There’s a trophy on the line Friday night when Troy hosts La Salle, and we all know what that means: It’s a rivalry game with bragging rights and city supremacy up for grabs.

Troy currently holds the Collar City Cup after beating the Cadets 55-7 last season. There definitely wasn’t as much hype going into that game because of how dominant and experienced Troy was last year. It’s different this time around.

Troy is coming off back-to-back state championships at the Class AA level, but the Flying Horses graduated every single starter who played in Week 9 and on last season. It’s taking Troy some time to find their groove. Sophomore captain Xavier Leigh says his team needs to raise its effort level. He said in game one, the Flying Horses were 55 percent; in game two, 75 percent; but Troy coach Bob Burns said nope, not even close, we aren’t even that close to where we need to be. Fifty-five percent equaled a loss to Schalmont; 75 percent was a win over Amsterdam.

Sophomore QB Alex Wolfe saw his first varsity action in that Week 2 game when starting QB Mike Fazio went out with an injury. Wolfe threw three touchdown passes to lead the Flying Horses back to win. He probably could have had five TDs if not for a couple drops. Wolfe admitted he was nervous, but his teammates say they didn’t see it at all; he was calm and poised.

Burns said they knew Wolfe would play well.

"He’s that kind of kid; nothing really rattles him," Burns said. "I don’t know if it’s because he’s so young he doesn’t even realize, but he reminds me of some of the other guys we’ve had that they really don’t get flustered by anything."

We keep talking about this "new-look" La Salle team. I think we have the right to do that for a couple more weeks, but then it will just be La Salle. The newest part of that new look is head coach John Audino.

When the Cadets made this hire, the response from many people in our area was "Wow, really?" Audino had more than four decades of coaching experience at the collegiate level, including nearly 25 as the head coach at Union College. Audino is from this area, wanted to come back home (he had been on the staff at Columbia the last two seasons) and liked the challenge of turning the Cadets program around.

The first thing I noticed at La Salle’s practice was that it doesn’t feel like a high school practice. It really felt like a college practice, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone with Audino at the helm. All the groups were broken off and working with the JV team at stations. It just looked professional.

"We’re trying to make it as similar as we can to a college experience. We’re running a college offense and college defense," Audino said.

The players appreciate it this way. Senior Alton Ming said "He made sure to let us know this is all business. When you step on the field, it’s business; while you’re on the field, it’s business; and even when you’re inside in the practice facility before practice, it’s business."

EXTRA POINTS

Troy senior tight end Hunter Redden says game one was emotional for him, and he expects his first home game on Friday night to be emotional once again. Redden missed all of last season with a broken collarbone. He never missed a practice or game, despite being unable to play.

Xavier Leigh started the first eight weeks of the season for Troy last year as a freshman. He’s the only player Troy returned who saw any game action last year. As a sophomore this season, his teammates voted him captain. Burns says Leigh is a lead-by-example type of player. His effort and work ethic fire the other guys up.

It’s truly a family affair on the coaching staff at La Salle. John Audino’s staff includes his brother Carmen, nephew Peter and son-in-law Paul.