High School Football
Division II Region 8 Playoffs
Home Team: Troy Trojans
Visiting Team: Lima Senior Spartans
Venue: Troy Memorial Stadium
Game Time: 7:00 p.m.
Fellow Attendees: None
Twenty-seven years later...well, it doesn't erase old scars. But it was a pretty sweet win nonetheless.
Troy has played Lima Senior twice before in the playoffs, both losses for the Trojans. The first, in 1989, was before my fandom began. The second, though...the second time was in 1996, at the height of my interest. That year's Troy team was the best I've seen—AP poll champions for Division I in Ohio, and nationally ranked by USA Today. It's unfortunate that they shared a region with Lima Senior; I truly believe the actual state championship game took place in the second round at Dayton's Welcome Stadium. Unfortunately, the Spartans pulled that one out 13-10 and went on to win the state championship, and the Trojans went home. My devastation was immeasurable.
The two teams haven't met in the meantime. So when the playoffs started this year, I saw this as a likely second-round matchup and circled it as a game I wanted to attend if both teams advanced. Of course, when the day of the game finally rolled around, I felt a little wishy-washy about going. This is normal for me. Of course I wanted to be at the game, but making the drive from Columbus to Troy, and then the return trip after the game...I just wasn't sure I wanted to give up my whole Friday evening, especially since I could still watch the game from the comfort of my own living room if I stayed home.
But in the end I decided to go. Win or lose, this would be the final home game for the Trojans this year (since games move to neutral sites after round two). And if
all goes to plan, this was the last game at Troy Memorial Stadium with a natural grass surface. The weather was perfect for a November game, and I really wanted to see them take another shot at Lima Senior. Basically I had more reasons to go than excuses to stay home. So I bought my ticket online and hit the road, and I was in the familiar confines of the home-side stands about 35 minutes before kickoff.
And I'm really glad I went, even though it took even more of my evening than I expected. With Troy being such a run-heavy team and putting a running clock on so many of their opponents this year, I kind of forgot that sometimes high school football games do run long. Lima Senior runs a pass-heavy offense, which really slows the game down. Add in a group of officials determined to put on a Ref Show, plus one lengthy injury delay, the game went a full three hours, keeping me from getting back to my living room until nearly 11:45 p.m.
But it was worth it. I didn't have any idea how this game would go, but the Trojans really impressed me. Lima Senior, as I mentioned before, runs a pass-heavy offense (they only had 14 rushing attempts in this game [which I think includes the two sacks by the Troy defense] compared to 47 passes), and I think defending the pass is really hard in high school. But Troy was up to the task. The Spartans' 15 points were the most Troy has given up this season, but their two touchdowns included a spectacular diving catch in the endzone of a pass I thought was way overthrown, and a very short field after a Trojan fumble inside the 10. The defense pitched a shutout for the final 27 minutes of the game, as it went from a 15-all tie to more or less a Trojan rout.
And the offense? Well, Troy's prime threat, fullback Jahari Ward, has been out with an injury since early in the Week 9 game against Fairborn. In his absence, a more varied (but still ground-heavy) attack is still putting points up on the board. In this one, they found a plan of attack that Lima Senior just could not stop, and they ran it over and over.
So the Trojans improve to 11-1 on the season and advance to the Region 8 semifinals, where the road gets even tougher. They'll face the Withrow Tigers (also 11-1) out of Cincinnati, I'd guess at Welcome Stadium in Dayton. I won't be able to make it, but I'll be there in spirit, and I'm hoping to stream it if it's available.
