Troy University Athletics
Trojans Offense Struggles in 21-3 Loss To Blazers
9/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - UAB limited Troy to just 57 yards on the ground and kept the Trojans out of the endzone for the second straight week as the Blazers posted a 21-3 victory Saturday night at Legion Field. The loss was the fourth straight for Troy, equaling the Trojans' longest slide since 1982.
UAB improved to 2-3 on the year with the win while dropping Troy to 1-4. The Trojans are off next week before hosting Louisiana-Monroe at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium on Oct. 14.
We got woodsheded tonight,” Trojans coach Larry Blakeney said. I thought, in some places, we played decent, but we gave up some big plays on defense and we couldn't protect consistently on offense. We have some work to do.
I thought UAB played hard. When you get beat, you have to salute the people who beat you. I thought Watson and his staff and players invested the time to execute right and shut us down. They did enough with their offense to win the game.”
UAB dominated time of possession in the game, controlling the ball for 34:27 to just 25:33 for Troy. Despite the time difference, UAB had just 285 yards of offense in the game, to 202 for the Trojans. Quarterback Omar Haugabook completed 18 of 32 passes for 144 yards, but he was sacked six times and was hit hard on many more plays. He finished the game with 18 rushing attempts for minus three yards.
The defense turned the ball over for us and gave us good field position, but we never were able to do anything with it,” junior receiver Gary Banks said. We didn't do a very good job of making plays when we had chances and we didn't do a very good job of protecting Omar. He was moving around all night, trying to make something happen, and most of the time he was having to pull it down and run.”
The Blazers got on the board first when junior quarterback Sam Hunt scrambled free on a third and 13 play from the Troy 22 and zig-zagged his way through the Troy defense for a touchdown. It was the first rushing TD in Hunt's UAB career.
UAB got a favorable call on its next possession and converted quickly to take a 14-0 lead with 37 seconds left in the opening quarter. Troy sophomore Henry Chubb had apparently put an end to the Blazers' possession when he intercepted a Hunt pass, but the turnover was waved off by a pass interference call.
On the next play Hunt connected with sophomore Sylvester Mencer for a 37-yard gain to the Troy three. Senior Trey Chaney found the corner of the end zone on the next play for the UAB score.
I thought the pass interference was a horrible call, but I was 50 or 60 yards away from it,” Blakeney said. I saw Chubb run with their guy, I saw him turn and face the ball and jump up and catch the ball. They sent me word that there was an arm bar, but there is an arm bar every time two players run down the field together. I never have thought officials understand pass interference and don't know how to call it. It may have been a great call, but I don't think so.”
After the Trojans failed to score on their next possession when junior Greg Whibbs pushed a 42-yard field goal attempt wide right, the Troy defense got the ball right back. Freshman linebacker Randy Underwood hit Hunt on an all-out blitz, forcing a fumble that junior tackle Marcus Pittman scooped up and returned 24 yards to the UAB 11.
The Troy offense, however, lost six yards on three plays and Whibbs returned to the field, connecting from 34 yards to get the Trojans on the board with 7:35 to go in the half.
The Troy defense again forced a turnover on the next UAB possession when Chubb intercepted a Hunt pass at the Blazers' 39. The Trojans offense failed to convert the turnover and the Blazers forced a punt, which senior Jason Wright put out of bounds at the two yard line.
After a relatively uneventful third quarter that was highlighted by a missed 39-yard field by UAB, the Blazers extended their lead to 21-3 late in the quarter with a three-play scoring drive, covering 53 yards in 1:04. The two big plays in the drive were a 24-yard run on a reverse by Mencer and a 29-yard pass from Hunt to a wide-open Mencer for the touchdown.
They ran the ball all night, and then they were able to throw deep,” Chubb said. We have to be able to make plays when they do that, and we didn't tonight. We are a team, defense and offense together, and we have to play as a team. It doesn't matter what the offense does when they are on the field, our job on defense it to get the ball back to them as quickly as we can.”
Defense controlled the final quarter. Troy had a nine-play drive early in the quarter, but managed to reach only the UAB 45. The Trojans got the ball back with 4:22 to play, and again moved across midfield before freshman Justin Bray, playing on offense for the first time, fumbled at the UAB 38 after catching a pass from Haugabook.
Bray led the Trojans in rushing with 36 yards on five carries and had four receptions for 25 yards. Defensive standouts for Troy included another freshman, linebacker Boris Lee, who tied with senior Brannon Condren for game-high honors with 11 total tackles. Senior linebacker Ryan Babb added seven tackles, including two sacks.
