It had rained most of the day, but as game time approached, it looked as though LaSalle & Troy would be able to play in dry conditions the entire night. The Collar City Cup was on the line, and it was Homecoming at Troy.
LaSalle won the opening coin toss, and deferred. Their defense shut down Troy's running game, forcing a punt. The Cadets would then march down the field, but had to settle for a field goal by Will Kelly to take an early 3-0 lead.
Troy started with Jeremiah Gilmore at quarterback instead of Jeremie Archambeault, who alternated between running back and wide receiver the entire night. Spectrum announcer Chris Watson repeatedly misidentified Archambeault as "Jermaine", even though the graphics department got it right. Regardless, Gilmore had his best success either on designed runs or through the air.
The first half was largely a defensive struggle, but some dubious officiating at the end of the 2nd quarter led to some chaos. An unintentional, ever so slight face mask tug on Gilmore led to a turnover deep in Troy territory. However, the Cadets could not cash it in, although replays showed that quarterback Chris Chenette actually got the ball over the plane of the goal, but the officials missed it. Seems they've been taking online correspondence courses with notorious baseball umpire Angel Hernandez.
LaSalle's next possession was just as chaotic. After a first down at the Troy 5, Chenette tried to clock it, but fumbled. The clock kept running instead of stopping to allow the chains to be reset. Troy recovered the fumble as time expired in the half.
Just three minutes into the 3rd quarter, LaSalle's Matt Bott put the game away with a 37 yard touchdown run. Kelly added the extra point to give the visitors a 10-0 lead. LaSalle's defense kept the Troy running game bottled up, and Gilmore more than once had to come out of the game, with receiver A'Zari Johnson taking over at quarterback. Gilmore, it appeared, may have injured his left hamstring, but gutted it out. I'd say he'd be questionable for next week's home game vs. Bethlehem.
Late in the 4th quarter, Kelly added some more salt to Troy's wounds with a 47 yard run of his own to the house. An extra point later, LaSalle was up, 17-0, and that would be your final score. LaSalle (3-2) travels to Columbia next week. Troy played a much better game defensively, but there are still some holes to be filled on the offensive line to spring the running game. At 0-4, there is a sense of urgency, so maybe coach Jordan Canzeri might need to find his old playbook from his playing days.......
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