Troy (7-1) will be looking for their eighth straight win of the season as they travel to Wyalusing (0-8) on Friday with a 7 p.m. kick-off.

Troy coach Jim Smith wants his team to start gearing up for playoff readiness as the month of October comes to a close.

"As we move toward post season play it’s important to keep our intensity on both sides of the ball," he said. "It’s not really about the scoreboard at the end of the night. It has more to do with our own standard. We will be critical of the little things. Turnovers are only acceptable on defense. Penalties need to be at a minimum. Each player remaining focused and doing their own job is critical. Managing mistakes is controllable with focus. Staying focused is easier said than done.  It’s important we finish out the season with confidence, focus, clean play and selflessness. We will need that heading into the playoffs in a couple weeks."

For Wyalusing coach Jeffrey Hindman, he knows his young Rams squad has a tall task.

"Troy is just an all-around good team each and every year," he said. "They have built a great program so no matter how many players graduate, they always have someone else waiting to step up and get their chance to play. They play with intensity and they execute at a high level every down. They are just a talented and well-coached team."

They seem to have found some consistency in the run game with Conner Earle, and Hindman is looking to build off that this week.

"The guys are working hard each and every week. I've been trying to play call better to put them in situations where they have a higher chance of success," he said. "Defenses are going to adjust to what we do and it's on me to find ways to give our offense the advantage and the ability to move the ball. I think we were finally able to find some rhythm at the end of last week's game. The backs had some room to make things happen, and we're just trying to keep that momentum going through the rest of the season."

On the other side of the ball Hindman knows slowing down the Troy run game will be tough.

"We have been asking our players to learn a whole new system this year, playing defense differently than they have played it through their years," he said. "Each week it's focusing on the little things like alignment and key reads, to be in a position to succeed. Looking back at last week, there were a lot of plays that we were just one step away from success. It's building on all the work they have done this year, getting better every week and staying disciplined against a very versatile offense."

KEYS TO THE GAME

Troy - Keep playing sharp. After a tough slate early the Trojans have been executing well on both sides of the ball in October, and they'll look to keep doing that this Friday.

Wyalusing - Watch out for the big play. Troy is a run first team but with Trey Teribury out there the Rams can't forget about the deep ball.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Lucas Norton, Troy - Norton has 23 tackles on the season, with two tackles for loss.

Conner Earle, Wyalusing, RB - Earle started the season on the line, but has been the leading rusher for the Rams the last two weeks.