TROY – Since the 2019 season, Troy now has a 39-11 record, and most of the Trojans’ success in that time frame has been a result of a strong ground game on offense.
But this year, things are different for the Trojans. Although the running game is still strong, Troy now has a strong passing game to go with its ground attack, and after Friday’s 51-0 over visiting Northwest, the 8-0 will head into the most challenging part of their season perhaps better equipped than ever to make some noise in the postseason.
Additionally, with Mount Carmel upsetting Southern Columbia on Friday, Troy could potentially be ranked at the top of the District 4 Class 2A standings next week, as the Trojans are now the lone unbeaten team remaining in the district in 2A.
“We’ve had the opportunity to air things out a little more with the kids that we have this year and it’s allowed for the running game to not be as necessary and we haven’t been as one-dimensional this year,” said Troy coach Jim Smith. “It’s great either way, but teams now have to decide – they have to play us even off, they can’t just throw everybody in the box, or we’ll be able to hurt them with it.
“This is the deepest group of athletes I’ve had in the last 14 years here at Troy. It’s a very talented group – higher-level kids, and they’re smart. In years past, we’ve built our team around just a few (skill) guys and a few tough linemen and managed things that way, but this year has been a whole different animal.
That animal was on display on Friday, as Troy flexed its superior depth at Northwest from the beginning to the end of the game, putting up 420 yards of offense while holding Northwest to just 123. The 420 yards was a balanced attack as the Trojans ran for 230 and threw for 190.
It was a 6-0 game just :12 into the contest when Mason Smith returned the opening kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown for the Trojans.
Smith touched the ball just five times but scored two touchdowns, as he added a 31-yard touchdown reception from Evan Woodward later in the first quarter. Woodward also hit Camryn Harwick up the middle seam for a 26-yard touchdown catch in between Smith’s scores in the first quarter.
Woodward also hit Lincoln Chimics for a 21-yard touchdown pass and ran it in himself from 37 yards out on his only official carry of the night to cap his evening and extend Troy’s lead to 41-0 at halftime. He finished 10-for-12 for 184 yards and was responsible for four touchdowns on the night.
“Evan is taking care of the ball and doing a great job, but he’s got explosive people all around him so he’s in a good position and we have an offensive line that gives him all day. It takes a whole team to look good and tonight was a great team effort,” said Smith.
Brendan Gilliland also added a 13-yard touchdown run for the Trojans in the second quarter, as Troy scored on its first five possessions of the game, in addition to Smith’s touchdown on the opening kickoff.
In all, six different players scored touchdowns for Troy, which also got a 2-yard touchdown run from third-string quarterback Reed Palmer in the third quarter, as well as a 28-yard field goal from Brady Spalding in the fourth quarter.
“We got to work on some things that we wanted to and get a look at on film, so we got out of it what we wanted to,” said Smith. “We also got a bunch of young guys out on the field for two-and-a-half quarters so that’s always good to see since they work hard all week, and they’ve gotten pretty good themselves and done a great job.”
For Northwest, which fell to 2-6, the result was less about them making mistakes as it had been in several of their previous losses, as it was about Troy just being a better, more experienced team. But the young Rangers’ squad continues to gain much-needed experience each week and potentially could have another game beyond their last two as the Class A playoff field has expanded to eight teams from four this season. Northwest has a brutal final three games as the Rangers have Muncy and South Williamsport to follow Troy in the last two weeks of the regular season.
“The scoreboard wasn’t indicative of how we played. Hats off to Troy, they are just an unbelievable football team,” said Northwest coach Leigh Bonzcewski. “By far the best team we’ve seen all year in every aspect of the game. I told our kids after the game that we need to emulate this team – what they do in the offseason, what they do to get better.
Northwest, which committed five turnovers three weeks ago in a 54-8 loss to Warrior Run, had just a single turnover against Troy. But they struggled to move the ball against Troy’s quick and athletic defense, as the Rangers ran just 14 of their 46 plays in Troy territory. Northwest had just six first downs in the game, while Troy had six first downs by the 5:10 mark of the first quarter.
“We’re improving in a lot of areas. It’s just unfortunate we came up against this team tonight,” said Bonzcewski. “I’m confident in our kids. They played hard until the end. We moved the ball at times and had some good drives but they just stalled. You hate to keep saying it – we’re young, but we’re getting better.”
