Records Fall as Trojans Roll, 65-0

Saturday, September 13

Troy, Ala.

6:00 PM

Troy University

Alcorn State

9/13/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football

TROY, Ala. - After more than two weeks of inactivity, the Troy Trojans showed few signs of rust Saturday night as they rewrote a truck-load of school records on their way to a 65-0 victory over Alcorn State at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.

The Trojans set records for total offense and first downs in a game and tied marks for most completions, points in a half and interceptions in a game.

The victory also kept head coach Larry Blakeney perfect in 18 career home-openers while Troy posted its fourth largest margin of victory in school history, with the sixth largest crowd (22,105) in stadium history on hand to witness the performance.

"It was a game we knew we should win," Blakeney said. "We knew we didn't want to go out and mess around and make a statement early."

That statement came in the second quarter when the Trojans exploded for 38 points thanks to five Alcorn State (0-3) turnovers. Overall, the Braves turned the ball over to Troy seven times, but it was the five in the second quarter that sealed their fate.

Three of those second quarter picks were made by one guy, senior Sherrod Martin. The Griffin, Ga., native had not recorded an interception since Oct. 20, 2005, against Florida International. Since then he has undergone three major operations and missed one entire season.

"I'm speechless," Martin said. "The team did a lot of good things tonight. The defensive line and linebackers hustled and executed. I had the easy job, all I had to do was catch the football."

Those seven Alcorn State turnovers, combined with four turnovers by the Trojans, led to Troy having 19 possessions in the game. The Trojans ran a total of 107 plays in just over 37 minutes of possession time.

Sophomore quarterback Jamie Hampton, making his first home start, didn't see the field at all after halftime, but still piled up sparkling numbers. The Cedar Bluff, Ala., native completed 26-of-37 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns, the last coming on a perfect 38-yard strike to senior Mykeal Terry with 19 seconds left in the first half, giving Troy a 52-0 lead at the break.

Those 52 points tied the school record for points in a half, set in 1968 in a 76-0 victory over Concord. Ironically, most of the members of that 1968 club, which captured Troy's first of three national championships, were on hand for the game, celebrating the 40th anniversary of their title run.

Troy's three quarterbacks - junior Levi Brown and sophomore Tanner Jones alternated possessions in the second half - combined to complete 37-of-57 passes for 421 yards. The trio completed passes to 16 different receivers, including five who had never before caught a pass in a game for Troy.

"Offensively, we made some plays," Blakeney said. I was really proud of the pass Jamie made at the end of the half, that is what we were hunting for."

Despite the big numbers for Hampton, which included six rushing attempts for 45 yards and a touchdown, the sophomore was not especially pleased with the performance.

"We need to eliminate the turnovers," Hampton said. "Minus those, we did a really good job of moving the football. It's great to break records, but we have to just look at this as a good offensive performance, something to build on."

Besides the passing game, the Trojans also moved the ball well on the ground, piling up 315 yards rushing on 50 attempts. Junior college transfer Maurice Greer led the attack despite having just nine carries. One of those went for a 60-yard touchdown, his first at Troy. He finished with 113 yards.

Troy's other leading rushers included walk-ons Fernandus Edwards (12-79-1) and D.J. Taylor (9-37),

While the Troy offense was piling up big numbers, the defense was pitching a shutout. Alcorn State managed just 120 yards of total offense and nine first downs. Of those yards, 75 came on the Braves' final two possessions of the night, with only walk-ons manning the Troy defense.

"We got a lot of play for a lot of folks who deserved and needed time," Blakeney said. "We might have found out some things that can help us down the road."

Two players who say little, or no, playing time for Troy on defense were linebackers Boris Lee and Bear Woods. After being credited with 24 tackles each by the coaching staff in the season-opener, Lee had just two tackles in limited time and Woods did not play with a foot injury.

"Bear was ready to go and was cleared to go, and we wanted to have him available if we needed him," Blakeney said. "We didn't want to gamble with him if we didn't have to."

The Trojans are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2004 season, but will open a three-game road trip next Saturday at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are coming off a 35-3 loss at the hands of the other Trojans.