Troy Takes Thriller from Akron at The Vet

Saturday, September 23

Troy, Ala.

5 p.m.

Troy University

3-1

Akron

1-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Akron

Troy

9/23/2017 11:22:00 PM | Football

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By: Jace Sanders

TROY, Alabama – Brandon Silvers dropped a dime to Deondre Douglas on a 23-yard strike with 66 seconds remaining to cap off a 97-yard drive and push Troy past Akron, 22-17, at Veterans Memorial Stadium Saturday.

Troy's defense stuffed Akron on a third-and-2 with just over three minutes remaining in the game to force a three-and-out and set up the game-winning drive. Following a 56-yard punt that was downed at the Troy 3-yard line, the Trojans (3-1) took over with 3:14 to play.

Facing fourth-and-5 from its own 40-yard line, Silvers found Douglas over the middle for a 16-yard gain to keep the game alive. Following a 12-yard pass to Damion Willis and a 9-yard Jordan Chunn run, Silvers connected with Douglas for the game-winner to send the crowd of 27,324 at The Vet into a frenzy – the crowd was the third-largest in stadium history.

Silvers finished the game 28-for-41 with 314 yards and one touchdown, while Douglas caught seven passes for a total of 92 yards.

Troy's defense iced the game on the ensuing possession as Kris Weatherspoon picked off his second pass of night with 22 seconds left – he had one career interception coming into the game.

Akron (1-3) made the game interesting when Warren Ball took a direct snap four yards into the end zone with 5:37 left in the ballgame, to give Zips their first lead of the game, 17-16. Ball carried the ball 28 times for 112 yards and a touchdown.

Thomas Woodson connected with Kwad Smith on a 40-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to pull the Zips within striking distance, 16-10. Woodson completed 20-of-40 passes for 268 yards, and Smith caught four passes for 103 yards.

Troy started the second quarter with a bang, as Kaleb Barker took a quarterback-keeper 48 yards to the house to put Troy up 16-3. The touchdown run was the second of his career – he had a 50-yard scoring scamper against Austin Peay last season.

Chunn put the Trojans on the board early after bulldozing his way to a 6-yard touchdown at the 5:03 mark of the first quarter – the 42^nd of his career. MegaChunn once again led the Trojan rushing attack, toting the rock 16 times for 106 rushing yards. It was his seventh-career 100-yard rushing game and moved him into fourth place on the Troy career rushing list.

Troy's defense stood strong against the Zips' offensive attack, allowing only 99 rushing yards and forcing three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Cedarius Rookard became the fourth different Trojan to lead the team in tackles this season as he finished the game with a career-high 12 total tackles.

Stat Geek
• Jordan Chunn rushed for 106 yards for his seventh career 100-yard rushing game and moved into fourth place on Troy's career rushing yardage list with 2,641 to pass DuJuan Harris. His 42^nd career touchdown put him into a tie for second place in Sun Belt history – only seven shy of setting the record.

• Safety Kris Weatherspoon became the first Troy player since Jalen Rountree (Nov. 2, 2016, at Texas State) to record multiple interceptions in a game.

• Troy held Akron to 99 yards rushing in the game, marking the third straight game that the Trojans have done so. Troy did so six times in 2016.

• Troy improved to 16-0 when leading after the third quarter under Neal Brown and 12-0 when rushing for over 150 yards with Brown at the helm.

• Attendance for the game was 27,324, which is the third-largest in Veterans Memorial Stadium. Troy set a school record with 29,278 fans in the home opener against Alabama State.

Turning Point
After going three-and-out with 4:27 left in the ballgame, Troy put the game in the hands of its defense. The Trojans returned the favor by forcing a punt of their own, setting the offense up for the game-winning drive.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Neal Brown
"I'm proud of our team for finding a way to win. I don't know a better way to say this, but that was an ugly football game. It was bad to watch. I apologize to the fans, but there are a lot of learning points from here. I'm not real pleased with how we played in any of the three phases, but I'd much rather be down there talking to our football team about what we've got to do better after a win."

Up Next
The Trojans hit the road again as they travel to Baton Rouge to face off with No. 25 LSU. Kickoff for the ESPNU game is set for 6 p.m. in Death Valley.