Troy University Athletics
Notes and Quotes from New Orleans
12/21/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
NOTES FROM R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL
- Tonight's game captains were Sherrod Martin, Trevor Ford, Dion Small, and Chris Jamison.
- Southern Miss won the opening coin toss and elected to receive the ball to open the game.
- Southern Miss was charged with time-out for not wearing the proper uniform for the game.
- Jorrick Calvin returned a fumble on the second play of the game for a 17-yard score. He deflected an option pitch and picked up and took it the distance. It was the fastest score in New Orleans Bowl history.
- The 64-yard flea-flicker from Southern Miss' Austin Davis to Gerald Baptiste was the longest pass play in New Orleans Bowl history.The touchdown pass was also the longest pass that Troy has given up all season.
- Gerald Tate caught a career long 33-yard pass in the first quarter.
- Kennard Burton's touchdown in the first quarter made him the 12th different person to catch a touchdown pass.
- Tavares Williams returned a punt for 23 yards in the second quarter. It was the first return of his career.
- Jerrel Jernigan set the single season record for receptions previously held by Danny Grant (1968). He also scored on a six yard run in the third quarter. It was his first rushing score of the season.
- The Trojans improved to 6-2 since 2004 when playing on ESPN and ESPN2.
- This is the first overtime game for the Trojans since 2005, when the Trojans lost to Lousiana-Lafayette in overtime. The game was lost on a field goal after the Ragin' Cajuns hit their field goal and Troy missed their opportunity in overtime.
- Tonight's crowd of 30,197 is a record for the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
QUOTES FROM R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL
Opening Statement
Head Coach Larry Blakeney, Troy University
"I would certainly like to be here under different circumstances. We knew the game was going to be a close game, more than likely both teams would score some points. Defenses, we really hoped we would be able to move it better on them. I said it last week that whoever rushed it the best would wind up winning the game, and that is probably what happened in the long run. But we go to overtime at 27-all and they get a ricochet field goal three, and we get one blocked and that is about as close as it gets. Certainly you have to give credit to your opponent on the other side, and I do that. I know they are proud of being here and winning, they were a hot team coming in. Their defense is about as good to me as we have seen in a while, so I was impressed. Our kids played, played together, never gave up and we just lost the game. I am not going to try to do anything but go to work when the time comes and try to refurbish this deal for our players that are here. I wish the best to our grads, most of them will graduate and some of them will get a chance to play at the next level. In my opinion they will all be good citizens, good men and providers down the road. I am proud of the seniors, I hate we didn't win. I hate losing as much as anybody, but good lord willing we will be able to get up in the morning and think about someone else."
Can you talk about setting the tone?
Jorrick Calvin, Defensive Back/Kick Returner
"At the beginning of the game we were talking about setting the tone on the kick. But we had to kickoff, so I felt like if we did something on defense it would get us started. So I read the play, I jumped on it and made a play on the ball."
Did you feel comfortable going into the fourth quarter up by 10 points?
Levi Brown, Quarterback
"No, not really. We were up by 28 points earlier this year on the road. After that, I pretty much knew nothing was in hand until the game was over. With that being said, I felt confident going into the fourth quarter up 10. I knew it was going to be a close game, but we just didn't finish it for whatever reason.
