In the rain.
On the grass surface at Troy Memorial Stadium,
“Piqua plays on turf and we play on the grass every day,” Jackson said, still covered with layers of mud. “It was an advantage for us.”
Jackson finished with just 21 yards, but scored on three of his four carries as Troy finished the regular season 8-2 with a 32-6 win over Piqua in the 133rd meeting of rivalry.
Jaydon Culp-Bishop added a score, rushing for 254 yards on 33 carries.
“He gets all the yards and I get all the scores,” Jackson said. “It was nice to be able to do that against Piqua. Once you start scoring touchdowns, the momentum swings your way and we don’t give it back.”
The win checked several boxes for the Trojans.
• Troy finished 5-0 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference American West Division to claim its second consecutive title. The Trojans have not lost a divisional game since Oct. 26, 2015 – to Piqua.
•The Trojans solidified their playoff position in Division II, Region 8. The Ohio High School Athletic Association will announce the pairings on Sunday.
• Troy took a 64-63-6 lead over Piqua in the rivalry that dates back to 1899.
“The amazing thing about this rivalry is that usually you have one team that has a 20 or 30 game differential after 132 games,” Troy coach Matt Burgbacher said. “That shows what this series is about.
“Our kids really strive for this. It is a big thing with our players and in our community and tonight was old fashioned like the rivalry. It was old fashioned everything and that is one reason we love our grass field. It is an advantage for us.”
While the Trojans were celebrating, the Indians were left wondering what if.
Piqua, 6-4, 3-2, entered the game with a chance to reach the Division III, Region 12 playoffs, and got losses from the teams they needed to lose, but couldn’t pull through with the win they needed.
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“You have your chances,” Piqua coach Bill Nees said. “You work hard year round to get that chance and you have to take advantage of it when you get it.”
Troy turned the ball over on its first two possessions and three times on the night.
“Coach has always told us we got to let the little things go,” Jackson said. “We have to move on and get refocused.”
Jackson scored on Troy’s third possession on a 6-yard run and on a 21-yard run with 21 seconds remaining in the half for a 12-0 lead at the break.
Jackson added his third score on the first possession of the second half before Piqua scored on a 40-yard fumble recovery by Ben Schmeising to cut the deficit to 18-6 with 12 seconds left in the third.
Bishop-Culp got loose for a 60 yard scoring run before the defense put the finishing touches on another gem with a 1 yard fumble recovery by Jonah Schricker.
Troy forced four turnovers and held Piqua to nine first downs and 118 yards in total offense. Troy recorded 19 first downs and 366 yards in offense.
“Our defense has been there all 10 weeks,” Burgbacher said. “We could’ve scored more, but we turned the ball over and I thought that would cost us more, but our defense was excited to run on the field again each time they go out.”
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