TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Friday night, Troy hosted a playoff football game for the first time since the spring 2021 season. And the Flying Horses did not disappoint the home crowd, beating Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, 42-28, in the Class A quarterfinals.
It was the visitors striking first, though, driving down the field on their opening possession. Michael Beis made an acrobatic catch in the end zone off a delivery from quarterback Daniel Olmstead for the first score of the night. A two-point conversion gave Burnt Hills an 8-0 lead, which the Spartans would maintain going into the second quarter.
But in that second stanza, Troy bounced back in a big way. Kyair Carr threw touchdowns on back-to-back drives to Benjamin Mergil and Vulonn Ford, capturing the Flying Horses a 16-8 advantage.
After recovering an onside kick, it took Troy just two plays to reach paydirt again – this time on a Nymiear Jenkins carry, which grew the margin to 14 points.
The Flying Horses capped a massive quarter with a trick play that resulted in another touchdown. Carr swung the ball out to Kayne Behan on a backwards pass. Behan went to throw and connected with Julian Monk in the end zone, giving Troy a 28-8 edge at halftime.
After two more scores out of the break, the Flying Horses headed for the fourth quarter up 42-15 – their largest lead of the evening.
The Spartans fought back, trimming the deficit down to 14 on a Peyton Marshall touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. Burnt Hills would get the ball back with a chance to continue the rally, but an interception by Darrell Murray sealed the deal for Troy, securing the 42-28 win.
With the victory, Troy, the two-seed out of the Capital Division, advances to the Class A semifinals, and will travel to Queensbury for a matchup with the Spartans, who finished as the No. 1 team in the Grasso. That game is set for Friday, Nov. 7, and will kick off at 7:00 p.m.
