TROY — The most impressive Xenia offensive drive during Friday’s game at Troy did not end with points being scored. It concluded once the game clock hit zero.

Check out photos from the week seven matchup between Xenia and Troy.

The Buccaneers held onto the ball for the final 8:21 of the fourth quarter and overpowered the Trojans to secure a 21-18 win at Memorial Stadium.

Starting at its own 18, Deaunte White was given 14 straight handoffs and gained positive yardage on every attempt. The final drive culminated with a fourth-and-one conversion at Troy’s 30 with under two minutes left as White pushed forward behind the stellar play of his offensive line to get the final yards needed.

“He makes it really easy,” Gavin McManus said. “As a quarterback, I know we can just give him the ball and he’s gonna get eight or nine every time. We just need to get behind and push him.”

White ended the game unofficially with 201 yards rushing on 39 carries and scored two touchdowns. Xenia’s offense only had six possessions in the game, scoring on three of them and was potentially on its way to adding a fourth had the clock allowed.

As impressive as the Buccaneers were with the ball, they continued their strong play on the defensive side as well. Xenia (7-0, 6-0) only allowed six Troy plays to go for more than 10 yards and made several key plays throughout the win.

Ronnie Butler, one of the Miami Valley League’s leaders in tackles, was a prominent figure in most of the key plays. He recovered a fumble to end Troy’s opening possession and made two crucial third down tackles during the second half.

Butler got the stop short of the first down line to gain on Troy’s first possession of the third quarter that led to a fourth-and-inches situation which saw the Trojans keep its offense on the field but committed a false start penalty that led to the punt team coming out. Troy (3-4, 3-3) drove down the field the next time it had the ball and got down to Xenia’s one-yard line but couldn’t get in the end zone due to Butler firing through a gap to make the tackle in the backfield and force a field goal.

“We are just being taught to bend and don’t break,” Butler said. “Make them snap it again and that’s what we’ve been training for every day during practice and I think that’s really helped our game.”

Xenia overcame two penalties on the opening drive to march 80 yards and score on White’s first touchdown run and take a 7-0 lead. Troy’s defense stepped up to get a fourth down stop and after the sides traded punts the Trojans were able to get on the board just before halftime with a 28-yard pass to even the score at the break.

“Troy is just a good football team,” head coach Maurice Harden said. “They’re good at what they want to do. You have to be able to find a way to persevere and fight through that stuff and I think we did a good job of that.”

After halftime, Xenia duplicated its first scoring drive with another long possession that saw a balanced mixture moving the ball on the ground and through the air carve up Troy’s defense. White bounced off defenders to scamper 18 yards toward the sideline and give Xenia a 14-7 lead.

Butler’s goal line stop came on the ensuing Troy drive, and Xenia took full advantage afterward to increase its lead. Taking to the air, McManus fired a third down pass toward Trimonde Henry who fought off press coverage and raced down the sideline to get under the ball. He timed his run perfectly to make the running grab that led him straight into the end zone to put Xenia ahead 21-10 early in the fourth quarter.

“The timing was there all night,” McManus said. “As long as I get it to number 20 he’s going to make a play.”

Friday was one of the best games McManus has played at QB in his four years as a starter, completing 14 of 15 passes for 158 yards.

Troy was able to close the gap by scoring the first touchdown Xenia’s starters have allowed during the second half of a game this season. Miscommunication in the secondary led to a 55-yard pass similar to a scoring play from Xenia’s win at Butler in week five as no defender was within 15 yards of the receiver as he made the catch.

It didn’t matter as Xenia continued to beat Troy at its own game down the stretch, muscling its way down the field and gaining all the yards needed on each carry with White carrying the ball as the clock ticked down.

“All of our conditioning, all of our running and things that we do in our offseason, that is why we can do that,” Harden said of the final drive. “I tell them all the time when we’re wearing teams down in the fourth quarter, they can look back on those days and hours in the weight room because that’s where it shows up for our conditioning.”

See all of the week seven scores for Greene County teams.

Xenia overcomes two penalties to take the opening drive 80 yards over 11 plays and score on an 11yd Deaunte White TD run. 7-0 Xenia 7:46 1st qtr. pic.twitter.com/1eXyHudLFr

— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) October 4, 2024

Ronnie Butler makes a huge stop on 3rd and goal at the 1 for Xenia. Troy kicks a 21yd FG. 14-10 Xenia with 1:11 left in the third. pic.twitter.com/aFiy46eSiZ

— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) October 5, 2024

Trimonde Henry runs down a 26yd TD pass by Gavin McManus. Xenia takes a 21–10 lead over Troy with 9:57 remaining. pic.twitter.com/THlTWvHwLS

— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) October 5, 2024

The 13th consecutive handoff to Deaunte White of the drive comes on 4th and 1 for Xenia at Troy’s 30 with 1:30 remaining. Xenia converts and Troy is out of timeouts. pic.twitter.com/sLmPk5q4SM

— Steven Wright (@Steven_Wright_) October 5, 2024

Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.