In high school football, losing a game is tough enough. Losing on Homecoming makes it just a little bit worse. And losing on Homecoming to a cheater, well...it's the worst. Trotwood coach Maurice Douglass is a known cheater, having served a three-game suspension earlier this season for improper recruiting. So, although it may be unfair to the kids that play for him (as though my whims have anything to do with it), I hope for him to lose every game he coaches. Alas, on this night, it was not to be.
Troy looked better against Trotwood than they did against Lebanon last week, but I think that's probably the kindest thing that can be said. They still made too many mistakes, in the form of penalties and turnovers, that resulted in them leaving points on the field instead of putting them on the board. The game should have been over by halftime, in Troy's favor; instead, Trotwood hung around and hung around, and late in the game, when it really mattered, Troy's undersized defensive line just couldn't get a stop. The Rams were able to chew up the clock and put the winning score with just 19 seconds left, and that just wasn't enough time for Troy's offense to counter.
Again, all I can do is shake my head at the contrast between the Trojan team of the first three weeks of the season and the Trojan team that has been on the field since then. If they're going to get it together, now is the time, with archrival Piqua looming on the horizon for next Friday.
On the bright side, it was a phenomenal night to sit outside in the bleachers for a few hours and watch a game. I took advantage of the great weather to walk to the stadium. If you look at the photos below, you'll see that the first couple are from the walk. Troy's bike path runs from my neighborhood right to the stadium, so that was pretty convenient. Hopefully the weather holds out so I can do it again for the last game of the season in two weeks.
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