The Record Blogs: Off the Record: Troy High flies over Monroe-Woodbury, 32-21

Troy's Evan Vadney raises his arms in celebration following the Flying Horses' 32-21 victory over Monroe-Woodbury in the New York State Class AA regional playoff game at Dietz Stadium. (Photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

KINGSTON – One of the staff members at Dietz Stadium said it all as the Troy High football team left the field Saturday night.

“See y'all next week.”

Troy High rallied from a one-point deficit with 4:38 remaining in the fourth quarter to post a thrilling 32-21 victory over Monroe-Woodbury in a New York State Class AA regional round game.

On the first play after Monroe had taken a 21-20 lead, senior running back Jordan Canzeri ran 53 yards to the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. He added a 33-yard run with 40 seconds to play to cap the Flying Horses' triumph.

Troy High senior running back Jordan Canzeri runs against Monroe-Woodbury in Saturday's regional Class AA playoff game.

“They were ranked first in the state and a lot of people doubted us,” Canzeri said. “They didn't think we could do it. We were happy to play the first team in the state and show what we could do and show how Troy football is really played. We were happy that we fought hard and came out with the win tonight.”

A Class AA team from the Albany area had not won a game beyond the Section II Super Bowl since Shenendehowa won a regional game in 2002.

Troy High senior wide receiver Josh Blaauboer snares a pass from quarterback Brian Marsh in Saturday's victory at Dietz Stadium in Kingston.

Canzeri, who was named the Offensive Player of the Game, finished with 172 rushing yards on 23 attempts. He also scored on a 58-yard punt return in the second quarter.

Troy (11-0) tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter on a 52-yard pass from Brian Marsh to Josh Blaauboer. The Flying Horses forced a three-and-out on the ensuing drive and Canzeri returned the following punt all the way for Troy's second touchdown in a 65-second span.

Marsh ran in for a six-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to put Troy ahead by two touchdowns.

The Flying Horses had a chance to put the game away with 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but Noah Thomas dropped a pass in the end zone.

Monroe-Woodbury (10-1) drove 98 yards for a touchdown on the ensuing drive, as quarterback Ryan Spelman scored from 16 yards out with 7:03 to play. The Crusaders, seven-time defending Section IX champions, took the lead with 4:38 to play, when Trevor Officer broke a number of tackles on a 56-yard option run and Matt Valentini booted to go-ahead extra point.

The Troy High defense stops Monroe-Woodbury quarterback Ryan Spelman behind the line of scrimmage.

“People don't realize what we went up against,” said Troy High head coach Jack Burger. “We went up against a team that was averaging 46 points per game. That was a phenomenal job on the defensive side.”

Spelman finished with 171 passing yards and Officer rushed for 167. Monroe-Woodbury just barely outgained Troy offensively, 359-349.

Monroe's Jared Gennett was named the Defensive Player of the Game.

No. 7 Troy advances to a New York State Class AA eastern semifinal against Section I champion New Rochelle (9-0, No. 4 in the state), which earned a regional round bye. That game will be played as part of a Dietz Stadium semifinal tripleheader, on Sat., Nov. 20 at 8 p.m.

Saturday’s Class AA semifinal will be preceded by the Class C semifinal, which pits Saranac Lake against Bronxville and begins at noon. The Class B semifinal featuring Schalmont and Croton-Harmon is set to start at 4 p.m.

“I can't wait to play New Rochelle,” Blaauboer said. “We're just trying to win. This isn't our goal. Our goal is to get to the dome, but first, we have to beat New Rochelle.”

Monroe-Woodbury's Tom King attempts to tackle Troy's Josh Blaauboer during Saturday's Class AA regional playoff game in Kingston.

Troy had last won a Section II Super Bowl in 2000. The Flying Horses won five straight Section II titles from 1996 to 2000, capturing state championships in 1996 and 1998.

“It's a team effort. The staff, we do our thing and we ask the kids to do their thing,” Burger said. “It's 42 people strong and we push the kids awful hard. I think that when you have moments like this, they don't question why.”

Members of the Troy High football team celebrate during Saturday's regional victory over Monroe-Woodbury.

TROY 32, MONROE-WOODBURY 21

Troy (11-0) 0 14 6 12 – 32
Monroe-Woodbury (10-1) 0 7 0 14 – 21
First Quarter
No scoring.
Second Quarter
MW – Ryan Spelman 51 run (Matt Valentini kick) 10:19.
T – Josh Blaauboer 52 pass from Brian Marsh (Badro Talbi kick) 5:14
T – Jordan Canzeri 58 punt return (Talbi kick) 4:09
Third Quarter
T – Marsh 6 run (kick failed) 6:14
Fourth Quarter
MW – Spelman 16 run (Valentini kick) 7:03
MW – Trevor Officer 56 run (Valentini kick) 4:38
T – Canzeri 53 run (Marsh run failed) 4:12
T – Canzeri 33 run (kick failed) 0:40.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Troy (46-272): Canzeri 23-172, Lewis 11-65, Marsh 10-31, Geraci 2-4. Monroe-Woodbury (31-188): Officer 15-167, Spelman 14-21, Patrignelli 2-0.
Passing: Troy: Marsh 3-5-77-1-0. Monroe-Woodbury: Spelman 7-19-171-0-0.
Receiving: Troy (3-77): Blaauboer 2-69, Blair 1-8. Monroe-Woodbury (7-171): Perez 3-132, Patrignelli 1-27, Tolosi 1-8, Cardone 1-4, Officer 1-0.

Notes: It was so cold Saturday night that my flipcam froze and refused to work....of course, right when everything started to get good late in the fourth quarter. Luckily, I had the company iPhone with me and was able to capture some interviews after the game on that. Apologies for a sub-standard video on this game.
In iPhone news, here is a glance at some web traffic stats for OTR:

You can see how the traffic, which stretches back one week in this chart, dramatically spiked during the hours I was live tweeting the Troy game from Dietz Stadium. Dear bigwigs at the Journal Register Company...providing reporters with the tools to report from the scene...this is how you drive traffic to the website. So, the moral of the story is, thanks for reading.
Back to the game, there were a number of highlights on defense I couldn't get to in the main story.
Stephaun Grinage was great for the Flying Horses at the linebacker position. He sacked Spelman in the first quarter and recovered a M-W fumble early in the second. He added another sack later in the second quarter.
Ian Blair broke up a screen play with a huge hit late in the second quarter. It almost looked like the receiver held on to the ball long enough before fumbling, but it was called an incomplete pass. Blair dropped what would have been an interception two plays later.
In the third quarter, Grinage and Nick Valenti combined on another sack.
Danny Danahy had a huge hit that broke up a M-W pass attempt on a third down midway through the third quarter.
Luis Lind made a tackle for a loss that ultimately forced a M-W punt later in the quarter. He added a sack in the fourth quarter.
Pastore fittingly closed out the game with a big sack of Spelman on a third down play.