Troy’s returners look to take off
Pair of dynamic wide receivers leads team
When the Troy Flying Horses take the football field Friday at La Salle, 20 of the 22 starters are returners. The majority of them are multi-year starters, and two of the best are senior receivers Xavier Ward and
Nasir Dawud-soto. There may not be a better tandem in Section II.
Like the rest of the football teams throughout the state, Troy had its 2020 fall season shifted into a seven-week Fall Season II format because of the coronavirus pandemic. The last time the team played came in the 2019 Section II Class A Super Bowl, a painful 17-13 loss at Shenendehowa’s Steuerwald
Stadium.
“It is motivating to me,” Ward said. “It seems crazy that our last game was in 2019. We have waited a long time for this moment Friday. We just want to make the best of it. The loss to Queensbury really motivated me a lot. I never want the feeling of losing again, for sure.”
“We went through quarantine. It seemed like we were locked in the house, allowing more time to think about football and how much we missed it,” Dawud-soto said. “Just to get back on the field is fun.”
Ward, who is the younger brother of Joey Ward (a vital component during Troy’s Class AA state title wins in 2016 and 2017), has carved out his own niche as a four-year varsity player. In addition to playing slot receiver, Ward also starts at
cornerback and gets time at running back backing up Xavier Leigh.
“His experience, his athletic ability in the open field and his toughness being a smaller guy make him super dynamic,” Troy coach Bobby Burns said of Ward. “On just about any other team, he would be the best player.
“Like Joey, ‘Xa’ has never complained about not getting the ball or anything we have asked him to do. He has always been receptive to coaching. He could go a whole game without getting a touch and would not say one word. Joey was the same way. He just wants to win. When his number is called upon, he embraces it.”
“I want to be an electric player that gets the job done 100 percent on every play,” Ward said. “I am trying to make the best out of it I can. It was scary not to have football during the regular time, especially this being my senior year.”
A quiet leader who allows his play to doing his talking, Ward and the other veterans on Troy’s roster are settling for nothing less than a Class A championship this season.
“We are coming. We are looking to keep our foot on the gas pedal and make the best out of every play,” Ward said. “We are very dangerous if we all play our roles.”
Troy quarterback Alex Wolfe, a three-year starter, has strong bonds with both of his top receivers.
“We have a very great connection,” Ward said. “If I get the ball in my hands and get to the outside, it is going to be a pretty good gain every time I get to the perimeter.”
“We always come to the field and get our extra work in,” Dawud-soto said of Wolfe. “I like outrunning defenders, catching the ball and scoring touchdowns.”
Coming off a strong campaign in helping the varsity basketball team advance to the Suburban Council Tournament final, Dawud-soto’s devotion to mastering his abilities on the football field got the attention of Burns.
“He worked as hard as anyone in the program to make himself better,” Burns said. “I think the light bulb really went off in him to become the best football player he possibly can be. For a six-month span prior to basketball starting, he did absolutely everything we asked of him.”
“I just watched a lot of film to find things that I could improve on like catching the ball and running (routes),” Dawud-soto said. “I focused in on the weight room and did it even before school opened. I ran hills with my cousin. The goal was to become the best player I could be.”
Burns loves what he has returning to the field and despite not having the chance to compete in a scrimmage, he is encouraged by the way his squad has prepped for Friday’s opener. He has challenged them to be special.
“I asked them, ‘How is your book going to end?’” Burns said. “We still have a few chapters left. Let’s see what you can do.”
“We have to work in practice every single day so Friday nights are easy,” Dawud-soto said. “Without having the state playoffs, the goal is to make the most of what we have . ... We have experience. We have talent. It is a matter of us focusing in.”
Mika Zibanejad had three goals and three assists in New York’s seven-goal second period, and the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 9-0 Wednesday night.
Pavel Buchnevich had two goals and two assists — all in the second period — and Brendan Lemieux, Artemi Panarin, Jacob Trouba and Filip Chytil also scored in the Rangers’ most decisive victory since beating New Jersey 9-0 on March 31, 1986. Alexandar Georgiev stopped 26 shots for his sixth shutout.
The Rangers were without head coach David Quinn and assistants Jacques Martin, David Oliver and Greg Brown were due to NHL COVID -19 protocols.