Trojans Hope To Put Tough Losses In Past

TROY GAME NOTES | ARKANSAS STATE GAME NOTES | SUN BELT FOOTBALL RELEASE
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The Troy Trojans football team is not thrilled about a 1-2 start to this season, and they hope to make that evident to the Trojan fan base Saturday when Arkansas State rolls into town for the 2010 Sun Belt Conference opener.

The game has been designated as “Cardinal Craze” day at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. The game is being televised on the Sun Belt Network (CSS/Cox Sports Television) as the conference game of the week.

The players emotions were evident on Monday after consecutive hard-to-swallow road losses. The “Drive for Five” aside, the Trojans just need to win, and hopes are that victory will come before a packed house of cardinal clad fans as well as a television audience.

“I was taught a long time ago that you don't cry over spilt milk, and this milk is spilt,” Trojans head coach Larry Blakeney said. “We've got a beat up football team, and a young football team in some areas, especially on defense and on the offensive line. We're struggling. It will be a tough outing against Arkansas State.”

The Trojans (1-2, 0-0) two losses have been by a combined margin of four points. Last Saturday's one-point loss at UAB was especially painful to take. It is a feeling the squad is eager to overcome.

“That's probably the toughest one I have had since I have been here,” senior receiver Jerrell Jernigan said. “For it to end like that, it's the toughest one I have had.”

The entire squad took Sunday off from practice to rest, but Monday's preparation started with a players-only team meeting.

“We've just got to get the young kids ready,” Jernigan said. “We've got practice tonight, and we're going to hold a team meeting before we go out to practice, and we'll tell them 'you're either in or you're not'. We're one team. No more individuals. We just have to play as a team.”

Defensive end Jonathan Massaquoi echoed those thoughts.

“I hope it's direct and nobody's feelings get hurt,” Massaquoi said. “To be in this game and this line of work, you can't let your feelings get into it. There are individuals who are trying to pursue a career in football, and if somebody is slacking then there's no need for them to be around.”

The Trojans are working to check themselves hard before hitting the field of play again, and the focus is on correcting mistakes from all three games.

“It's just healthy criticism,” Massaquoi said. “Nobody likes to be criticized or told that they did wrong. That's what I mean about feelings getting hurt. We want them to know we've got to get the job done. We have to put the best 11 on the field. Hat's off to UAB, they won the game on Saturday. We feel like we should have won the game, but we can't do anything about it now.”

Members of the team think the squad has grown quite a bit from the beginning of training camp, but wide receiver Jason Bruce said it is time for everyone to step up for the team.

“It's pretty much a young team,” Bruce said. “There are a lot of guys that haven't been in this situation. We're trying to get them out of that shell so they don't have to be nervous. They aren't freshmen anymore, but they are football players and they have to get ready to play. The two games we lost were very close. We're not going to dwell on that. We're focusing on Arkansas State.”

The Red Wolves (1-2, 1-1) come to Veterans Memorial Stadium with an identical record as the Trojans, but they have already jumped into league play. A good start in conference play is vital for the Trojans' team goals for this season, and the Trojans realize that.

“I can't emphasize to the guys enough,” quarterback Corey Robinson said. “They know the importance, and they have been here longer than I have. We start the “Drive for Five” this Saturday. Arkansas State is a really good football team, and they have been putting up some numbers. I haven't seen much on their defense. They always have a good defensive line. We have got to have a good week of practice and come ready to play Saturday.”

The Trojans are still a confident football team, but Blakeney put things into perspective on Monday.

“We're in the Sun Belt, and we've got a home game. We don't lose a lot of home games, but these cats coming in here can beat anybody they line up against. They certainly had a good game against Monroe this past week. We're going to try to get (our team) going. We're going to try to get some good, quality, practices under our belt.

“The only way through this is to fight your way through it,” Blakeney said. “You can feel sorry for yourself and wallow up in self pity. We can get beat every week, I promise you. Everybody on our schedule can beat us. That's not how I perceive this team, and that's not how I think it will go down. We've got to get better and we've got to get some people well. Again, if we can get something going here with some positive, a little bit of time is a wonderful thing for a football team, and it's going to take a win to get us back to that feeling.”

Troy has had recent success against Arkansas State, but the Trojans were also successful in seasons past against UAB. The team is looking to aside the past in search of a fresh start Saturday.

Troy University Athletics

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