TROY — Everybody got into the act offensive for Troy as they defeated Canton, 74-13, to retain the Old Shoe during NTL football action Friday.

The Trojans rushed for 347-yards with 12 different backs handling the ball. They led 28-0 at the first horn, and pushed that lead to 47-7 at the half.

"It was a good night tonight," said Troy coach Jim Smith. "You don't ever like to see it get away from the opponent like it did tonight, but it did. I'm proud of the kids, and how they played. A lot of young kids played, and it was a great night for Troy."

Jayden Kutt ran for 102-yards and two scores on just eight carries to lead the Trojans.

"It feels great to have the Old Shoe back at home for my last one," he said. "It just felt great to get another win with the guys."

The victory is Troy's ninth straight as they head into the playoffs the likely third seed.

"Week one we had some stuff to clean up, we had some mistakes, but I think we're a way different team than we were week one," Kutt remarked.

Blake Putnam added 81-yards and two scores on 11 carries with Landon Cole getting 49-yards and a score on four carries.

Through the air Spencer Martin was an efficient 7-for-8 for 112-yards and three scores, not throwing an incompletion after just missing Trey Teribury on a deep ball for his first throw.

Josiah Pesesky had two catches for 35-yards a touchdown, with Evan Allen (one catch, 39-yards) and Reed Palmer (two catches, 14-yards) also hauling in touchdown passes. Teribury finished with two carries for 25-yards.

Canton gave their fans a few exhilarating moments, particularly on Brooks Wesneski's two long touchdown passes to Rylan Wesneski. Brooks finished 7-for-22 for 195-yards with two scores and three interceptions, while Rylan had five catches for 165-yards and two touchdowns. 

The Warriors were held to just 49-yards rushing while Troy got interceptions from Lucas Norton, Toby Stanton, and Michael Belawske, with Belawske's a pick six.

Pesesky set the tone early as he took the opening kick-off 81-yards to pay dirt for the Trojans. Landon Lee hit the point after and it was 7-0 16 seconds into the contest.

Canton's first drive ended at midfield as on third-and-short Palmer got a tackle in the backfield. The Warriors went for it on fourth down, but the pass was incomplete.

The Trojans took over at the Canton 49-yard line and needed eight plays to get into the end zone as Kutt strolled in from six yards out. An 8-yard Kutt run on third-and-six kept the drive alive.

Ethan Hoffman hit the extra point and it was 14-0 with 6:09 on the clock.

After a Warrior 3-and-out Troy took at the Canton 46-yard line and needed just three plays to hit pay dirt - all of them Passes. Martin hit Palmer for 11-yards, then had back to back completions to Pesesky - one of 13-yards, and the scoring one for 22-yards, to get Troy's third touchdown of the game.

Lee's kick was good for a 21-0 lead with 4:13 on the clock.

Canton tried some trickery on the kick-off return but a fumble off a hand-off was fallen on by Troy's Bridon Putnam.

Taking over at the Canton 18-yard line the Trojans found the end zone three plays in as Martin hit Palmer for a 3-yard score. Hoffman's kick was good for a 28-0 lead with 2:47 to play in the first.

Canton's next drive started with a bang as Brooks found Whitehead for a 32-yard gain into Troy territory. The Warriors would get inside the Red Zone, but things stalled out there as the Trojans took the ball over after a turnover on downs.

Starting at their own 18-yard line Troy needed five plays to get into the endzone, ending with a Martin to Allen touchdown pass. Lee's kick was good and it was 35-0 early in the second.

Norton would get an interception two plays into Canton's next drive, giving Troy the ball back at the Warrior 25-yard line.

Four plays in Kutt punched one in from three yards out for their sixth score of the game. The point after was no good for a 41-0 lead with 8:33 on the clock.

Canton would get on the scoreboard on their ensuing drive as Brooks found a streaking Rylan for 75-yards down the right sideline on the second play from scrimmage. Aaden Dowling hit the point after and it was 41-7.

Taking over at their own 7-yard line, the Trojans ran the ball nine times to go the 93-yards to pay dirt. A 44-yard run from Kutt on the first play from scrimmage got them to midfield.

