Troy’s Kayden Franklin streaks for the end zone on this long touchdown run during Friday 52-7 win over Fairborn. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Lee Woolery)
Troy continued to distinguish itself as a true contender in the MVL by dismantling Fairborn in a 52-7 win. The Trojans’ run game produced without relying on QB Aiden Kirkpatrick, and the defense provided a couple of short fields to boot.
Fairborn, OH – Whoa! We’re halfway there!
Bon Jovi would’ve been an appropriate soundtrack for the Troy Trojans’ locker room celebration, who, halfway through the regular season, are 4-1 (4-0 MVL) and contending for the league title.
Minster Bank proudly sponsors the best area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.
The contenders separated themselves from the pretenders with a resounding 52-7 beatdown of the Fairborn Skyhawks (3-2, 2-2 MVL) on the road.
Troy ran wild for four quarters, averaging 7.2 yards on 40 carries. Troy got all the magic it has learned to expect from quarterback Aiden Kirkpatrick, plus monstrous contributions by Kayden Franklin, Uriah Browner and Aidan Gorman.
Alan Brads writes OHSSA sports and sports at large for Press Pros Magazine.com.
“I can hand the ball off and they get 10 yards per carry,” Kirkpatrick said. “It’s pretty crazy, and it’s a lot of stress relief.”
The dominant win proved again that even halfway through the season, not all equal records are really equal. Troy’s one-score loss against Middletown looks better by the week. The rest of the team stepping up around Kirkpatrick reshapes how you have to evaluate them. With Tipp blasting Butler, the Trojans look to be the last realistic line of defense against Tipp sweeping the MVL for a second straight season. Troy hosts the Red Devils in Week 9.
Meanwhile, Fairborn’s three wins hold less water as the weeks pass. Its Ws came against opponents totaling a 4-11 record. The Skyhawks could still turn things around and win the less competitive Valley Division, but only if they fix their run defense by the time Deaunte White and Xenia (4-1) roll into town in Week 8.
Franklin gashed the Fairborn defense for 49 yards on the ground on Troy’s opening drive, setting up a QB sneak TD for Kirkpatrick. On the next possession, he took the handoff on the first play and dashed 62 yards untouched for an early 14-0 lead.
“I was just following my guards,” Franklin said. “I just saw huge holes and hit those holes hard. On the touchdown I made my cut, and I pretty much knew it was a touchdown from there.”
Franklin attributed the wide-open running lanes to his offensive line and the litany of players in the Troy backfield who can carry the rock.
Troy quarterback Aiden Kirkpatrick made plays, but he didn’t have to do all the heavy lifting on offense as the running backs found plenty of room to run.
Troy didn’t hesitate to bring in extra big bodies to help the run game, and the offensive line looked much improved from a week ago, where Kirkpatrick was regularly called upon to be Superman. Pulling guards abused Fairborn’s front five in the first half, and by the time the Skyhawks slightly stemmed the bleeding, it was way too little, way too late.
A turnover on downs left Kirkpatrick and Company a short field, and he sneaked in again to take a 21-0 first-quarter lead before the Skyhawks knew what hit them.
After accumulating the three-score lead, the Trojans gave Franklin the night off and relied on a deep bullpen of tailbacks, headed by Browner, who took nine carries for 80 yards and a touchdown.
A week ago, coach Troy Everhart said he needed his offense to thrive without overreliance on Kirkpatrick to make plays.
“I think we got a better job,” Everhart said. “But I don’t know if we’re firing on all cylinders. We made a lot of mental mistakes.”
Logan Services, in Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, proudly sponsors the best area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
Penalties plagued both sides – though many were declined. Officially Troy was dinged for 50 yards on eight penalties, the majority of which were false starts and illegal shifts.
The defense held up its end of the bargain, giving up just 2.6 yards per carry, and 4-of-11 passing. The suffocating front line choked out Fairborn’s option offense, leaving the Skyhawks with no option but to go to the air on many third-and-long situations.
“Defense was fantastic,” Everhart said. “They did a great job.”
Aidan Gorman caught all three passes Aiden Kirkpatrick threw. On this one he was stopped just short of the end zone to set up another Troy touchdown.
Linebacker Jesse Alvez led the team with seven tackles, 1.5 for loss. Tobey Seibert also amassed six tackles from the linebacker position, and frequently disrupted plays at the point of attack.
On the first play of the second quarter, Fairborn QB Daylen Switzer fired toward a receiver running a slant, but Troy’s Zachary Ullery jumped in front and picked it off to give his offense another short field.
“It makes it so much easier for us,” Kirkpatrick said. “We know we don’t have to be perfect because we have a great defense.”
But on their fourth drive, they stayed perfect – 4-for-4 on finding the end zone. Browner ran tough, then Kirkpatrick finished the hat trick on the ground from five yards out with 9:18 still on the clock in the second quarter.
Mark Knupp’s Muffler and Tire proudly sponsor area sports on Press Pros Magazine.com.
The home crowd finally found cause to cheer late in the half, when a busted coverage sprang Wesley Rohler free for a 49-yard score.
Not to be outdone by the offense and defense, Troy’s special teams made a name for itself after a string of quiet but valuable touchbacks on kickoffs. With two seconds left in the half, Matt Barth drilled a 46-yard field goal. It would’ve been a no-doubter from 50.
With Tipp playing like a buzzsaw and Troy playing in Division I this season, it will take all three phases to get where the Trojans want to go.
“That’s the whole goal,” Everhart said. “That’s what we try to do. That’s what we’ve been tasked with. We’ve got a great group of young men, so let’s try to do our best.”
Troy center Mitchell Finkes opens a hole in the Fairborn defense that got Kayden Franklin into the end zone for another touchdown.
To start the second half, Kirkpatrick perfectly floated a pass with two defenders in his face to Aiden Gorman, who was releasing from the flat with a Skyhawk on his tail. He hauled it in, outran his defender, froze another with a shifty move on the sideline, and beat a third in a footrace to the pylon. The 65-yard TD catch mercifully instigated the running clock.
Gorman caught all three of Kirkpatrick’s pass attempts for 87 yards.
Twenty-three penalties called would’ve slowed the pace down enough to cost the district on bus driver overtime pay, but the running clock spared the budget, and the time of the massive but subdued crowd.
Browner and Jaxson Carter each ran in a touchdown to push the lead to 52-7 before the final whistle blew, and the Trojans hoisted the Tom Massie Trophy for the first time. The traveling trophy will return with the winner of the Fairborn-Troy game each year, in honor of Tom Massie, who coached 52 years of football at the two schools, and died in July.
“Every rivalry win is a good win,” Kirkpatrick said. “Getting a trophy means a lot to us. This game meant a little more playing for Coach Massie.”
The Trojans have two rivalry trophies already in the case, and through five weeks, they’re 4-1, and perfect in the MVL. They’re halfway there, and if the offense, defense and special teams all continue to show up, they’ll be livin’ on more than just a prayer.
The Arbogast family of dealerships proudly sponsors coverage of Ohio State football on Press Pros Magazine.com.