NTL FOOTBALL: TROY EXCITED TO DEFEND THEIR STATE TITLE IN 2025 (2025-08-17)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
It’s the year after reaching the ultimate goal in high school sports for Troy football - a state title. Now they’re preparing to make that climb again as they return three starting backs and most of their offensive line.

Everybody in the state will have their eyes on Troy this year, but coach Jim Smith isn’t worried.

“It’s an honor to be in a position to have that kind of pressure,” he said. “We’re going to have a big target on our back, but we hope to see everybody’s best. That’s the only way you get good is to be in good games every week.”

All-state running back and edge rusher Brendan Gilliland returns, along with Mason Smith and Kael Millard to form one of the best rushing trios in the state.

“We did some big things last year, but we’ve moved on from that,” Gilliland said. “We’ve just got to take it one day at a time, and climb the mountain again. We’re at the bottom right now, so we’ve got to keep going.”

The senior rushed for 1,476 yards his junior year with a 10.7 yards per carry average. He finished with 27 touchdowns on the ground, while also hauling in three touchdowns through the air.

“I’ve been lifting and getting better as an overall athlete,” said Gilliland. “Bigger, faster, stronger, that’s the overall goal.”

Smith did a little bit of everything back there, running for 487 yards on 50 carries while hauling in 15 passes for 299 yards. He had 10 touchdowns total for the year.

At fullback Millard ran for 561 yards and seven scores on 77 touches.

“That’s awesome because that’s one of our biggest things is to run the ball,” Millard said.

They also bring back three-fifths of their offensive line in Micah Pesesky, Camden Coyle, and Seth Feldmeier.

“That makes it more comfortable,” Mason Smith said about having those guys up front. “A few key players like Ty (Spencer) and Avery (Sens) we’re going to have to replace, but we’ve got kids to do it.”

Having those players that have climbed the mountain once before gives Troy that much more help in getting a good start this year.

“We are blessed to have eight or nine guys that came off that team last year with lots of experience,” said coach Smith. “You know what they’re going to give us, and are a good base to work with. We’re a run heavy team to begin with.”

Pesesky, in particular, came on strong during their state run.

“It’s huge to have your center back,” Smith said. “He’s coming in with a lot of confidence and played some of the best competition in the state - the Branch kid from Riverside - and he handled himself well. If he’s not being looked at after that then there’s something wrong.”

Of course, the biggest hole they need to fill is under center with Evan Woodward off to Lycoming. Last year’s JV quarterback Spencer Martin and Mason Smith are the two looking to get that spot.

“It’s really going to come down where our team works best,” said coach Smith. “It’s less about the position, but where our offense works best, and we have a really humble group of kids that are willing to play wherever we ask them. That was one of our bright spots of our team last year, we don’t have greedy kids, they’ll do whatever they’re asked to do.”

Defense is where there are more question marks. They lost All-state players Jack Burbage, Eason Teribury, and Lincoln Chimics, but return Gilliland and Reed Palmer, along with Smith and Martin in the defensive backfield.

Palmer and Gilliland alone combined for 24 sacks a year ago.

“A lot of these positions aren’t replaceable in the same way, but we’re going to be better in some positions while developing in others,” Smiths aid. “The goal is for us to just get better every week.”

Troy played in a lot of blowouts so their JVs got plenty of time on the field last season.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that got a lot of experience last year, so we’re hoping that they’ll be able to help us to succeed this year,” Millard said.

Cornerback is the one spot they’re really diving in deep to try and fill as Chimics and Joseph Frye were two of the best in the state.

“We’re just going to definitely need kids to step up,” said Mason Smith. “We’re going to see how it goes this pre-season.”

Ultimately, this group knows that this is a different team, and a different season, playing different opponents than they did in 2024.

“We did lose a lot but we can’t worry about that,” Gilliland said. “That was last year, so that’s kind of the mindset going into it. A lot of people talk about last year, but I think it’s over with, and we’ve got some young guys that we’ve got to develop.”

As they gear up for their league, district, and title defenses the Trojans know this may be their toughest season yet, especially as they keep their team focused week to week and not looking ahead to November and December.

“That was a challenge last year,” coach Smith said. “Talking about our goals every week and what we have to do to obtain those goals, and calling people out when they’re stepping out of line, and having great leadership on the team - we’ve been really fortunate the last couple of years to have that. We’ve got a good group of senior leadership to hopefully carry that through into this year.”

SCHEDULE
Aug. 22 at Sayre, 7 p.m.
Aug. 30 at Waverly, 6 p.m.
Sep. 5 at South Williamsport, 7 p.m.
Sep. 12 at Athens, 7 p.m.
Sep. 19 at Towanda, 7 p.m.
Spe. 26 vs Wyalusing, 7 p.m.
Oct. 3 vs Wellsboro, 7 p.m.
Oct. 10 vs NPM, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 vs Central Mountain, 7 p.m.