Quarterback Ben Troia put on an arial display as the Tigers trampled Toll Gate 48-0 during a home D-4 tuneup game on Thursday night. The stealthy senior was 7-7 for 157 yards through the air and threw touchdown passes of 50, 44, 20 and 10 yards. Troia also scrambled for 39 yards during the onslaught.

Tiverton improved their overall record to 4-6 as they prepare to face Division 3 Rogers in Newport on Thanksgiving Day. Their 48 points was their largest point total this season.

Troia heaves 50-yard bomb

Troia directed seven touchdown drives, including a whopping 34 points on Toll Gate’s miserable defense in the first half. The senior got it going early, dropping back on third down during Tiverton’s first possession and heaved a 50-yard bomb to wide receiver Wayne Heilborn. The tall, sinewy senior cradled the ball in at the 20 and beat a Toll Gate defender to the end zone for a touchdown. Brendan Sowa kicked the extra point for a Tiverton 7-0 lead. Tiverton running back Aiden Champ finished off the Tigers’ second possession with a 7-yard touchdown run. A Sowa extra point gave Tiverton a 14-0 lead.

Defense makes a pair of turnovers that lead to scores

The Tiverton defense also came up big with two turnovers in the first half. Senior linebacker Aiden Daluz recovered a Toll Gate snap snafu on their third possession. Daluz blitzing, dove on the ball after it sailed over the head of quarterback Nick Bruner on a bad snap, giving Tiverton the ball on the Titans’ 25-yard line.

Four plays later, Troia threw to Heilborn in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown pass and catch to give Tiverton a 20-0 lead. Heilborn was Troia’s favorite target, racking up 100 yards and three TDs.

The defense made a second turnover on Toll Gate’s next possession. Linebacker Roman Fauci pressured Bruner while blitzing on a pass play. The quarterback just let go of the pass as Fauci clobbered him to the ground. Champ, playing cornerback, leapt up, snatched the ball and ran it 20 yards to the Toll Gate 45-yard line. Two plays later, Troia heaved a 44-yard bomb down the right sideline to receiver Malcom Michaud, who easily ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. A Sowa extra-point kick gave Tiverton a 27-0 lead.

Tigers score again

The Tigers’ scored again on their next possession with time winding down in the second quarter. Troia dropped back on the Toll Gate 20-yard line and threw a strike to Heilborn in the end zone. Sowa’s kick was good to give Tiverton a 34-0 halftime lead.

Running backs ramble in the second half

Champ and Fauci each ran for scores in the second half. Champ ran it seven times for 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He ripped off a 41 yard run for his longest ramble of the day. Fauci ran it twice for 24 yards. He scored from the 15-yard line in the second half.

Tough Thanksgiving Day competition

Tiverton will face a tough Rogers team in their annual Thanksgiving Day game at Toppa Field at 10:00 a.m. Rogers went 5-3, beat Mt. Hope 29-19 in the D-3 quarterfinals and fell to Classical 56-22 in the semis.