TOWANDA — Facing fourth-and-inches with the goal line in sight, Troy football lined up under center. Quarterback Evan Woodward motioned Reed Palmer in the backfield and took the snap.
Five-yard keeper. Plunge into the end zone. Dagger.
The Trojans advanced to the Class 2A State Championship on Friday night, using a well-executed second half to get past Riverside 35-14, keeping their unbeaten season going into the last week of the 2024 campaign.
“We set our goals to make a state championship run, actually two years ago, and it failed in the district final,” Troy coach Jim Smith said. “We were more assured with that loss, that that was possible coming through District IV. There’s pure joy (in reaching that point).”
Trailing by seven to begin the second half, Riverside had an opportunity at the tie. The Vikings got the ball out of the break, and took over at their own 28 after a ten-yard return from Carmelo Barnett.
Time to go.
Facing third-and-13 just two plays in, Chase Taddonio drew a Trojans offside to pick up a free five, before connecting with Richard Kostoff for nine to move the sticks. On third-and-ten a few moments later, the duo tacked on another 19 and another first down. Barnett and Taddonio’s legs moved the sticks over the next four plays, setting up another first-and-ten at the Troy 30. Over the next four snaps, Kostoff and Taddonio rushed for 11 to get inside the red zone for another first down, this time at the Troy 19.
Then, trouble.
Breaking into the red zone, they would only go backwards from there. An ineligible man downfield neutralized a first down gain and back them up, before a second down sack pushed the ball back ten more yards. A fumbled handoff on third down was recovered, but with the marker too far, Riverside elected to punt. A 17-play, 11-minute, 24-second drive came up empty of points, and Troy took over with a chance to build on the lead.
“We put together a phenomenal drive to start the second half,” Riverside coach Harry Armstrong said. “We used the entire quarter almost, but unfortunately, we got in the red zone and got behind the chains. As good as Troy is on defense, if you’re in a first-and-20, it’s gonna be really hard to get that next first down. They took advantage of it.”
Brendan Gilliland picked up a yard on Troy’s first play of the second half — the lone snap the Trojans took on offense in the third quarter. He’d start the fourth with runs of six and three yards, and short gains by Mason Smith brought about third-and-seven from Troy’s 22.
Following a timeout, the Trojans grabbed another chunk.
Taking the snap, Woodward turned towards his right and fired the deep ball. Lincoln Chimics was on the receiving end, keeping his balance and making the grab before going out of bounds. 41-yard gain.
Four plays later, Gilliland capped off the drive with a 29-yard run for a touchdown, and Troy’s lead climbed to 28-14 with 7:11 left to play.
Following two incompletions, Chimics pulled down an interception to end Riverside’s latest drive after the score and Troy’s reality was beginning to set in.
“In the first half I wasn’t playing what I’m used to, I was playing off the ball,” Chimics said. “I changed in the second half and did a lot better job. Ball was in the air, went up and got it.”
Burning a few minutes of clock, the Trojans were forced to punt it back, but Woodward didn’t let Riverside have it for long. Picking off a deep ball on third-and-long, he returned it all the way to the Riverside 14, bringing his offense back out for one final go on the night.
First down, five-yard gain by Gilliland. Three more for Gilliland on second down, and then another two on third down. Fourth-and-inches from the five. Under center, Woodward called his cadence and kept the ball after the snap. Powering through the right side of the defense he found paydirt, putting the final points on the board and giving his team a 35-14 lead with just 2:32 to go.
“Our line got a nice push, there was a big hole there,” Woodward said. “I just kind of fell in there.”
Riverside drained the remaining time, and Troy was moving on.
Pitching a second-half shut out on defense, while finding a pair of timely offensive scores, the Trojans found some second half breathing room and flexed the talents they’ve leaned on to reach this point. The win brings them to the final game of the season, and presents an opportunity to cap a historic season in fitting fashion.
“The kids had a glaze in their eye at halftime, that I think they’re used to being in more control of the game,” Smith said. “You question yourself when you’re only up seven and you’re used to mercy ruling everybody. This is state semifinals, we just kind of said it’s not gonna be that way, it’s gonna be tight. We just got to loosen up and play and not worry about it.”
“This is exciting, we kind’ve got to wait till the end to look back at it, but right now we just got to focus on the next game,” Woodward added. “Eventually we’ll be able to look back, and look at what we did.”
Squaring off in the state semifinals on a Friday night at Towanda, the game had the atmosphere to match. Fans began piling into the stadium as soon as the gates opened, in anticipation of the thrilling action to come.
Chimics wouldn’t make them wait once things got going.
Fielding the opening kick, he pulled it in at his own ten, and started his return. Following blockers up the middle, he was free. Beating the last man who had a chance at a tackle to the pylon, Chimics opened the game with a touchdown on the first kick. Gavin Lykon-Leffler knocked through the extra point and with just 14 ticks off of the clock, Troy led 7-0.
“I was standing on the five, ten yard line, we knew the kicker had a great leg,” Chimics said. “It looked like the ball was going a little right, and it curved back to me. I caught it and followed my blockers who did a great job giving me a hole. It felt great, just giving my team the momentum to start off the game and just really punch them in the mouth right off the rip.”
Down on the scoreboard the first time they went on offense, the Vikings would march. Barnett rushed for six on the first play before Kostoff picked up a first down moments later with a nine-yard carry. Three more plays led to a fourth-and-three, where Taddonio found Barnett for a gain of 22 to move the chains. Short runs from Kostoff and Taddonio ensued, and brought about a fourth-and-six from Troy’s 18. Electing to kick, the 35-yard attempt sailed wide, and Troy went on offense for the first time with the touchdown lead still intact.
