The Line Mountain Eagles will head out on the road to face off against the Troy Trojans at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Line Mountain sitting on eight straight victories and Troy on 11.
It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Line Mountain had no problem doing just that on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 46-23 margin over Towanda. Considering Line Mountain has won six games by more than 22 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.
Line Mountain got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Ian Bates out in front who rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries. Nolan Baumert was in the mix too, providing Line Mountain with two touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball, a lot of the credit has to go to Line Mountain's defense and their three sacks. In fact, those sacks all came courtesy of defensive juggernaut Maxim Johnson.
Meanwhile, Troy put the finishing touches on their 11th blowout victory of the season on Friday. They took their matchup at home with ease, bagging a 36-0 win over Hughesville. Given Troy's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 68th, while Hughesville is ranked 416th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Troy's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Clayton Smith, who rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Evan Woodward, who threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns while completing 91.7% of his passes.
Line Mountain's win was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 9-2. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 40.8 points per game. As for Troy, their victory bumped their record up to 11-0.
Friday's matchup might be decided on the ground as these two are both standouts in the run game. Line Mountain has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 219.9 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Troy struggles in that department as they've been even better at 259.8 per game. It's looking like Friday's matchup might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more football content.
Line Mountain came up short against Troy when the teams last played back in November of 2019, falling 27-14. Can Line Mountain avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
