Troy seeks first win in Florence on Saturday

The Trojans football team suffered their fourth loss of the season on Saturday to the visiting Loyola-Sacred Heart Rams, falling 64-0.

The Rams shut down Troy on the ground, as top Trojan rusher Zach Colten gained just 10 yards on 10 attempts. Quarterback Cody Osterberg completed 5-of-15 pass attempts for 51 yards, while Jordon Day was the top receiver with 46 yards on three receptions.

Loyola didn’t waste any time running up the score with 35 first-quarter points that went unanswered. The Rams continued to punch in double-digit numbers to the scorecard until the fourth quarter, where Troy had finally reached pace.

Trojan skipper Kody Hoffman said delayed starts have been Troy’s weakness this season and to improve, they’ll need to arrive for full-speed football at the first kickoff.

“Toward the end of the game we were playing way better football,” said Hoffman. “We were getting our blocks and coming together for plays. We’ve just come out flat in the first half of most of the games this year. You can’t really do that against these good teams like Loyola and Deer Lodge. We’ve got to come out with a little more passion and start running plays the right way.”

The Trojans were also missing their lead tackler, Mason Chapel, last week due to an injury. Hoffman said shifting guys around in the defense hoping to make up the difference might have opened up more holes than plugged them.

Nearing the halfway point of its season, the Troy football team is yet to post a point on the scoreboard, but Hoffman said the ship hasn’t sunk yet.

“Surprisingly, our morale has not gone down at all,” Hoffman said, praising his team’s tenacity despite the hard early start. “We know that the teams we have played are going to be contenders this year. Out players know that we’re young and inexperienced.”

Troy this season is fielding three juniors and four sophomores in their starting lineup. The team, under a new coach, has also been missing the offensive powerhouse of Sean Opland, who posted nearly three quarters of the Trojan’s total yards last year before earning a spot on the Montana State Bobcats’ roster.

Regardless, Hoffman sees the second half of the season as an opportunity to turn a staggering start into a grand finale.

“The kids are still buying into it and they’re still believing that we can come together and make good things happen for this team,” he said. “We knew it was going to be a task. We’re hoping to finish the season out strong, on a good note and come out, be ready to play the next five weeks.”

The Trojans will take another long road trip on Saturday, this time to Florence. The Falcons were crushed last week in a 53-18 loss in Eureka and Hoffman said this might be Troy’s opportunity for the team’s first win.

“Their running back is big. He’s a downhill runner so if we can stop him, then they go to their passing game,” Hoffman said. “We’re going to man up our best corner on their top guy wherever he goes.”

The game starts at 4 p.m. on Saturday in Florence.

Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.