago - Brendan Gilliland had over 300 yards and five touchdowns himself - but they know they’ll have to tighten up defensively this week.
“Southern, they’re a really run heavy team, so we’ve got to stop the run this week,” said Millard. “We’re just going to have be fast and physical this week.”
It was the pass that gave Troy fits last week but they know the Tigers are a different type of team.
“We’re sort of the same philosophy to Southern, we feel like you have to be able to run the ball in November and December to win games; they feel much the same way,” Smith said. “Although they can be effective throwing the ball, if they don’t have to do it, they won’t do it, so if we’re forcing them to fat pass I feel like we’re doing a good job at stopping their bread and butter.”
Stopping the run will mean stopping Brayden Andrews, who has 1,065 yards rushing this year with 15 touchdowns on 117 carries. Grady Garcia (799-yards, 15 touchdowns, 97 carries) and Joey Williams (623-yards, eight touchdowns, 96 carries) have also shown the Tigers aren’t a one man band.
“They’ve got really strong backs,” Kutt said about Southern. “We’ve just got to respect their game, and play hard and physical. We’ve just got to be ourselves, and play our ball.”
Ayden Hockenbroch just eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark passing, with 1,007 yards with a 56-percent completion percentage. He has 13 touchdowns against three interceptions.
It’s receiving by committee with four receivers with over 100 yards this season, led by Blaise Kissinger (302 yards, five touchdowns, 13 receptions) and Jace Malakoski (248 yards, 14 receptions, two touchdowns).
Because the two teams are really similar Troy feels they have good idea of what to expect going in.
“It’s really helpful that we have a great scout team across from us,” remarked Kutt. “We see a lot of it throughout the week, and it’s going to be tough, but we know what we need to do to win.”
The Trojans boast two 1,000 yard rushers after last week in Gilliland (1,333 yards, 21 touchdowns, 109 carries) and quarterback Mason Smith (1,063 yards, 20 touchdowns, 89 carries). Millard adds 585 yards and eight touchdowns on 92 carries to that group.
Smith also went over 1,000 yards passing at 1,056 with a 71 percent completion percentage. He has 18 touchdowns against one interception.
Trey Teribury is Troy’s big target, with 24 catches for 451 yards and eight scores while Reed Palmer has five touchdown catches on nine receptions.
Coach Smith was excited with how the offense responded last week against a bigger Warrior Run team.
“There was a lot of small talk about us not having the line that could take over,” he said. “We were very outmanned size wise against them, and we had one of our better rushing days against them. I think that bodes well, not only for where we’re at, but for some of the other people in our league and how they defended us. There’s some stronger teams out here than there’s given credit for.”
For Troy’s seniors any game could be their last, and they plan on playing like it.
“I’m just playing with heart, and giving everything I’ve got,” Millard remarked.
