The city of Troy gathered at Treasure Island Park to celebrate a history-in-the-making on the evening of November 3. The Troy High School Trojans and Troy Christian High School Eagles shared their winning spirit with the community, carrying both of their schools to the state play-offs this year. The energy was contagious across fields and disciplines. In addition to the football teams reaching championship ranking, the Troy High School Band came out of state competition with a superior rating and the girls’ cross-country track team is now number 1 in the state where they represented Troy at the National Trail Raceway State Cross Country Championship.

Mayor Michael Beamish opened the Spirit Night festivities with enthusiasm. “This is the first time that I can remember us having two home football games in the state play-offs with both football programs on two different nights, Friday and Saturday,” Beamish said. “We can all come together and we can be one as a Troy Community for a first. This is a historic occasion.”

Troy Community Radio came out to broadcast the event live as the Troy High School and Troy Christian High School bands performed together. The cheerleaders from both schools also had the opportunity to encourage the gathered crowd to participate in cheers for their respective teams.

Retired Troy coach Steven Nolan gave his “coaching perspective,” remarking on his ability to now go to games of both teams and critique. “I don’t know where you could go in this state and say that a community this size that has two play-off teams with home games in the state of Ohio,” Nolan said. “That’s something to be very proud of.” He praised the star quarterbacks on both teams, the 12 yard running backs, and their offensive lines this year.

Troy Christian Coach, Ryan Jones, addressed the audience by thanking the mayor’s office and media for reporting and supporting Troy Christian football. He thanked administrators, coaching staff, and family for standing behind him as a coach in addition to encouraging the team. As a newer member of the community, Jones came to Troy to work alongside Coach Nolan as a volunteer only a couple years ago. This is his first year as the head coach of a high school football team. “I’m glad to live in a community like Troy,” Jones said. “The Lord works in mysterious ways sometimes and I feel very blessed that he brought me and my family here.”

Jones attributed this year’s success in football to the fighting spirit of his team. “We don’t have a lot of guys in the Division 7 program, we’ve got about 30 players but they are the right 30 players,” Jones said. “They give me everything they’ve got.”

Coach Matt Burgbacher is also a recent inductee into the head coaching world for Troy, Ohio, having been given the role only just last year. He came out with enthusiastic drive, not only to celebrate today but to continue to work for wins in the coming games. “These boys back behind me have done everything to get it done,” Burgbacher said. “It all began last year. We laid the foundation. They did what we asked and then, this year, they took it two steps further. They are a pleasure to coach.”

Music, cheers, laughter, and Troy spirit lingered into coming days as people continued to remark on the Spirit Night as a highlight of this season for families and their students. Shelly Calvert, a mother of a football player for Troy Christian, believes this year has wider reaching implications of a unique community spirit in Troy. “It’s amazing what has happened this year,” Calvert said. “I just got chills seeing all the football players, cheerleaders, and bands together, encouraging each other. What other community has that?”