Through the course of the 2017 season, Troy High, in its quest to win back-to-back state titles in football, played some of the same opponents they beat last year en route to the title (i.e. Shenendehowa, CBA, Newburgh). To win their 2nd straight Class AA title, they had to beat a team that was in its first state title game.
Lancaster, out of the Buffalo area, was, like Holy Trinity in Class C on Friday, in their first title game. The football program at Lancaster had been in operation for 98 seasons, far fewer than Troy, which opened the high school all the way back in 1852.
Lancaster took the opening kickoff, but after one initial 1st down, turned the ball over on downs. Troy did the same on their first possession. On Troy's 2nd possession, it was business as usual, with Joey Ward running it in to give Troy a 6-0 lead. Michael Fazio's PAT was blocked. On Troy's next possession, Joe Casale hit Dev Holmes for a TD toss. Off the Wildcat formation, Ward ran in the 2 point conversion to make it 14-0.
Back came Lancaster. Andrew Hersey ran it in from 5 yards out to bring the Legends within 14-7. On the next Lancaster possession, QB Ryan Mansell was picked off by Holmes at the Lancaster 4. Casale then directed a 96 yard drive, ending with his 2nd TD toss to Holmes. However, the PAT was blocked again, and Troy led, 20-7, at the break.
Troy took the 2nd half kickoff and marched down the field again, as Casale threw his 3rd TD pass of the game, this one to Ward. Casale ran the 2 point conversion in himself to make it 28-7.
Lancaster, however, wasn't about to wave the white flag. Mansell found Hersey in the corner of the end zone, beating Luis Virola, and suddenly, the lead was 28-14. We had a game after all. At least for now. Troy came right back, as Ward scored his 3rd TD, but the conversion failed, and it was now 34-14.
A Troy fumble set up the Legends deep in Troy territory, and multi-tasking specialist Joe Andreessen, who split time as a lineman and running back, ran it in from 3 yards out to make it 34-20. After Troy's next possession ended on another turnover on downs, Mansell hit Kyle Barger with a 72 yard bomb. PAT was no good, making it 34-26. Time to squirm if you're a Troy fan.
However, the Flying Horses put the game away once and for all on their next drive, as Ward scored his 4th TD of the game, 3rd on the ground. Jordan Audi, who handled kickoffs all day, kicked the PAT. After Lancaster turned it over on downs with under 90 seconds to play, Troy ran out the clock, running their winning streak to 26 in a row with a 41-26 verdict.
As per normal, penalties nearly did in the Flying Horses, as they were called for about a dozen, most of them in the 2nd half, but Lancaster was flagged only twice the entire game. As the entire starting offense is graduating next June, following the obligatory appearance in the Flag Day parade, since Troy doesn't do ticker tape parades, coach Bob Burns will stress discipline more than usual when training camp starts in August. Fazio will either be the the quarterback or kicker or both next season, and Troy does have some skill players coming back, such as Xavier Leigh, plus whomever is promoted from the junior varsity.
History was made twice in Section II this weekend, as Cambridge repeated as D champ on Friday. Now, the mission is to, well, three-peat. We'll see.
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