Monday, October 11, 2021
These Next Two Weeks Will Define Troy Football.
By Sammy Taormina
Written Monday October 11th at 3:30 PM
This might be the biggest two weeks in the long history of Troy Football.
Two years ago the Colts went 0-9 in which they did not score a point for seven weeks.
Now they are 7-0 which is the first time they are here since 1988 heading into the biggest two weeks of their season. A lot of that turn around occurred last season when Troy went into Bloomfield Hills and beat the Blackhawks 29-14 in the pre-district.
They have won eight of nine since that game.
Coach Chris Frasier has done a wonderful job really turning this program around since taking over for longtime Coach Gary Griffith in 2016.
Although there are still some improvements that are needed though. Program strength is certainly one of those areas that needs to be improved upon and quickly.
Troy overcame a huge obstacle last week when they beat their arch rival Troy Athens 21-20 on the road. The Red Hawks have had the Colts number outscoring them 104-0 in the last three years. They even trailed 20-7 in the fourth quarter only to comeback and won that game.
It always helps when you have a star player in the making in Darius Whiteside. Whiteside has been a star on both sides of the football. He is a football, basketball, and track standout as well. Whiteside has made big play after big play at wide receiver and in the defensive secondary.
Nolan and Ethan Block have also been huge contributors as well for Troy. Both of them play multiple positions and have had moments where their impact was so great on both sides of the football.
Max Stromberg has been efficient as a player at quarterback. He has a strong arm and can run the football as need be. Stromberg had the winning rushing score to seal the Colts comeback last week.
The offensive line which is veteran heavy has also played very well as well. They have been the key for the Colts resurgence.
The Troy defense has been stout all season long allowing 39 points total. Now the schedule hasn’t been the strongest but that was the schedule that was given to them.
These next two weeks are going to define the Colts. They will likely be in the postseason but their division title hopes are on the line in these next two weeks with both games on the road.
The first test comes against Berkley at Hurley Field. The Bears come in at 6-1 after beating Livonia Clarenceville 36-33 last week. Berkley has had the Colts number outscoring them 53-14 in the last two years. Berkley has also won three of the last five meetings. They like Troy has a ton of experience with Zach Maurice, Ben Maurice, Jake Domzalski, and others.
Now if Troy gets past Berkley then they would have to go back to the place where they won their first playoff game since 2007 in Bloomfield Hills. The Blackhawks will likely be 8-0 heading into that game. Bloomfield Hills fell 29-14 to these same Colts last season. The Blue title would also be on the line in that game.
Troy still controls their destiny even with a loss to Berkley but it would be much harder if they came into that Bloomfield Hills game at 7-1 instead of 8-0.
These next two weeks will define the Colts season and see what they are truly made of and if they are ready to take that next step.