Troy 14 Lebanon 7

Wet. Rainy. Chilly. Breezy. Sloppy. Muddy. And I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world. I love games like this. I'd take 50° and raining over 72° and sunny/clear every time. If, you know, I had any say in the matter.

Of course, one reason I like games like this is because they tend to favor Troy's run-heavy offense - the Trojans don't have to alter their gameplan nearly as much as other teams do to compensate for the weather. That was certainly true on this night, as the Wing-T offense was in fine form. Lebanon, on the other hand, seemed to have some trouble with the elements.

What a night this was for Chris Basil. Before the game, he was named Troy's Homecoming king. During the game, the Trojans fed their fullback the ball and let him plow through Lebanon's defense. He answered with both of Troy's touchdowns and a 2-point conversion after the first. When he wasn't dashing into the endzone, he was punishing Lebanon defenders and picking up huge chunks of yardage, getting first downs and keeping the clock moving. Marcus Foster again provided a nice complement, serving as another ground-gainer that made sure the Warriors couldn't just key on Basil up the middle. Basil finished the night with 131 yards, Foster with 95. And let's not forget about QB Greg Yahle, who put up a Tyler Wright-esque 52 yards himself, often picked up when the Trojans really needed them.

Of course, there's no way you can talk about this Trojan victory without giving major props to the Trojan defense, which put in another incredible night's work. Lebanon has a ton of weapons, and sure, the weather may have slowed them down, but Troy's defenders were the ones that stepped up and stopped them. Xavier Ford, in particular, was all over the field, especially in the first half. I assume the Warriors made some adjustments to slow him down in the second half, but that just led the way for other Trojans to make plays.

So sure, most people watching this game may not have found it all that aesthetically pleasing, but to me, it was a thing of beauty. With the win, the Trojans find themselves at 4-3, and a berth in the Region 3 playoffs is not out of the question if they can win out. They'll take that quest on the road next week as they travel to take on Trotwood-Madison, also 4-3, in a game that will likely determine the winner of the GWOC North. Trotwood will be playing without the services of their head coach, who is serving a 4-game suspension, but I'm not sure that's a disadvantage for them. I suppose we'll find out next Friday night.