Hurt by six costly turnovers, Troy’s season ended with a 27-9 loss to Winnsboro in a Class 2A Division I Region II semifinal Friday night at Midlothian ISD Stadium.
Troy, which won a share of the District 16-2A championship for its first league title in a decade, ended the season at 8-4. Winnsboro (10-2) advanced to face Pilot Point (10-1) next week in the regional final.
“The scoreboard definitely doesn’t reflect the type of game it was,” Trojans coach Grady Rowe said. “We had turnovers in the second half that really, really hurt us. In a playoff game, you can’t turn the ball over. I’m proud of our kids. They fought hard and they fought hard all year.”
What made those turnovers even worse is that every point the Red Raiders scored came off of the Trojans’ mistakes. Winnsboro forced two first-quarter fumbles and intercepted four Dylan Sebek passes, returning two for touchdowns in the second half.
Troy turned the ball over on its first two possessions, leading to easy scoring drives for Winnsboro and 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
But Troy was still hanging around at halftime thanks to its defense, which held Winnsboro to minus-8 yards in the second quarter. A big reason for the Trojans’ success was being able to contain quarterback Sean Ditto. Although Ditto broke free for a 79-yard score in the first quarter, he was held to just 3 yards after that.
The Trojans turned a fumble deep in Red Raider territory into a 1-yard score by senior Trey Collier midway through the second quarter. Brandon Clark’s 32-yard field goal with 16 seconds left in the half trimmed the lead to 14-9.
“That was the difference in the first half,” Rowe said. “We turned it over, but it didn’t hurt us as bad. We were able to overcome them and sustain some drives. In the second half we couldn’t overcome those turnovers. You can’t do that against a team like this. In the playoffs, you just can’t.”
The Trojans appeared to steal the momentum, forcing another fumble early in third quarter. Troy drove to the 17-yard line, keyed by 16-yard completion from running back Jeremy Conrad to tight end Demetrius Smith. Facing third-and-7 at the 17, Sebek was hit as he threw and his pass was intercepted at the 2 and returned 98 yards by Zack Allen for a back-breaking touchdown.
Three of the Trojans’ next four drives ended with interceptions, including another pick that was returned for a score in the fourth to seal the Red Raiders’ win.
Stifled by turnovers and needing quick scores, the Trojans’ rushing attack never found its rhythm in the second half. Sophomore Cyrus McKenize had a game-high 85 yards on 17 carries and senior Jeremy Conrad added 52 yards on 16 rushes.
Though Troy ended its season with a second-round playoff loss for the second straight season, Rowe said his team’s 11 seniors have added to the program’s already-solid foundation.
“We’ve built something and now we’ve got to build it even a little more,” he said.
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
