District 4 Class 2A Championship Preview SCA V TROY, The Rematch
Tagged under: District 4, News, Playoffs
Dave Fegley | November 16, 2023
Tigers looking to win at Troy again
For almost all of Southern Columbia’s record 30 District 4 championships, the Tigers have won on their home field.
This time, for the second consecutive season, they will have to win on the road as they will travel to unbeaten Troy.
Last year, the Tigers beat the Trojans at Alparon Park in the semifinals before knocking off Mount Carmel Area at The Silver Bowl in the final.
This season, the Tigers beat the Red Tornadoes in the semifinals, and they will now make the repeat trip up to Bradford County in the title tilt.
Last year, the Tigers beat the Trojans 48-12. This season, however, Troy is more experienced and motivated.
Southern comes into the matchup holding a 6-0 record against Troy, with the first victory coming in 1994 as the Tigers would eventually go on to win their first of their now record 13 PIAA Championship.
If the Tigers are able to turn their record streak of six state titles in a row to seven, they will need to put forth a full effort to keep that chance alive.
Troy (12-0) is averaging 47 points per game, and their defense has been even more impressive. The Trojans are giving up under six points per game.
Southern (11-1) is scoring at about a 45-point rate per game and giving up a tad over 10 ppg.
For the Trojans, senior Clayton Smith has returned after missing half of the season with an injury. He has rushed for 416 yards and 7 touchdowns. Sophomore Brendan Gilliland leads the ground game so far with over 600 yards while averaging 13.5 yards per carry and posting 9 TDs.
The breakthrough player for the Trojans so far has been their junior quarterback. Evan Woodward is completing 75-percent of his passes for 1,353 yards. He has thrown 22 touchdown passes and just three interceptions. Woodward also has 8 rushing scores to his name.
Seniors Garrett Garcia (1,280 yards) and Louden Murphy (1,138 yards) lead the Tiger rushing attack and have scored 22 and 20 touchdowns respectively on the ground. With Garcia being a game-time decision, fellow senior Carter Madden will be counted on more. After fighting back from a preseason injury, Madden has 623 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns.
Blake Wise has yet to thrown an imcompletion in the postseason. The Southern senior QB has thrown for 1,158 yards and 10 touchdowns with only three interceptions this year.
With heavy rain in the forecast for kickoff, the passing game might not be as effective. If it is, the trio of Lincoln Chimics (9 TDs), Gilliland (8 TDs), Camryn Harwick (5 TDs) have all made plays for Troy in their receiving game. For Southern, Murphy has six receiving touchdowns while seniors Kyle Christman and Jake Hoy have combined for 38 receptions.
Jack Burbage’s 71 tackles lead Troy’s defense and Jackson Taylor has added a team-high eight sacks. Mason Smith and Harwick each have three interceptions.
Southern’s leading tacklers are their all-state linebackers on the inside. Dominic Fetterolf (89) and Garcia (85) will be keys in stopping the run. Without Garcia, the Tigers will need a strong effort up front. Isaac Carter provided that last week as he registered four of his nine sacks in the win over the Red Tornadoes.
Brayden Andrews has four interceptions for the Tigers and Colden Bloom has added 13 hurries.
The Trojans have shutout their last three opponents, and have kept the other team off the scoreboard in five of their last six games overall.
The Tigers most impressive win was last week when they won in Mercy Rule fashion, 43-0, over their rivals from Mount Carmel Area.
History against Norther Tier opponents is certainly on the side of the reigning state champions. The last time Southern lost to a team out of the NTL was all the way back in 1990 when Canton beat the Tigers 14-6.
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