Troy University Athletics
Trojans Fall to Indians in Home Finale
11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
TROY, Ala. - A late comeback by Arkansas State Saturday night gave Troy its first home loss of the year as the Indians defeated the Trojans by a score of 33-26 at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.
ASU scored the winning touchdown with just 17 seconds left in the game to stop Troy's four-game win streak and give the Indians their third straight Sun Belt win over the Trojans.
It was a heck of a ballgame,” Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. We couldn't hold on there at the end.”
The Trojans got on the board first, scoring on their first possession of the night.
The Trojans started the drive gaining two first downs but stalled at midfield. The second roughing the kicker call in as many weeks kept Troy's drive alive and moved the Trojans in field goal range.
Greg Whibbs' nailed a 47-yard field goal, his longest of the season and the second longest of his career, for a 3-0 lead. The drive consisted of 11 plays for 47 yards and lasted 5:19.
Troy scored again on its second possession marking the first time since the Cal Poly game in 2005 the Trojans scored twice in the first quarter, a 21-game stretch.
On the first play of the drive, Omar Haugabook connected with Smokey Hampton for a 60-yard reception, the longest of Hampton's career and tied for fifth in Troy's Division I history.
A 21-yard touchdown pass to Toris Rutledge was called back by a holding call two plays later. After another holding penalty on the next play, the Trojans converted on a second and 27 on a 33-yard reception to Mykeal Terry, who finished with 140 yards on six catches and one touchdown.
It could have been anyone of us,” Terry said. It just happened to be my week again.”
Two plays later, Kenny Cattouse scored his third rushing touchdown of the season from four yards out. Whibbs missed the extra point marking the second time this season he's not converted a PAT. Haugabook was 2-for-2 for 93 yards on the drive, which covered 84-yards and gave the Trojans a 9-0 lead.
On Arkansas State's next drive, the Indians went 80 yards in five plays to cut into Troy's lead. The score came on a Corey Leonard pass to David Johnson for 62 yards. The play was the second longest the Trojans have given up this year and the third of over 60 yards.
Leodis Mckelvin returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards, giving him more than 2,000 all-purpose yards for his career and set up another Troy score.
The Trojans started with a 15-yard run by Cattouse. Three plays later, Haugabook connected with Terry again, this time for a 53-yard touchdown to give Troy a 16-7 lead.
The touchdown was Terry's fourth of the year and third in the last two games. The Troy drive went 62 yards on six plays using only 1:54.
The Indians, however, continued to trade scores with the Trojans, scoring on their next drive.
Leonard completed 3-of-4 passes with the big one covering 21-yards to Kevin Jones for a touchdown to cut the Trojans' lead to 16-14.
Arkansas State got pressure on Haugabook on Troy's next possession, forcing a fumble on the first play at the Troy 20-yard line. The fumble was Troy's 25th turnover of the season.
The Indians stalled on the drive and settled for a 21-yard Josh Arauco field goal to give Arkansas State the lead, 17-16.
The Indians forced a three-and-out on Troy's next possession to get the ball back near the end of the first half and took advantage.
Arkansas State found a hole in the Trojans' defense and exploited it for 60 yards rushing on the drive to set up a 22-yard field goal to give the Indians' a 20-16 lead at the half.
Troy's defense came out with some fire in the second half and the Trojans battled back, cutting the ASU lead to one on a second Whibbs field goal, this one from 22 yards, late in the third quarter.
Cattouse started the drive with a 25-yard run, his longest of the season. A defensive pass interference call moved the Trojans into Arkansas State territory. Two plays later Haugabook connected with Terry on a 28-yard reception to put the Trojans inside the 26-yard line.
On Troy's next possession, Haugabook threw an interception over the middle, giving the Indians the ball deep in Troy territory.
Again the Troy defense stiffened and, on a third-and-short, Arkansas State suffered a busted play, forcing a field goal to stay within striking distance at 23-19.
The Indians squib-kicked the ensuing kickoff to keep it away from McKelvin, but Anthony Jones returned the ball out to the 40-yard line. On the next play, Haugabook completed a 20-yard pass to Terry.
Cattouse ran 14 yards down to the 4-yard line on the next play and then finished the drive with a 1-yard run for his second touchdown of the game to give the Trojans the lead, 26-23.
The margin closed to one point late in the game after an ASU punt was downed at the Troy one-yard line. On the first play, Cattouse was stuffed in the end zone for a safety, cutting Troy's lead to 26-25.
After a free kick, the Indians set up shop at their own 30 yard line with 3:46 left in the game.
After moving to the Troy 43-yard line, the Indians faced a fourth-and-eight with 1:36 left in the game. After a timeout, it was Leonard who scrambled to the Troy 30 with an 11-yard run, keeping the ASU drive alive.
There was a bunch of things that worked against us,” Blakeney said. Their quarterback runs were good and their offense was very difficult to deal with.”
After a five-yard rush on the next play by Wilkerson, it was Leonard who again scrambled, but this time for a 19-yard gain to the Troy six yard line with less than a minute to go.
Three plays later, Wilkerson scored from the one with 17 seconds left in the game, giving the Indians a 33-26 lead.
The Trojans' last hope died when Haugabook's desperation pass was intercepted by Darren Toney on the final play of the game.
The loss dropped the Trojans to 5-5 on the season and 4-1 in conference play. ASU improved to 6-5 and 3-3 in conference play.
We've got to find a way to get our bodies healed up because it was a pretty physical game out there tonight,” Blakeney said.
The Trojans will head to Middle Tennessee next week with Troy needing a victory over the Blue Raiders, and a win the following week against Florida International, to secure the Sun Belt title and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.
