TROY — Troy football showcased their newest weapon in their 31-21 win over Athens on Friday. Josiah Pesesky showed he could run (16 carries, 93 yards, one touchdown), throw (a 13-yard touchdown pass), and defense (a late game interception).

Not bad for the sophomore in one of the biggest games of the year.

"It feels so good," Pesesky said about getting the home win over Athens. "We came in here ready because of last week, we were really prepared. We had a good week of practice, and I was really excited to play."

This is the first time Pesesky has played tailback at the varsity level and coach Jim Smith couldn't have been happier with him.

"He did great," Smith said. "We had four or five different backs that we were alternating, but for a sophomore kudos to him. Our line did a really great dominating tonight."

A lot of different players shined for the Trojans. Trey Teribury had two touchdown catches, Spencer Martin had a touchdown pass and two interceptions, Seth Feldmeier had three sacks on the day, Logunn Heasley had a pick-6, and the boys in the trenches put in work as they held Athens to minus-5 yards rushing while the Trojans rushed for 227 yards themselves.

"It's no secret we have to be physical up front," Smith said. "Three yards and a cloud of dust, go for it on fourth downs, not give them the ball back, and finish."

They completely changed their defensive game plan from last year as they focused on stopping Athens quarterback Connor Davidson.

"He ran all over the place, and went from our 3-4 to a 4-2," Smith said. "It was something brand new to the kids. Our focus was defense, and we knew that if we could keep the game close, and keep them out of the end zone, we would be in a position where we could just run our three yards and a cloud of dust."

Davidson had minus-5 yards rushing on 13 carries, though plenty of those were sacks in the backfield.

He did show off his arm, throwing for 258 yards on 11-for-31. He had two touchdown passes, but the Trojans picked him off four times, too.

The Trojans led 28-7 at the half, but saw their lead dwindle to 28-21 after a scoop-and-score late in the third.

That's when Troy went on a game deciding drive that went 16 plays and chewed up eight minutes, and 39 seconds of the clock.

It ended with a Gavin Lykon-Leffler 32-yard field that extended the lead to two scores, and Athens wasn't able to mount a challenge.

"That was a huge momentum changer," said Smith. "We've got to get better at shooting ourselves in the foot."

Smith told the players Lykon-Leffler had the play of the game when he split the uprights.

"Kudos to our kicker, he drilled a big one," said Smith. "That changed the game for us. That's two in a row for him."

Reed Palmer ran the ball 12 times for 64 yards, with Jayden Kutt handling the ball 12 times for 39 yards.

Martin was 2-for-5 passing for 94 yards, while Teribury had three catches for 107 yards to go with the two touchdowns.

Kade Rowe had five catches for 78 yards and a score for Athens as Gage Marmor had two catches for 80 yards. Nolan Raupers had two catches for 24 yards and a score.

Troy got the ensuing kick-off and wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Martin hit Teribury for a 56-yard touchdown strike off play action. Lykon-Leffler's kick made it 7-0 less than a minute into the game.

Spencer would pick off a deep Davidson pass on the ensuing drive, though the two teams went into a stalemate after that.

Athens would get down to the Troy 11-yard line but a field attempt was blocked by Feldmeier.

On the opening Troy drive the Trojans went 75 yards on six plays, ending with a Pesesky 21-yard scoring run. After Lykon-Leffler's kick it was 14-0 with 17.4 seconds left in the first.

Athens responded with a touchdown drive of their own, going 52 yards on six plays. On fourth-and-9 Davidson found Rowe, who broke three tackles en route to the end zone. Zach Fisher's kick was good for a 14-7 game with 10:45 left in the half.

Troy answered with an 80 yard drive over six plays. Pesesky would hit Teribury for a 13-yard strike on a halfback pass for the 21-7 lead with 7:48 left in the half.

"I've been practicing quarterback," Pesesky said. "It was a new thing for me. He's tall so I just threw it up there."

The key play was a 31-yard run from Palmer with Athens getting called for a personal foul to tack on 15 more yards.

After trading possessions Athens would start inside their own 20. On second down Heasley leaped in front of a Davidson pass, corralled the ball, and tight roped his way down the sideline 30-yards to pay dirt. Lykon-Leffler's kick was good for a 28-7 lead with 4:09 left in the half.

The Wildcats opened the second half with a 65-yard scoring drive on eight plays, ending with a 20-yard pass of Davidson to Raupers. 

A 45-yard strike of Davidson to Eli Wayman to get down to the redzone set up the score.

The defenses dug in, though Athens was able to get to the Troy 9-yard line. However, back to back sacks from Feldmeier and Kutt forced a turnover on downs.

The Athens defense would get them back in the game as they forced a bad pitch from Martin. Devin Maxfield scooped up the fumble and out ran the Troy players to the end zone for a 38-yard return.

Fisher's kick was good, and it was a one score game with 1:28 left in the third.

Troy answered with their long drive, in which they converted three straight third downs before getting stymied at the 15-yard line. 

After Lykon-Leffler's kick Athens needed 10 points to tie in the final 4:59.

The ensuing drive ended with a turnover on downs, while their final drive saw Pesesky step in front of a Davidson pass for the pick.

Troy will host undefeated Towanda next week and Smith is expecting another tough one.

"They're very similar to this," he said. "They run the spread, they've got a quick quarterback who throws the ball really good. We've got to breakdown and corral him like we did tonight. Tonight is a really good indicator for a lot of the teams that we play looking forward."

TROY 31, ATHENS 21

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

T - Spencer Martin 56-yard pass to Trey Teribury (Gavin Lykon-Leffler kick), 11:03

T - Josiah Pesesky 21-yard run (Lykon-Leffler), 17.4

Second Quarter

A - Connor Davidson 39-yard pass to Kade Rowe (Zach Fisher kick), 10:45

T - Josiah Pesesky 13-yard pass to Trey Teribury (Lykon-Leffler), 7:48

T - Logunn Heasley 30-yard interception return (Lykon-Leffler kick), 4:09

Third Quarter

A - Connor Davidson 20-yard pass to Nolan Raupers (Fisher), 9:31

A - Devin Maxfield 38-yard fumble return (Fisher), 1:28

Fourth Quarter

T - Gavin Lykon-Leffler 32-yard field goal, 4:59

Individual Stats

Athens

Rushing

Connor Davidson 13-(-5), Brendan Cooke 4-9, Team 2-(9)

Passing

Connor Davidson 11-31-258-2-4

Receiving

Kade Rowe 5-78-1, Nolan Raupers 2-24-1, Gage Marmor 2-80, Dominic Robbins 1-11, Eli Wayman 1-45

Troy

Rushing

Josiah Pesesky 16-93-1, Reed Palmer 12-64, Jayden Kutt 12-39, Spencer Martin 3-10, Evan Allen 3-10

Passing

Spencer Martin 2-5-94-1-0, Josiah Pesesky 1-2-13-1-1

Receiving

Trey Teribury 3-107-2

Team Stats Athens Troy

Rushes/Yards 19/(-5) 49/227

Passing Yards 258 107

First Downs 10 16

Penalties/Yards 9/65 534

Fumbles/Lost 10/0 3/3

Interceptions By: Athens - Connor Davidson; Troy - Spencer Martin (2), Logunn Heasley, Josiah Pesesky

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