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Troy Brings First State Title to Northern Tier League in Thrilling Fashion

Tagged under: District 4, District 9, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| December 7, 2024

A game full of wild bounces, near misses, a couple of mistakes, and numerous incredible plays went the way of Troy on Friday afternoon. As the snow showered down, Troy emerged victorious, 25-24 over Central Clarion, in a game that came down to the final seconds.

Central Clarion began with a golden opportunity, as Troy fumbled the opening kickoff. Jase Ferguson recovered on the Trojans 20, putting the WIldcats right in business. After only gaining two yards, the drive ended with a Thomas Uckert 36-yard field goal. With 9:46 left in the opening quarter, Central Clarion led 3-0.

With the ball secured on the ensuing kickoff, Troy put together their longest drive of the night over the next 15 plays. Brendan Gilliand;s first run from scrimmage was a 12 yard gain, pushing defenders up to the Troy 45. He would go on to carry six times for 45 yards on the drive. Mason Smith added an 8-yard pickup around the near side. Gilliand capped the drive, rumbling into the end zone from three yards out to put Troy ahead 6-3.

The Trojans recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, as Jack Burbage pounced on the fumble at the Wildcats 35. The designed quarterback draw by Evan Woodward netted him a 14 yard gain, slipping through the defensive line. Briggs Beckwith caught Gilliland in the backfield on the next play for a loss of 8. Troy overcame the temporary setback and on 4th & 12, Woodward found Gilliland wide open in the end zone for the score. With 10:20 to play in the half, Troy had run 22 consecutive offensive plays and was leading 12-3.

Minus a 38-yard scramble by Ferguson late in the half, Central Clarion was held to 39 total yards of offense by halftime. Troy had run 18 plays in Wildcats territory, whereas the Wildcats had run 18 plays total. Troy nearly added to their totals when Lincoln Chimics ran a fake punt to perfection, racing for 32 yards. Unfortunately for Troy fans, the play was called back for an illegal formation.

All that said, Central Clarion dominated the third quarter.

The Wildcats; opening possession was nearly halted early, as the offense faced 4th & 2. However, Ferguson found Ethan Rex out in the flat for a seven yard gain, crossing to the Trojans 43. The short pass game continued to work, and five plays later, Ferguson threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Rex. Just like that, the Troy lead was cut to 12-9. And the Wildcats weren’t done.

After forcing a punt, the Wildcats got the ball back on their own 43. After another short completion, Ferguson aired it out to Rex one more time. Ethan Rex was streaking down the far sideline and took it the distance, putting Central Clarion ahead 16-12 with 4:28 to play in the third. The extra point glanced off the upright, keeping the score as it stood.

Troy was aided by a personal foul and defensive pass interference call on their next drive. It culminated with another impressive Gilliland jaunt, a 28-yard house call that put the Trojans back up 18-16. That wouldn’t be enough, though, because Central Clarion quickly countered with a four play 61-yard drive. Ferguson capped it on a 10-yard keeper, cutting to his right and into the end zone. He threw a two-point pass on the run to Eason Teribury. Central Clarion led 24-18 with 6:37 to play in regulation.

Troy had one last drive in them and ate up 5:29 of what we remained in the final stanza, keeping the WIldcats offense off the field. Mason Smith scored from 16 yards out on a halfback pass that never materalized. Instead, Mason took the ball and ran to his left, covering the ground to the end zone. The extra point was good and with 1:15 left, Troy had the 25-24 lead.

Central Clarion returned the ensuing kickoff into Troy territoryand maneuvered to the Trojans 33. With time running out and no good options remaining, Uckert was on to try a 50-yard field goal. The kick came up wide left, sending Troy home with a PIAA class AA championship.

“It came right down to the wire. I’m sure it was quite nerve racking for the fans, but we pulled through it. It feels pretty good…we’ve got the whole team that worked together and this was a great team win,” commented Evan Woodward after the game.

Eason Teribury added, “It feels unreal to me. I’ve been dreaming of it my whole life. The first year I played football was seventh grade and ever since my first snap, I was like ‘I want to do something. I want to get good at this. We wanted it bad this year. We were out for blood.”

Troy finished the contest with 299 total yards of offense, 279 of which came on the ground. The Trojans defense kept the Wildcats to47 net rushing yards. On the day, Central Clarion ran a total of 39 plays from scrimmage, with Troy controlling the clock for nearly 32 minutes.

Troy completes a 16-0 regular season, winning the team’s first state title and first for the Northern Tier League.

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