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On Friday, November 15th the Troy Trojans faced off against the Warrior Run Defenders at Karl Van Norman Field of Mansfield University for the PIAA District IV Class AA Championship. The stands were packed and the crowd was wild and ready for an intense night of football.

Troy received the opening kickoff. On third and seven, Evan Woodward read the defense, found the hole and took it 75 yards to the house! The extra point was no good – Troy took the early lead, 6-0.

The Trojan wall held strong on the following possession, forcing a Defender punt. A few plays later, Troy on their own 34, Woodward faked the handoff, hit the outside and turned on the jets for the score! Troy up, 12-0. After a Defender score, the first quarter ended with Troy up by only one touchdown.

With just under 7 minutes left in the half – Woodward pitched to Brendan Gilliland, who followed a beautiful block by Kael Millard and barreled in for a touchdown. The two point conversion was no good, making it 18-7, Troy.

With only two minutes left before halftime – Troy deep in Defender territory – Woodward faked the handoff, pitched left again, and Gilliland muscled his way over the line. Gavin Lykon-Leffler’s kick was good and Troy, now with a comfortable lead, was 25-7 going into the locker room.

To start the third quarter, on the Defender’s opening drive, Mason Smith read the quarterback and snagged an interception just inside the lines. A few plays later, inside the 10, Millard bodied his way into the end zone for another Trojan score. The point-after-attempt was good, and Troy held a commanding lead, 32-7.

But the Trojans were still hungry. On Troy’s next possession, on their own 49, Woodward faked the handoff, dropped back to pass and launched a bomb to Smith who ran it in for the score to make it 39-7.

One more touchdown was scored in the third. With literally a second on the clock, Jack Burbage received the handoff and rumbled across the goal line to end the quarter, 45-7 in favor of Troy.

The Defenders found their way across the threshold once more on the night, but the Trojans still wanted more.

With eight minutes left in the championship bout, freshman quarterback Spencer Martin pitched the ball to Gilliland, who hit the speedway and ran untouched for the score. 52-14, Troy.

The Trojans put up one more touchdown on the night. Martin, with the QB sneak, squeezed through the line, and found freedom all the way to pay dirt – securing the score and the Trojans’ district title with the insurmountable final score: 59-14, Troy.

Congratulations Trojans! Troy will be on the road this Friday at Lock Haven University for the State quarter finals against the Bedford Bisons.