Troy is 0-3 against Southern Columbia Area since November of 2015 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Troy Trojans will stay at home for another week and welcome the Southern Columbia Area Tigers at 7:00 p.m. on November 17th. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Troy had already proven themselves in the regular season, and didn't miss a beat now that it's playoff time. They claimed a resounding 44-0 victory over Line Mountain at home. Given Troy's advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 58th, while Line Mountain is ranked 225th), the result on Friday wasn't entirely unexpected.
Troy relied on the efforts of Evan Woodward, who threw for 119 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes, and Clayton Smith, who rushed for 83 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. Smith was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 54 yards. Mason Smith also deserves a mention for his punt return touchdown.
Troy's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Line Mountain's QB won't forget Jackson Taylor anytime soon given Taylor sacked him three times.
Meanwhile, Southern Columbia Area had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 39.3 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They breezed by Mount Carmel at home to the tune of 43-0. Southern Columbia Area pushed the score to 36-0 by the end of the third, a deficit Mount Carmel had no chance of recovering from.
Louden Murphy was his usual excellent self, rushing for 87 yards and four touchdowns on only 12 carries. The team also got some help courtesy of Garrett Garcia, who rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries.
Troy's victory was their seventh straight at home, which pushed their record up to 12-0. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 2-8 Wellsboro and 3-9 Northwest Area (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 42.4% over those games). As for Southern Columbia Area, their win bumped their record up to 11-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: Troy has been unstoppable on the ground this season, having averaged 253.8 rushing yards per game. However, it's not like Southern Columbia Area struggles in that department as they've been even better at 306.2 per game. It's looking like Friday's game might have some serious battles in the trenches. Check back here after the action for a full breakdown and analysis of the contest.
Troy was dealt a bruising 48-12 loss at the hands of Southern Columbia Area in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Can Troy avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
