BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
CATAWISSA — On Troy’s first drive they were stopped on fourth-and-short, and it proved to be a bad omen for the game as the Trojan offense not got going in their 42-0 loss to Southern Columbia during the District IV, Class AA title game Friday.
“They’re a better team,” Troy coach Jim Smith said. “It’s that simple. They beat us in every aspect of the game. We were outmanned tonight, and that team’s going to win a state title in AA handily.”
The Trojans were held to just 143 total yards and six first downs on the night while the Tigers had 430 yards and 22 first downs. SCA ran off nearly twice as many plays as Troy - 61-37 - and scored on six of their seven drives.
Brayden Andrews had 17 carries for 185-yards and three touchdowns to lead the Tigers as Joey Williams added 13 carries for 74-yards and a score. Parker Pesarchick also had a touchdown run.
Ayden Hockenbroch was efficient on the night, going 7-for-7 for 78-yards and a touchdown, hitting five different receivers. Jace Malakoski (two catches, 25-yards) and Grady Garcia (two catches, 23-yards) had multiple catches on the evening, while Nate Gallager hauled in the 17-yard scoring strike.
Mason Smith led Troy with 68-yards on 14 carries, 45 of that coming on one big first half run. Brendan Gilliland was held in check with 25-yards on nine carries, while Kael Millard added 14-yards on three touches.
It was a packed house in Southern Columbia as Troy took the opening kick. They got their own 47-yard line and were on chain link short of the first down, so went for on fourth but got stuffed.
That set up Southern with good field position as they converted two key third down plays to get to the Trojan 9-yard line.
Two plays later it appeared that they scored but a holding call backed them up to the 13. A fumble by Hockenbroch saw them go back 10 more yards, and on fourth down Reed Palmer got a sack to turn it back over to Troy.
The Trojans, though, went 3-and-out with Southern taking over at their 46-yard line.
After a holding call on first down they went 59-yards on 11 plays that ended with a 3-yard Williams run. The key play for the Tigers was converting a 4th-and-1 at midfield as Hockenbroch kept it for a 2-yard run.
An 18-yard pass play of Hockenbroch to Malakoski on third down got Southern to the Trojan 6-yard line, where they scored two plays later to break the scoreless 7-0 after the Preston Shadle kick.
The Trojans got some momentum on their third drive as Smith cut back on the option for a 45-yard run to the SCA 21.
The Trojans got down to the 16-yard line, but a dead ball personal foul call backed them up to third-and-16.
They got it back to the 20, where they tried a field goal but it was short.
Southern took over at their own 8-yard line and went 92-yards on 10 plays ending on an Andrews 14-yard scoring run to make it 14-0 with 2:15 on the clock.
Troy’s ensuing drive ended in disaster as they fumbled the ball over to Southern on the first play.
With just 2:01 left in the half the Tigers beat the clock, going 34-yards on eight plays to score with 14.6 seconds left on a Hockenbroch 17-yard pass to Gallagher.
The key play was a fourth down conversion with Hockenbroch breaking two tackles to get the three yards necessary.
Shadle’s kick was good and it was 21-0 at the half.
Southern got the ball to start the second half, setting up camp at their own 38-yard line and going 62-yards on eight plays, ending with an Andrews 7-yard touchdown run.
A 21-yard run from Garcia four plays in got them inside the Trojan 30, then three plays later a 13-yard run from Williams got them inside the 10.
Shadle’s kick was good and it was 28-0 Tigers.
The ensuing Troy drive ended in a 3-and-out, but they pinned Southern back inside their own 10-yard line.
Troy forced a third-and-long, but Andrews found a hole on the right side of the offense, and went 86-yards down the sideline to pay dirt. Shadle hit the point after for a 35-0 lead with 4:25 left in the third.
The Trojans got a little offense going after that as three straight Gilliland runs got them a new set of downs near midfield. However, at fourth-and-3 from the 50 they went for it only for Gilliland to come up a yard short, giving the ball back to Southern.
On the Tigers’ final scoring drive the went 52-yards in 10 plays, ending with a fourth-and-1 dive by Pesarchick to break the goal line. Shadle’s kick was good for a 42-0 lead.
On Troy’s final drive they got down inside the Southern 10-yard line thanks to a 15-yard run from Landon Cole, but turned it over on the final play of the game.
Southern Columbia moves on to face Steel-High in the state quarters while Troy ends the season at 12-2.
It’ll be the end of an era for the Trojans as they say good-bye to this year’s talented senior class. This group played in three straight district title games, along with claiming a state title last fall.
“This is one of the most successful groups to ever come through Troy,” said Smith. “I think they had 38, 39 wins, and four losses, and two or three to (Southern Columbia). I don’t want to take anything away from them, they’ve made their mark in the history books and a great group of kids that we’ll never forget.”
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SOUTHERN COLUMBIA 42, TROY 0
Scoring Summary
Second Quarter
S: Joey Williams 6-yard run (Preston Shadle), 8:44
S: Brayden Andrews 14-yard run (Shadle), 2:15.
S: Ayden Hockenbroch 17-yard pass to Nate Gallagher (Shadle), :14.6
Third Quarter
S: Brayden Andrews 7-yard run (Shadle), 8:07
S: Brayden Andrews 86-yard run (Shadle), 4:25
Fourth Quarter
S: Parker Pesarchick 1-yard run (Shadle), 4:53
Individual Stats
Troy
Rushing
Mason Smith 14-68, Brendan Gilliland 9-25, Kael Millard 3-14, Landon Cole 2-17, Hunter Watson 2-11, Bridon Putnam 1-4, Team 1-(-4)
Passing
Mason Smith 1-3-8-0-0
Receiving
Brendan Gilliland 1-8
Southern Columbia
Rushing
Brayden Andrews 17-185-3, Grady Garcia 6-57, Ayden Hockenbroch 10-7, Joey Williams 13-74-1, Caden Hopper 3-22, Parker Pesarchick 5-7-1
Passing
Ayden Hockenbroch 7-7-78-1-0
Receiving
Brayden Andrews 1-8, Grady Garcia 2-23, Blaise Kissinger 1-5, Jace Malakoski 2-25, Nate Gallagher 1-17-1
Team Stats Troy SCA
Rushes/Yards 34/135 54/352
Passing Yards 8 78
First Downs 6 22
Penalties/Yards 1/15 3/35
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 2/0
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
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