Troy University Athletics
Trojans To Host Arkansas State For Senior Day
11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Playing the game of football is, at its base level, all about emotion and intensity. Teams that play with emotion and intensity are successful. Teams that fail to control their emotions or lack intensity fail.
For the last four weeks, the Troy Trojans have played with emotion and great intensity, and the result has been four consecutive victories. For that streak to continue this Saturday, the Trojans will have to keep control of their emotions while maintaining their intensity in a game that will be emotionally charged, especially for the 18 seniors who will be taking the field at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium for the final time.
Troy University will actually recognize 19 seniors prior to kickoff against Arkansas State. One of those 19, receiver Zsan Robinson, saw his career come to an end at North Texas in 2003 when he suffered a broken leg that was so severe there were doubts about saving the limb. Three years later, Robinson, like many of his teammates, continues to work in the weight room on a daily basis and is preparing to graduate.
While pregame activities will focus on those seniors, Troy University will also recognize another important group on Saturday with its annual "Salute to Veterans" day. Members of the military from several local bases will be honored at the game and the "Sound of the South" will perform a special halftime show saluting the branches of the United States Military as well as the men and women, past and present, who have served our country.
All of those activities promise to bring plenty of emotion to the stadium, but for the Trojans, the key to earning a victory over Arkansas State will be continuing to play with intensity.
For Troy coach Larry Blakeney, the showdown with the Indians means an opportunity to get a monkey off his back. During Blakeney's career at Troy he has faced a Steve Roberts coached team three times. Each of those three games have resulted in heartbreaking losses for the Trojans.
Each of the last two season the Trojans have travelled to Jonesboro to face ASU, and both games were decided by less than a touchdown. In both losses, 13-9 in 2004 and 9-3 in 2005, Troy took the lead in the first quarter but was unable to muster enough offense in either game to pull out a victory. In 2000 the Trojans dropped a 24-17 decision to Northwestern State on the road in a game the Demons later had to forfeit.
So, for the first time, Blakeney will get to host a Roberts coached team at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium where he has a sparkling 70-10-1 record over 16 seasons. On Senior Day under Blakeney the Trojans have an 11-4 record and certainly don't want to suffer a repeat of last seasons' 17-7 loss to Middle Tennessee.
While the Trojans enter the game having won four straight games for just the second time since moving to Division IA in 2001, ASU enters the week having dropped three straight league games. The defending Sun Belt Conference champs now find themselves on the outside of the race for the New Orleans Bowl, with only the opportunity to play spoiler left to play for.
The game figures to be an interesting matchup between the Trojans' suddenly high-powered offensive attack against the Indians normally stingy defense. Over Troy's four-game win streak, all against Sun Belt Conference foes, the Trojans have averaged 366.2 yards of total offense per game, rushing for 160.0 yards while passing for 206.2.
During those four games junior quarterback Omar Haugabook has flourished, completing 72-of-110 pass attempts for 825 yards and six touchdowns while posting a quarterback rating of 135.55. Haugabook has also combined with junior running back Kenny Cattouse to lead the Troy ground attack. Cattouse is averaging 92.2 yards per game against Sun Belt competition while Haugabook is adding 31.5 yards per game.
Haugabook earned Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for his efforts last Saturday at FAU.
In addition to the better overall numbers, the Trojans have found a way to strike for big plays over the last two weeks. In the last two games Haugabook has connected with a trio of receivers for TD passes of 70, 67, 58 and 54 yards which account for four of the seven longest pass plays in Troy's six years of Division IA play.
If the Trojans continue their solid play on offense, the pressure will be on the defense, which enters play last in the league in both pass defense and total defense. During the four-game win streak, the Trojans have surrendered 341.8 yards per game and Troy currently ranks 85th in the nation in total defense.
Arkansas State's strength is a groung game that is averaging 154.6 yards per game, primarily behind redshirt freshman Reggie Arnold, who is averaging 83.0 yards per game to rank 36th in the nation. For the Indians, however, that strong ground game has not resulted in points on the scoreboard. ASU ranks 112th in the nation in scoring offense at 13.6 points per game
GAME NOTES
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Saturday's game will mark the final home game for 19 Troy seniors. The group of seniors includes: OL Rob Austin, LB Ryan Babb, OL Kirbie Bodiford, DL David Cain, DB Brannon Condren, WR Marlo East, OL James Gardner, OL Kenny Griffin, WR Smokey Hampton, DE John Jackson, DL Franklin Lloyd, TE Josh Pruitt, LB Jason Richardson, WR Zsan Robinson, WR Toris Rutledge, DE Boo Smith, LB Martin Teal, P Jason Wright and OL Zach Yenser.l
The Troy roster does not include a single player from the state of Arkansas.l
The Arkansas State roster does not include a single player from the state of Alabama.l
Troy is 3-8 all-time against teams from the state of Arkansas. The only victory at home came over ASU in 1966, a 41-7 Troy win.l
If history is any indication, fans can expect to see a shutout in the game between Troy and ASU. The Trojans have played five times on Nov. 18 and four of the five games have ended in shutouts, including a 0-0 tie with Livingston in 1950. Two of the games played on this date went down in Troy football history. In 1961 the "Red Wave" suffered the third worst loss in school history, an 80-0 decision to the then Bobby Bowden coached Howard College (now Samford. The other end of the spectrum came in 1927 when Troy defeated a team from Maxwell Field 68-0. The last time Troy played on Nov. 18 was in 2000 and that was a 28-0 win over Jacksonville State. Troy is 3-1-2 all-time on November 18, with the only non-shutout coming in 1911. That year Troy played to a 5-5 tie with Sidney Lanier High School.l
The Trojans are scheduled to make two trips to the state of Arkansas next season. The Trojans will open the 2007 campaign on Sept. 1 at the University of Arkansas before travelling to Jonesboro on Oct. 27 for a date with the Indians.INJURY REPORT
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Senior running back Sean Dawkins (knee) and junior safety Sherrod Martin (shoulders) are out and will both likely redshirt.l
Freshman running back Xavier Walker (knee) is not expected to play this year.l
Senior safety Derick Pendergrass suffered an fractured ankle against Nebraska and is out for the season.l
Senior linebacker Ryan Babb missed the North Texas and ULL games with a strained quadricep. He saw limited playing time in the game at FAU and is expected to see his work load increase this week.l
Junior receiver Gary Banks rolled an ankle late in the ULL game. He saw limited action in the first half at FAU before getting more considerable playing time in the second half.l
Freshman receiver Justin Bray made his first start at Florida Atlantic and then had to come out of the game after getting his bell rung. Bray did not suffer a concussion and is probable for the game against ASU.CAREER NOTES
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Junior Kenny Cattouse enters play this week 137 yards shy of 1,000 rushing yards for his career.l
Junior Gary Banks needs just 156 yards receiving to reach 1,000 yards for his Troy career while senior Toris Rutledge is 153 yards shy of 1,000 and senior Smokey Hampton is 71 yards away.l
Junior Leodis McKelvin is 185 yards shy of 1,000 career punt return yards. McKelvin surpassed the 1,000 yard plateau in career kickoff return yards against ULL. He is just 45 all-purpose yards shy of 2,000 for his career.