Northwest, meanwhile, crossed midfield just once in the first half. It picked up three of its first downs on that drive, as Jace McCoy hit Adam Chonko for a 26-yard reception and Trevor Dietz for a 10-yarder. But that drive was stalled at the Troy 33 on the Rangers’ only turnover of the night when McCoy tried to put it into a tight window on a fourth-and-9 play but was picked off by Smith.
McCoy completed 11-of-29 passes for 102 yards on the evening, but more important than his numbers was he avoided turnovers for the most part as well as sacks. He was only officially sacked one time late in the game when he was flushed out of the pocket and tackled while scrambling.
“Jace made a lot of great decisions tonight,” said Bonzcewski. “Getting rid of the ball when nobody was open and not taking the sack. So, a lot of good things happened, but we just played a really good team.”
The Rangers also had a long drive that spanned over nine minutes in the second half with the running clock, running 13 plays to get all the way down to the Troy 13, as McCoy completed three consecutive passes at one point in the drive, including two for first downs to Andrew Bonzcewski for 11 and 20 yards, respectively. But that drive, too, stalled when McCoy was sacked on third down for a loss of 11 yards and then Northwest turned it over on downs.
For Troy, it also has a tough stretch to end the regular season as the Trojans will travel down to Loyalsock next week, followed by their rivalry game with currently unbeaten Canton in Week 10 – the annual “Shoe” game. Last year, after also starting 8-0, the Trojans dropped a heartbreaking one-point game to Loyalsock and then also lost to their rival to finish the regular season on a sour note.
“The level of play goes up exponentially a week from now and we’re excited for the opportunity to go to Loyalsock, but I think we’re in a good place and as our guys are getting healthier we’ll be in an even better place,” said Smith. “We had two or three guys back in action this week and still have another three starters that are working to get back on the field so we need to get those guys back in the next few weeks and we’ll be in good shape if we can.”
Troy 51, Northwest 0
Northwest (2-6) 0 0 0 0 – 0
Troy (8-0) 20 21 7 3 – 51
First quarter
11:48 – (T) Mason Smith 75-yard kickoff return (pass failed)
9:41 – (T) Camryn Harwick 26-yard pass from Evan Woodward (Woodward run), 5-68, :29
5:10 – (T) Mason Smith 31-yard pass from Evan Woodward (Spalding kick), 5-65, 2:52
Second quarter
11:05 – (T) Brendan Gilliland 13-yard run (kick failed), 6-49, 2:08
7:40 – (T) Lincoln Chimics 21-yard pass from Evan Woodward (Spalding kick), 3-35, 1:45
6:19 – (T) Evan Woodward 37-yard run (Spalding kick), 2-54, :47
Third quarter
6:13 – (T) Reed Palmer 2-yard run (Spalding kick), 4-46, 2:42
Fourth quarter
2:13 – (T) Brady Spalding 28-yard field goal, 8-64, 6:13
Statistics
N T
First downs 6 19
Rushes-net yards 17-21 22-230
Passing yardage 102 190
Passing 11-29-0-1 11-14-3-0
Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-yards 7-48 6-45
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: Northwest: Jace McCoy (6-11), Dominic Cavuto (5-3), Adam Chonko (3-7), Loegan Diltz (2-1), Cole Hudack (1-(-1)); Troy: Charles Oldroyd (4-55), Reed Palmer (4-0-1), Jayden Kutt (3-48), Brendan Gilliland (2-27-1), Noah Ellis (2-12), Evan Woodward (1-37-1), Jacob Hinman (1-22), Jackson Taylor (1-17), Jack Burbage (1-12), Mason Smith (1-4), Billy Rosanelli (1(-3)), TEAM (1-(-1))
PASSING: Northwest: Jace McCoy (11-29-102-0-1); Troy: Evan Woodward (10-12-184-3-0), Joseph Frye (1-2-6-0-0)
RECEIVING: Northwest: Andrew Bonzcewski (4-48), Adam Chonko (3-40), Trevor Dietz (2-9), Loegan Diltz (1-3), Cole Hudack (1-2); Troy: Lincoln Chimics (5-88-1), Camryn Harwick (3-47-1), Brendan Gilliland (2-24), Mason Smith (1-31-1)
