Troy High Seeks First Win of the Season in Royal Oak

The football team will be looking for its first win of the season tonight as they travel to meet the Royal Oak High School Ravens.

Falling on the road 16-3 last week to the Romeo Bulldogs, the Colts have a shorter road trip, but are still struggling to fill some holes as they head into the second game of the season.

Head Coach Gary Griffith will have to do it without one of his captains though.

"We lost a couple of kids," he explained. "A two-way player, Matt Oppenlander, a running back and defensive end, bruised his knee. And we've got a couple more kids dinged up but their going to try and go."

Oppenlander, a senior, was the only starter returning this season to the Colts' defensive line. Griffith said before the team's opener that he had been rotating linebackers and ends into the running back position, trying to find a standout. The captain also is one of only three defensive starters who returned for the 2011 season.

Meanwhile, the Ravens are coming off an emotional 21-20 win last week against Saint Clair Shores Lake Shore. The win, which came down to a failed 2-point conversion attempt by the Shorians in the final 25 seconds of the game, stopped the Raven's three-year losing streak.

Griffith and his staff have been breaking down the Raven win but knows he could see a "different" team tonight.

"They did a lot of things and looked like a good football team," he said. "You go in with plans to attack what you saw but you're always open to adjusting on the fly because we might see something different."

Game time at Royal Oak High School is 7 p.m. tonight.

To read Patch's football preview of both teams and a full schedule of games, check out Patch's .