Troy University Athletics
Troy University
Louisiana
Trojans Clinch Share of SBC Title
11/22/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
TROY ? With all eyes on NCAA active rushing leader Tyrell Fenroy, Troy sophomore DuJuan Harris stole the show with a career-high 234 yards rushing and three total touchdowns as Troy defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 48-3 in Sun Belt action at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.
The win guaranteed the Trojans a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship for the third consecutive season. Troy improved to 7-4 overall with the win and 5-1 in league play. ULL fell to 5-6 overall and 4-2 in the league.
Harris' 234 yards were a career-high, breaking his total of 148 yards against Middle Tennessee earlier this season. It was the first 200-yard rushing performance by a Trojan since Kenny Cattouse went for 208 yards against Florida International last year. Harris fell 12 yards shy of the Troy single-game record, set by Eddie Brundidge against Valdosta State in 1984.
"The defense controlled the game for us while we figured out what we needed on offense," Troy coach Larry Blakeney said. "We ran the speed sweep with number nine (Kennard Burton) running the ball, and they couldn't stop that. We had some big runs by DuJuan (Harris) and the other running backs and we were blessed to be able to do it that way."
Troy rushed for 391 yards as a team, the most since the Trojans recorded 336 against Austin Peay on October 5, 2002.
"I'm just happy we got the win and the conference co-championship," Harris said. "The offensive line was the key. They got some great blocks and really carried us. Every season against them we have run well, so we kept that in mind and focused on the run and it was a big help."
The Trojans wasted no time getting on the board as they used eight plays to cover 69 yards in 2:45 with the end product being a nine-yard Harris touchdown on their opening drive of the game. He carried the ball five times for 53 yards on the drive, setting the tone for the game.
After a UL punt, Harris took the first carry of the next possession 67 yards, inside the 10-yard line, but had the ball knocked loose by Scooter Rogers. The Ragin' Cajuns recovered the fumble at their own four-yard line.
On the subsequent drive, the Cajuns drove down into Troy territory, but were forced to attempt a 43-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked by Cameron Sheffield and picked up by Jorrick Calvin, who returned the block for a 65-yard touchdown to push Troy's lead to 14-0.
It was the Trojans' first blocked field goal since Leodis McKelvin blocked one November 5, 2005, against Florida Atlantic. It was also the first-ever blocked field goal run back for a touchdown allowed by UL in the program's history.
UL got on the board with a 29-yard field goal from Drew Edmiston to cut the lead to 14-3 with less than eight minutes remaining in the half, but Troy answered back with a 42-yard Sam Glusman field goal with 4:21 remaining to extend the lead back to 14, at 17-3.
The Trojans eliminated a late first half UL threat when Calvin intercepted Michael Desormeaux at the two-yard line with 30 seconds to go.
"We had a couple of chances in the red zone," UL coach Ricky Bustle said. "We didn't get the job done on fourth and two, that's just not the way we play."
Troy's opening drive of the second half produced a score from a familiar face, but in an unfamiliar way. Harris took a hand off and went towards the right end before tossing the ball over the top to Mykeal Terry for a five-yard score. Harris became the fourth player to throw a touchdown pass for the Trojans in 2008. The pass was the first of his career and it gave the Trojans a 24-3 lead.
Troy finished with just 72 yards passing, with quarterback Levi Brown completing just seven of 16 attempts. The last time the Trojans failed to amass 100 yards passing was December 2, 2006 against Florida International.
"I knew we were going to run the ball a lot, but not quite this much," Brown said. "I'm really proud of the offensive line. They couldn't stop the run so why should we stop it."
Kennard Burton tacked on a rushing touchdown at the 4:44 mark on a 20-yard end around scamper to conclude a 10 play, 75-yard drive that propelled Troy's lead to 31-3.
For the second week in a row, Troy found them selves with a 28-point lead late in the third quarter. This time the defense picked up a key fourth down stop when linebacker Bear Woods and nickel back Terence Moore met Fenroy head-on and halted his progress.
"They do a good job on the offensive line so we had to make good breaks on the ball and we were able to cause confusion and make good reads on the ball," Woods said.
The play ended a 10 play, 75-yard drive by UL that went deep into Trojan territory.
Glusman added a 40-yard field goal with 9:43 remaining to complete a season-long 17 play, 59-yard drive that ate up more than eight minutes of clock time. The drive was the longest time-wise of Troy's season. It broke the mark of 6:01 that the Trojans set against Florida Atlantic that also resulted in a Glusman field goal.
Moore also picked up a late interception, his fifth of the season and eighth of his career. Following the pick, Harris took a hand-off 35 yards to pay dirt for his second touchdown of the night and a 41-3 Troy lead.
"It feels good," Harris said. "It's a job I have to do and I just have to trust my teammates to do their job. If everybody's doing their job the results are good."
Woods finished with 10 tackles and two tackles for loss. Tavares Williams added eight stops. Steve McLendon (1.5 sacks), Kedric Manning (1.0) and Brandon Lang (1.0) posted sacks for the Trojans.
Freshman Dan Parker completed his first career pass attempt to Chip Reeves for 12 yards. Parker is the sixth player to attempt a pass for Troy in 2008.
Maurice Greer added a touchdown with 3:56 to go to stretch the Trojan lead out to 48-3. The score was his second of the season.
The Trojans get Thanksgiving weekend off, before taking the field on December 6 at home against Arkansas State with a berth in the 2008 R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on the line.
Today's game captains were Chris Jamison, Dion Small, Tavares Williams and Sherrod Martin
Troy won the coin toss and deferred their decision to the second half. The Ragin'Cajuns punted on their opening possession of the game.
DuJuan Harris carried the ball five times in the opening drive.
Derrick Thomas was back for the game after missing a few days of practice after the passing of his father.
Cameron Sheffield blocked a field goal and Jorrick Calvin returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. It was the first blocked field goal for a touchdown in the Larry Blakeney era.
DuJuan Harris threw his first career pass in the third quarter to Mykeal Terry for a touchdown. It was Terry's fourth touchdown catch of the season.
Levi Brown threw 16 passes in the game. against Lafayette He threw 15 in the opening drive of the LSU game.