A miscommunication during a pitch on second down resulted in a loss of 13 yards, and Troy took a few back on the next play before lining up to punt. Chimics’ kick was brought back to the Troy 36, and Riverside’s offense trotted back out. Using his arm and his legs, Taddonio broke off 12 yards total on two of the next three plays, giving the Vikings first-and-10 at the Troy 24.
They would finish the drive with points when their senior signal caller got across from three yards away, and a converted point after attempt knotted the game at seven-all with 40.8 seconds to go in the first.
Troy’s offense would answer.
Gilliland flipped the field with a 19-yard run to end the quarter, before runs from Woodward and Smith gave the Trojans another first down. A fumble pushed Troy behind the sticks not long after, but Woodward found Gilliland for 10 yards on fourth-and-five, keeping the drive going with first-and-goal at the seven.
Gilliland rushed for three on his next carry, then got four and the touchdown on his next attempt. Using a 11-play, 60-yard drive, Troy took the lead back at 14-7 with 7:25 to play in the first half.
From there, the two teams would trade a punt each, before Riverside launched another drive. Taddonio and Kostoff collabed on a 26-yard catch-and-run, and a Trojans’ personal foul would tack on 15 more yards after the play. First-and-ten from the 14 became first-and-20 after a holding penalty, before Frye stopped things in their tracks.
Stepping in front of a ball intended for a receiver on the sideline, he came up with the interception and raced the other way. Returning it all the way to Troy’s 39-yard line, he grabbed the momentum back and kept it on the Trojans’ sideline.
The offense played like that was the case the next time they went out.
Troy overcame a drive-opening holding penalty when Smith rushed for a pair of yards. After the play ended, a Riverside personal foul added on 15 more and created a favorable second-and-three from Troy’s 47 with less than two minutes in the second quarter.
Then, the Trojans took a shot.
Dropping back to pass, Woodward fired over the middle for Gilliland. Making the grab, he shook a tackler and turned upfield. Rumbling on the rest of the way, he took it for six, scoring a 53-yard touchdown that gave Troy a 21-7 lead with 1:40 to play in the first half.
“We’ve been running that play in practice all week based off their coverage and their defense,” Gilliland said. “It’s not designed for one guy, I just happened to be open over the middle. Evan put a great ball on for me. I just kind of caught it, some guy hit me and I just kept going.”
“I just saw the safeties kind of split, and he was running down the middle,” Woodward added. “I just hit him.”
Riverside answered back with a passing touchdown of its own, as Taddonio audibled to Kostoff before the snap, and fired a deep ball to the corner. Laying out to make the grab, Kostoff pulled it in, and the Vikings got back within seven at 21-14. A fumble by Troy on the next kickoff was recovered by Riverside, but a backwards first down play forced the Vikings to head into the half, content with the one-score deficit.
Troy ensured the Vikings never managed an equlizing score after halftime, and in doing so, will play one more week.
“We’re gonna treat this next game just like we have the last 15,” coach Smith said. “We’re gonna take a look at them and we’re gonna prepare for them just like we have everybody else. Trust in what we do and go out there and just do our best.”
Gilliland led Troy on the ground with 15 carries for 87 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching two passes for 63 yards and another score. Woodward finished four-of-four passing for 99 yards and the touchdown, and added another score and 24 yards on the ground on six attempts. Smith rushed six times for 18 yards, and Chimics pulled in two catches for 35 yards. Kael Millard rushed three times for five yards and Palmer had a three-yard carry in the win.
Defensively, Frye, Chimics and Woodward all came up with interceptions, while Palmer and Gilliland each recorded a sack apiece. Chimics added a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on special teams.
“We’re really fortunate and blessed to have guys in coverage that don’t need help,” coach Smith said. “We can put ‘em on an island, and it’s been this way for 15 weeks. Kind of leave everybody else to focus on the box, run support. It’s a very rare group of guys.”
For Riverside, Taddonio finished 11-of-28 passing for 121 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions, while also rushing for 64 yards and another touchdown on 16 carries. Kostoff led through the air with seven grabs for 88 yards and a score, while also rushing for 25 yards on seven carries on the ground. Barnett had 32 total yards on six touches through the air and on the ground, and Quinn Pucilowski rushed four times for 14 yards. Max Jackson made one catch for 11 yards, while Brady Pavalonis had one grab for eight yards in the loss.
“Hats off to Troy, they’re a phenomenal football team, but so are we and I couldn’t be more proud of our guys for everything they’ve done for the program over the years,” Armstrong said. “We gave up a couple explosive plays, and that’s something that Troy’s been able to do all year. I was incredibly proud of our efforts with that and trying to minimize those things. The plays we made were not easy plays. Our guys played their tails off.”
“It wasn’t just a few seasons ago, the year after COVID, we won one game. Our seniors were freshmen that year. We’ve battled and built, it started with changing our culture with our senior class. Out of our 25 guys that were dressed today, we had five guys that played football before varsity. They played their tails off. I’m really incredibly grateful for how much we’ve grown as a team.”
Troy will play Central Clarion in the Class 2A State Championship on Friday at 1 p.m. at Cumberland Valley High School.
“It’s special,” Woodward said. “I don’t really know exactly what to think for now, but I’m excited.”
