Football Preview: Troy Warriors vs. Canyon Comanches
After two games on the road, Troy is heading back home. They will host the Canyon Comanches at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Troy knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with 31 points or more in their past seven contests -- so hopefully Canyon likes a good challenge.
Last Friday, Troy was fully in charge, breezing past Santa Ana 42-14 on the road. The Warriors might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won five matchups by 20 points or more this season.
Troy can attribute much of their success to Rudy Alcala, who threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns while completing 78.6% of his passes, and Ethan Mundt, who gained 143 total yards and two touchdowns. Mundt was no stranger to the big play, lighting up the secondary with a catch that went for 61 yards. Vander Ploog was Alcala's top target, picking up 71 receiving yards and a touchdown, while also punching in a touchdown on the ground.
Troy didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off two passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Cruz Ginter and Damien Vazquez. Noah Heathington was another major factor on D, forcing a fumble and making ten total tackles (2.0 for loss).
Meanwhile, Canyon was not able to break out of their rough patch on Thursday as the team picked up their third straight loss. They were dealt a 57-24 defeat at the hands of Irvine. The game marked the Comanches' lowest-scoring match so far this season.
Despite the loss, Canyon had strong showings from Alexander Lundsberg, who threw for 316 yards and three touchdowns, and Kellen Rommelfanger, who picked up 147 receiving yards and a touchdown. Lundsberg is crushing it when it comes to passing yards: he's passed for at least 316 every time he's taken the field this season.
Troy's win was their fifth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 6-1. As for Canyon, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-5.
The upcoming contest will be a clash of competing strengths. Troy has deployed a run-first offense that has averaged 225.3 rushing yards a game. Meanwhile, Canyon has preferred to attack from the air: they average 381.1 passing yards per game. So which strategy will prevail on Friday? There's only one way to find out.
Troy strolled past Canyon in their previous meeting back in August of 2016 by a score of 41-26. Will Troy repeat their success, or does Canyon have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
