Troy City Titans bringing more football to Fall River

FALL RIVER — New brands of football keep making their way into Fall River.

Less than a week after the New England Bobcats made their arena football debut at Driscoll Arena, the Troy City Titans held their second practice of the season at Herry Lord on Wednesday night.

The Titans, a Triple-A semi-pro team in the New England Football League, had a solid showing at practice with 30-plus players working out under the direction of head coach Anthony Comer.

"For 30 to show up in April is amazing," said Comer, a former standout running back at Brockton High School, who went on to play at Boston College. "We have 70 who signed up, but this is a working man's league and to get 30 guys here this early is very good."

Members of the Troy City Titans, Fall River’s semi pro football team in the NEFL, work out during Wednesday’s practice. pic.twitter.com/VEgwH1oOcW

— Mike Thomas (@NostraThomasHN) April 25, 2019

Cam Pontes, a 2008 graduate of Durfee High School, is back on the football field after tearing his ACL in a semi-pro football game back in 2015. He couldn't pass up an opportunity to play the game he loves for his hometown team.

"I was born and raised here," said Pontes, expected to be a top wide receiver on the team. "This city sometimes has a bad name, but the Titans will be a positive here. I've been playing football since Pop Warner. Football brings a brothership and it's something I love. One thing in life is to be happy and this makes me happy."

Comer, Lawrence Winslow and Jackie 'The Glue' Duarte have put in countless hours trying to bring a semi-pro team to Fall River and their actions have finally paid off.

While opening day is scheduled for July 20, the official schedule hasn't been released yet. The Titans aren't even 100 percent sure yet what field they will call home.

"We'll be at Durfee if the lights are ready," said Winslow, an owner and coach of the Titans. "With all the construction that's going on there, they are unsure if they will have the lights ready."

Comer, Winslow and Duarte have been have been heavily involved in the community, reaching out to potential sponsors and doing some volunteer work within the city.

"We're always looking for support from anywhere," Comer said. "We want to make this the city's team."

Despite be in their inaugural season, Comer said he expects the Titans to be very competitive on the field.

"We're going to compete," he said. "We have a nice mixture of rookies and veteran players, who have played with me in the past. We're very excited to get going."

Mike Thomas is the sports editor of The Herald news. Follow him on Twitter @NostraThomasHN.