Defense Pitches Shutout Against Arkansas State
JONESBORO, Ark. ? The Troy Trojans performed a pre-Halloween exorcism of past demons of Jonesboro with a dominating defensive performance Saturday night in a 27-0 blanking of Arkansas State.
The victory was the Trojans' (6-2, 5-0) sixth straight and, combined with Florida Atlantic's 33-30 triple overtime loss to Louisiana-Monroe, gives Troy sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt Conference race. ASU falls to 3-5 overall and 1-3 in league play.
The Troy defense held ASU to only 237 yards of offense. The defense did not allow ASU to convert on a single third down on 13 attempts.
"It feels good to win here," coach Larry Blakeney said. "We had our night tonight. We played a good game in all three phases and it was a great win for us and our program."
The victory came with a price for Troy, who lost quarterback Omar Haugabook to an apparent hamstring injury early in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans broke on top first on thanks to the running and passing of Haugabook. The senior completed four straight passes, including a 38-yard strike to Mykeal Terry to move Troy to the ASU 13. From there he used his legs, first with a 12-yard run to the one, and then a dive into the end zone. Greg Whibbs drilled the PAT to give Troy a 7-0 lead with 5:37 left in the first quarter.
The Trojans avoided disaster later in the quarter when senior Kenny Cattouse was stripped by ASU safety Evan Van Dolah, with the Indians recovering at the Troy 41. ASU failed to convert, however, when Leodis McKelvin picked off a Corey Leonard pass in the end zone.
Troy pushed its lead to 10-0 in the second quarter when Whibbs connected on a 40-yard field goal to cap a 10-play drive that covered 59 yards.
ASU missed an opportunity to cut into the Troy lead late in the first half when Kenny Mainor and Chris Bradwell recorded back-to-back sacks and the Indians' all-conference kicker, Josh Arauco missed a 44-yard field goal with 2:44 left in the half.
Troy gave the ball right back, however, when Haugabook was intercepted on a deep pass over the middle by freshman safety M.D. Jennings. The turnover didn't hurt the Trojans, who forced another 44-yard field goal attempt. This time it was Brian Sheffield who made the attempt, but his effort fell short, leaving Troy with a 10-0 lead at halftime.
The Trojans pushed their lead to 17-0 early in the third quarter, using a 10-play drive to start the second half, covering 77 yards. Haugabook hit a 41-yard pass to freshman Jerrel Jernigan and ran for 33 yards in the drive, including the final yard for the touchdown with 10:49 left in the quarter. Whibbs' PAT made it 17-0.
Troy pushed its lead to 20-0 early in the fourth quarter when Whibbs hit a season-long 45-yard field goal to cap a 10-play scoring drive that covered 37 yards. The drive was costly for Troy because Haugabook limped off the field after gaining a first down on a scramble.
It was the Troy defense that put the icing on the win when Sherrod Martin sacked junior Travis Hewitt at the ASU one, forcing a fumble that sophomore Boris Lee scooped up and took into the end zone for a score with 7:15 left to play.
"We are playing good right now but we can still improve," Haugabook said. "Its scary to think that we can get better. We have won a lot of games but we can still get better and play a lot better."
Troy vs. Arkansas State Game Notes
* Troy's game captains were Gary Banks, Marcus Richardson, Omar Haughbook, and Elbert Mack.
* Boris Lee snapped his two-game streak without a tackle with a tackle in the first quarter.
* Omar Haugabook scored his seventh and eighth rushing touchdowns of the season and the 12th and 13th of his career.
* Leodis McKelvin intercepted his first and second passes of the season and it was the third and fourth of his career.
* Kenny Cattouse fumbled for the fourth time of the season. He has lost two and it was the eighth turnover lost by Troy in its' last five quarters.
* Gary Banks caught a pass in the third quarter extending his consecutive game with a catch to 27 games.
* Greg Whibbs' 45-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was his longest of the season. He was also good from 40 yards earlier in the game.
* Boris Lee recovered a fumble in the endzone for his second score of the season.
