Troy 34 Vandalia Butler 21

I was prepared to be irritated by Troy's inability to put away the Aviators...until I got in my car after the game and heard on the radio the scores of other games throughout the Miami Valley. It was a crazy night, and with that in mind, I'm just relieved that they made it out of Vandalia with a win. It may not have been pretty, but at least they avoided the upset.

Early on, it looked like the Trojans would cruise to an easy blowout win. Aside from one drive, they handled Butler's offense easily and, offensively, moved the ball at will. They ran out to a 28-7 lead at halftime on the strength of Matt Allen's 3 touchdowns, and figured to be able to name the final score.

Then the second half started. Troy's offense battened down the hatches, going conservative and finding itself unable to score the killing blow. Meanwhile, the Aviators took advantage of a weary Trojan defense with a single-wing offense that allowed them to score twice in the fourth quarter to bring the deficit to 28-21.

Fortunately, that's when Tyler Wright took over. Most of his 203 passing yards were accumulated in the first half, but he was ready when the Trojans needed him to seal the win. With a mixture of running and passing, he led the offense down the field for their final TD of the night. That score, along with the time they were able to run off the clock, ensured that Butler wouldn't be able to make the Trojans one more upset victim in a night that was full of them.

Next up, the Trojans (now 4-2) face an unknown test as they travel to Lebanon to take on the Warriors (3-3). I'm not sure if these two teams have ever met before, but they have not in the time that I've been following the Trojans, which would put it back to 1991. I haven't been to James Vandegrift Stadium before, so I'm really looking forward to it. Let's hope I'm just as enthusiastic after the game is over.

EDIT: I finally remembered to take some pictures at this game. I've taken my camera to most of the games, but I've gotten so caught up in actually, you know, watching, that I didn't think to take any photos until Week 6. Go figure, eh?