After that Blake Putnam carried the ball four straight times for 33-yards to get inside the Red Zone. Four plays later he ran one in from four yards out to make it 47-7, though the point after failed due to a bad snap.

The Warriors got the ball to start the second half and, once again, hit on another deep ball from Brooks to Rylan, this time for 65-yards. The point after failed but it was 47-13 two minutes into the second half.

Troy answered with a 59-yard, four play scoring drive that saw Cole shed a tackle then reverse field 42-yards to the end zone. Hoffman's kick was good for a 54-13 lead.

The next Troy score came with 9:40 left in the fourth as Lucas Kress ran it in from 29-yards out to cap off a four play, 47-yard drive. Lee's kick was good for a 61-13 score.

On the first play from scrimmage Belawski stepped in front of a Brooks pass and ran 25-yards the other way. The point after was no good as it was 67-13 with 9:23 to play.

Stanton would end the next Canton drive with an interception, setting up Troy's final scoring possession.

Taking over at the Warrior 41-yard line, they needed three plays to get into the end zone as Putnam went 25-yards for his second touchdown of the night. Lee's kick was good for a 74-13 final.

Both teams will gear up for possible home playoff games next week as Canton will face Northwest, while it looks like Troy will host Hughesville. 

"We're just building our depth now," said Smith. "We're moving into the playoffs and it's going to be really, really important because these are going to turn into four quarter games. We're going to have to have guys ready to go in, so we're not missing a beat if somebody goes down. Obviously, we focus every week on penalties because they are killers."

Kutt believes they're ready to start the next journey.

"I think we're super prepared," he said. "Everybody is super hungry. We obviously have some goals that we set ahead of time, so we don't really care who we're going to play - I think we're prepared for everything."

TROY 74, CANTON 13

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

T - Josiah Pesesky 81-yard kick-off return (Landon Lee kick), 11:44

T - Jayden Kutt 6-yard run (Ethan Hoffman kick), 6:09

T - Spencer Martin 22-yard pass to Josiah Pesesky (Lee kick), 4:13

T - Spencer Martin 3-yard pass to Reed Palmer (Hoffman kick), 2:47

Second Quarter

T - Spencer Martin 39-yard pass to Evan Allen (Lee kick), 11:03

T - Jayden Kutt 6-yard run (kick failed), 8:33

C - Brooks Wesneski 75-yard pass to Rylan Wesneski (Aaden Dowling kick), 7:40

T - Blake Putnam 4-yard run (kick failed), 3:27

Third Quarter

C - Brooks Wesneski 65-yard pass to Rylan Wesneski (kick failed), 10:00

T - Landon Cole 42-yard run (Hoffman kick), 7:48

Fourth Quarter

T - Lucas Kress 29-yard run (Lee kick), 9:40

T - Michael Belawske 25-yard interception return (kicked failed), 9:23

T - Blake Putnam 25-yard run (Lee kick), 3:45

Individual Stats

Canton

Rushing

Brooks Wesneski 7-49, Bailey Gardner 3-9, Jaiden Ortiz 1-1, Team 3-(-24), Brayden Tucker 4-14

Passing

Brooks Wesneski 7-22-195-2-3

Receiving

Rylan Wesneski 5-165-2, Monte Whitehead 1-32, Jaiden Ortiz 1-8

Troy

Rushing

Jayden Kutt 8-102-2, Blake Putnam 11-81-2, Evan Allen 4-20, Reed Palmer 1-12, Josiah Pesesky 1-5, Spencer Martin 1-15, Logan Heasley 1-7, Team 1-(-4), Jerrett Root 3-7, Bridon Putnam 3-15, Landon Cole 4-49-1, Lucas Kress 3-35-1, Lucas Norton 1-3

Passing

Spencer Martin 7-8-112-3-0, Landon Cole 1-1-7-0-0

Receiving

Larry Dean 1-7, Josiah Pesesky 2-35-1, Evan Allen 1-39-1, Trey Teribury 2-25, Reed Palmer 2-14-1

Team Stats Canton Troy

Rushes/Yards 18/49 42/347

Passing Yards 195 119

First Downs 7 23

Penalties/Yards 3/20 5/60

Fumbles/Lost 8/1 2/1

Interceptions: Troy - Lucas Norton, Toby Stanton, Michael Belawske

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