Troy University Athletics
Photo by: Kevin Glackmeyer
Late Pick By Anderson, Power Running By Taylor, Leads Trojans
10/1/2011 11:03:00 PM | Football
While the Troy Trojans may have been determined to not leave their war with the UAB Blazers in the hands of an official, it seemed as if the Men of Troy did more to defeat themselves than to vanquish the visiting Blazers Saturday night.
A third-quarter marred with careless penalties and turnovers appeared to doom the Trojans but, thanks to the smallest Trojan coming up big and a productive rushing attack, Troy snatched victory out of the flames.
Cornerback Jimmie Anderson's tide-turning interception of Blazers' signal-caller Jonathan Perry put the Trojans in the red zone. Punishing junior running back D.J. Taylor completed the Trojans' comeback with 4:07 left in the game when he powered into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the night.
The three scores are a career-high single-game total for the Fairhope native.
But, without Anderson's clutch interception, Taylor may not have ever gotten the chance for the hat trick.
“The defense bailed us out a couple times,” Troy quarterback Corey Robinson said. “Jimmie's interception turned the game around and gave us a chance to punch it in.”
Linebacker Brannon Bryan knew that Anderson had one big play waiting to be unleashed in his 5-foot-8, 160-pound frame.
“I told him before the drive, 'Hey Jimmie, go make something happen.' That play was unbelievable,” Bryan said.
“I saw the receiver go under and I was chasing him,” Anderson said. “The lineman started to pull and I was just watching the QB. Luckily he threw it and I was right there to make the play.”
“He's not the biggest guy but he has a knack for making plays,” Trojans coach Larry Blakeney said of Anderson. “This was probably the biggest one of his career.”
Unbeknownst to many, Anderson battled an elbow injury for much of the week and was unsure if he would even be able to play. He also dealt with his own personal demons as it relates to the controversial call that felled the Trojans last year against the Blazers.
“Early in the game my elbow had some pain in it but the adrenaline kept me going on that play,” Anderson said. “I thought my playing time would be limited; I really didn't practice all week.
“Last year I was over there when the play happened. When the ball was at the one-yard line, all that was replaying through my head was last year and we didn't want that to happen again. We came out and made a big play, we just finished the game.”
While Taylor was a one-man wrecking crew on offense, the junior workhorse said he was just happy that the Trojans were able to come away with the win.
“I'm excited for the victory,” Taylor said. “We started off rough, but we fought through adversity and ended up winning the game. My three touchdowns don't matter. As long as we win the game, I'm happy. I didn't let my team down. When you have that opportunity you've got to take advantage of it, and I feel I did that.”
Taylor was also instrumental in keeping his teammates focused and optimistic while the Blazers looked to have the game all but wrapped up.
“I just told them to keep their heads up and to keep on pushing forward,” Taylor said.
Still, the team knows it is not exactly where it wants to be, and the room for improvement remains.
“We've got plenty of work to do. We had to fight out guts out to win,” Blakeney said.
Still, Blakeney and his team are grateful for the scrappiness and 'never say quit' attitude they displayed on Saturday night and that they were able to avenge what some may term as a “disputed” victory.
“If nothing else, it was poetic justice,” Blakeney said. “They had us, they had us, they had us, and then they didn't.”
A third-quarter marred with careless penalties and turnovers appeared to doom the Trojans but, thanks to the smallest Trojan coming up big and a productive rushing attack, Troy snatched victory out of the flames.
Cornerback Jimmie Anderson's tide-turning interception of Blazers' signal-caller Jonathan Perry put the Trojans in the red zone. Punishing junior running back D.J. Taylor completed the Trojans' comeback with 4:07 left in the game when he powered into the end zone for his third rushing touchdown of the night.
The three scores are a career-high single-game total for the Fairhope native.
But, without Anderson's clutch interception, Taylor may not have ever gotten the chance for the hat trick.
“The defense bailed us out a couple times,” Troy quarterback Corey Robinson said. “Jimmie's interception turned the game around and gave us a chance to punch it in.”
Linebacker Brannon Bryan knew that Anderson had one big play waiting to be unleashed in his 5-foot-8, 160-pound frame.
“I told him before the drive, 'Hey Jimmie, go make something happen.' That play was unbelievable,” Bryan said.
“I saw the receiver go under and I was chasing him,” Anderson said. “The lineman started to pull and I was just watching the QB. Luckily he threw it and I was right there to make the play.”
“He's not the biggest guy but he has a knack for making plays,” Trojans coach Larry Blakeney said of Anderson. “This was probably the biggest one of his career.”
Unbeknownst to many, Anderson battled an elbow injury for much of the week and was unsure if he would even be able to play. He also dealt with his own personal demons as it relates to the controversial call that felled the Trojans last year against the Blazers.
“Early in the game my elbow had some pain in it but the adrenaline kept me going on that play,” Anderson said. “I thought my playing time would be limited; I really didn't practice all week.
“Last year I was over there when the play happened. When the ball was at the one-yard line, all that was replaying through my head was last year and we didn't want that to happen again. We came out and made a big play, we just finished the game.”
While Taylor was a one-man wrecking crew on offense, the junior workhorse said he was just happy that the Trojans were able to come away with the win.
“I'm excited for the victory,” Taylor said. “We started off rough, but we fought through adversity and ended up winning the game. My three touchdowns don't matter. As long as we win the game, I'm happy. I didn't let my team down. When you have that opportunity you've got to take advantage of it, and I feel I did that.”
Taylor was also instrumental in keeping his teammates focused and optimistic while the Blazers looked to have the game all but wrapped up.
“I just told them to keep their heads up and to keep on pushing forward,” Taylor said.
Still, the team knows it is not exactly where it wants to be, and the room for improvement remains.
“We've got plenty of work to do. We had to fight out guts out to win,” Blakeney said.
Still, Blakeney and his team are grateful for the scrappiness and 'never say quit' attitude they displayed on Saturday night and that they were able to avenge what some may term as a “disputed” victory.
“If nothing else, it was poetic justice,” Blakeney said. “They had us, they had us, they had us, and then they didn't.”
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