TROY GRINDS OUT 32-7 WIN OVER ATHENS
By: Chris Manning | AthensWildcats.com | September 23, 2022 | Photo courtesy Matt Patton
TROY — Athens couldn’t take advantage of prime field position early, and
didn’t have an answer for Troy’s run game as it lost, 32-7, in NTL
Large School football action here Friday at Alparon Park.
“You
take your lumps, and you take the whooping that you got,” said Athens
coach Jack Young. “You know, we had our opportunities, we didn’t take
advantage of them. The kids fought well — it was a physical football
game. This was probably the most physical football game we played. And
our guys flew around, and we made some plays, but we just weren’t good
enough.”
Athens’ first two possessions started inside Troy
territory, but they came away empty-handed both times. The breaks also
went against them, as in the second quarter twice they nearly had
miraculous catches that would have resulted in scores fall to the
ground.
But, defensively, they just had no answer for Troy’s run
game, as the Trojans powered their way to 355 yards on the ground off 53
carries, choosing to throw it just twice.
“We’re going to learn
from it, and we’re going to move on,” said Young. “You know, hats off
to Troy, they’re a well-coached team, they’re playing with a ton of
confidence, and sometimes that’s tough to beat, and tonight we weren’t
good enough.”
Quarterback Mason Lister was 11-for-22 for 98 yards
with one pick, while his top target was Josh Martin, who had four
catches for 51 yards. Luke Horton also had 31 yards receiving on three
catches.
It was a relatively balanced day for the Wildcats, as
they ran the ball 23 times versus 22 passes, though some of those runs
were Lister trying to escape the Trojan pressure.
“We felt like
we had an advantage there,” Young said about the pass. “But, again, we
didn’t execute. If we didn’t get the ball out of our hands, we failed
with pass protection. We had a couple of big drops in the first half,
and that hurts. We haven’t had drops in a few weeks, and those guys are
great guys, so they’re going to correct themselves, and they’re going to
make big plays moving forward.”
On the ground, Athens was led by Caleb Nichols, and his 54 yards on 11 carries, including a touchdown.
“We
ran the ball a little bit effectively, maybe in hindsight we should
have run the ball a little bit more,” said Young. “But it was just part
of the game plan to come out, and get the ball out of our hands, and try
to beat their defenders one-on-one, which we did at times, but other
times we didn’t.”
Troy’s Clayton Smith had himself a night, with 222 yards rushing and four touchdowns on 22 carries.
“That’s
what they do,” Young said about Troy. “And that’s all they do. And they
stick to it. I don’t know if they threw the ball three times. And we
knew it, we knew what we were getting, but, you know, we’ve got to be
better.”
The Wildcats took the opening kick-off, and, thanks to a
blindside hit by the Trojans, started the drive at the Troy 44-yard
line. After another Troy penalty they were down to the 30.
From
there the drive fizzled, though, as even though Lister completed three
straight passes, Troy’s tacklers kept Athens’ receivers from getting
away, and the Wildcats turned it over on downs.
However, Athens
made something happen on Troy’s ensuing drive, as they recovered a
fumble on the first play, taking over at the Trojan’s 30-yard line.
Three plays later, it was Troy getting the takeaway, as Smith caught a tipped pass for the pick.
That’s
when Troy did what they do best, and went on a 12-play, 75-yard scoring
drive that ended with a Smith 5-yard touchdown run. Smith ran the ball
six times for 35-yards on the possession, including a big 7-yard gainer
on third-and-7 to keep the drive alive.
Athens blocked the extra point, but it was 6-0 Trojans with 2:03 left in the first quarter.
The
Wildcat offense showed signs of life on their next drive, as Lister
round Martin for a 20-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage. That
was followed by a Nichols 13-yard run, getting them down tot he Trojan
34-yard line.
That’s where it stalled, though, as a sack on third-and-2 ultimately forced a Wildcat punt.
Troy
took over at their own 18-yard line, and Smith got things started with a
46-yard run off an option pitch from Evan Woodward down inside Athens
territory.
From there, they continued to chip away, as they used
five more plays to get inside the 10. Athens’ defense would stiffen up,
ultimately forcing a 4th-and-1 on the Trojans, but Kael Millard picked
it up with a 2-yard gain.
Two plays later, Millard punched it in
from a yard out to finish off the 12-play, 82-yard drive. The 2-point
conversion was no good, and Troy led 12-0 with 5:18 left in the half.
The
Wildcats found some more success on their ensuing drive, with a 21-yard
pass play of Lister to Martin getting them down to the Trojan 6-yard
line.
However, on the ensuing play Lister was called for
intentional grounding, backing Athens up to the 20-yard line for
second-and-goal.
They would get to the 16 for 4th-and-goal, with
Lister’s pass over the middle tipped to Horton. Horton nearly hauled it
in for the touchdown, but it dropped to the ground, giving Troy the
ball.
The Wildcats would force another Troy turnover, this time on a Kolsen Keathley interception.
Their
ensuing drive went nowhere, though, even as a Lister pass to Xavier
Watson went through his hands after it was tipped by Troy.
The
Trojans got the second half kick-off, and on the first play from
scrimmage Smith went 60-yards untouched off an inside hand-off to pay
dirt. The 2-point conversion was no good, but the Trojans led 18-0 with
11:46 on the clock.
Athens’ first drive in the second half ended
up in a punt attempt, but the ball went through Horton’s hands. He tried
to run it, but was tackled for a 12-yard loss, giving Troy the ball on
the Wildcat 31-yard line.
It took them five plays to get into the
end zone, the key play being a 19-yard from Mason Smith. It was Clayton
who got the touchdown, though, on an 8-yard run. Justice Chimics added
the point after, making it 25-0 with 7:14 on the clock.
The
Wildcats got to midfield on the following drive, but a holding call,
followed by a sack from Clayton Smith, ultimately forced them to punt.
That
set up Troy’s final scoring drive, as they went 77 yards on 11 plays,
ending with a 7-yard Clayton Smith run. A 17-yard run from Clayton Smith
on 2nd-and-long, followed by a 12-yard Evan Woodward run on third-and-7
four plays later keyed the drive.
Chimics’ kick was good, and it was 32-0 Trojans with 10:19 left to play.
Thats
when Athens made something of this nightmare, going on a 10-play,
65-yard scoring drive themselves. A 12-yard Lister run on third-and-4
kept the sticks moving, followed four players later by a Nichols
three-yard carry on fourth down to keep the drive alive.
Three
plays after that, Nichols took a late counter hand-off 21-yards to the
house for Athens’ touchdown. Lister added the point after, and it was
32-7 with 6:17 left to play.
The Wildcats never saw the ball
again, though, as Troy ran out the final six minutes and change with a
10-play drive, converting two fourth downs to finish with the ball.
Despite the setback, Young feels his team is better than they showed at Alparon Park.
“I
don’t think tonight’s an indicator of what kind of football team we
are,” he said. “It was a chaotic week, and, you know, at times, our
preparation didn’t look like it was on target. At times we were in the
wrong places, and this like that, but, you know, a lot that’s on
coaching. We’ll take that, and we’ll get better from it.”
The Wildcats, now 3-2, will host divisional rival Towanda next Friday for homecoming.
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