Saturday, September 26, 2015

Friday Night Lights: Troy celebrates Homecoming vs. Bishop Maginn, 9/25/15

Four years ago, I attended my first Troy High football game, the delayed home opener vs. Bishop Maginn. Troy routed the Griffins that night, 48-7, but one takeaway I took from that night was the lack of support on the Maginn side of the field. The visitors' bleachers were barely occupied. It didn't make sense.

Flash forward to last night, and Homecoming at Troy. The bleachers on the Troy side were filled, more so than they were opening night vs. Queensbury. Maginn? Still suffering from a lack of visible support from parents, alumni, etc.. The school just relocated recently, their new building not far from the Empire State Plaza, and enrollment is way down. The Griffins dressed just 21 players for the game, or roughly half of Troy's roster. Just about everyone knew it would be another rout, especially considering that last year, Maginn beat Troy.

John Germinerio started at QB for Troy, and, as was the case last week vs. Amsterdam, he didn't run much himself to protect an injured ankle that may or may not be 100%. On the other hand, Troy's running game showed it was more than Damani Soares, who scored the first two touchdowns of the game in the 1st quarter, and had a 3rd one called back on a penalty in the 2nd half. Soares was "held", if you will, to 80 yards rushing for the night. The defense contributed, as Reid Crobok returned a fumble 27 yards for a score to put the game away in the 3rd. Maginn coach Joe Grasso made a change, having Dylan Storm & Joe Ward trade places. Storm wasn't listed as a QB, but started at the position. His primary role is as a wide receiver, and he scored both Maginn touchdowns on passes from Ward. Troy improved to 4-0 with the 46-16 win.

Germinerio was lifted in the 2nd half with Troy comfortably in front, and Joe Casale & Nick Pastore shared QB duties for the rest of the game. Pastore is also the team's placekicker, and for some odd reason had a bad night, with 1 PAT in 4 tries. His kickoffs were fine, but I don't know if it's nerves or something else entirely, but he missed his last three PAT's. Two went wide left, and another was a low liner than barely hit the crossbar. Troy's defense forced six Maginn turnovers, as it's already a lost season for the Griffins, now 0-4.

What most folks came for, however, was the crowning of the Class of '16 Homecoming Queen. Ariana Judge earned the honors, which got the biggest applause of the night. I'm not kidding. After the ceremony, and with the game for all intents and purposes over, some fans started for the exits.

The home portion of the schedule ends next week with Senior Night vs. Averill Park, which in turn starts Troy on a 3-game series vs. Suburban Council schools, as they finish on the road vs. Mohanasen & Niskayuna. Can they run the table? We'll find out soon enough.

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