Column: Trojan Defense

It was a matchup that got ugly from the start but not for the Trojan defense that dominated Savannah State all game long to a 66-3 victory.

While the Troy offense was busy scoring with ease, the defense, led by sophomore defensive end Jadarius Garner, was pounding the Tigers into a submission.

Garner finished the game with five unassisted tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles along with three tackles for loss equaling statistics comparable to a video game.

"All week we prepared," Garner said after the game. "We studied speed to power a lot. They let us work our moves. Pass rush is key. We have to get it done. Any time it's one-on-one we have to get them beat."

And beat them they did.

The Tigers' leading receiver in the game, Kris Drummond, was held to just three receptions for 45 yards against the Troy defense.

Trojan junior cornerback Ethan Davis joined in the fun too with four unassisted tackles and a tackle for loss.

The truth was that Savannah State wasn't able to do anything offensively, being held to just 147 yards.

The Tigers' leading rusher was freshman quarterback Leon Prunty who had a team-high eight rushes, and all he ended up gaining on the ground was a meager six yards.

The Troy defense combined to sack the two Savannah State quarterbacks six times in the game.
With the game well out of hand 59-3 early in the fourth quarter, junior linebacker Eli Canton put an exclamation point on a royal blowout with a 78-yard interception return for a touchdown to give the Trojans 66 points, the most since Troy beat Charleston Southern 66-7 back on Oct. 14, 1995.

As Canton ran toward the end zone his pace was not exactly fast so after the game Coach Blakeney joked that he could have probably scored on that interception.

"I just saw a lot of green up in front," Canton said. "I'm not going to lie, when I got to the 30 I looked at the jumbotron to see if anyone was behind me. It didn't look like anybody was behind me. I was about out of gas before I scored. I'm lucky it wasn't any farther than what it was."

Even Troy senior wide receiver Eric Thomas, who finished the game with three catches for 66 yards and three touchdowns, couldn't help but notice the show that his team's defense was exhibiting.

"I trust our defense against any team," Thomas said. "So it was real good to send them out there to do a lot and have fun."

For Garner who didn't start the game the win was already in the past as he mentally prepared for Troy's first road game of the season against Arkansas State this coming Thursday.

"It really wasn't about the opponent this game," Garner said. "We were really focused about ourselves."

That focus as a team was in the end what helped lead the Trojan defense to a dominant victory.

Troy University Athletics

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