Troy Rally Falls Short Against No. 11 Coastal Carolina

Saturday, December 12

Troy, Ala.

2 p.m.

Troy University

5-6 , 3-4

Coastal Carolina

11-0 , 8-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Coastal Carolina

Troy

Troy Rally Falls Short Against No. 11 Coastal Carolina

12/12/2020 8:16:00 PM | Football

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By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – Troy has a history of upsetting ranked teams. Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium, the latest chapter was almost written with a furious fourth quarter comeback before No. 11 Coastal Carolina escaped with a 42-38 victory.

The Trojans used a clutch interception from Carlton Martial and an epic late-game drive authored by backup quarterback Jacob Free to take a 38-35 lead with 1:20 to play in the game.

With their backs against the wall, Grayson McCall and the Chants authored a clutch 5-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard slant to Jaivon Heiligh with 35 seconds to play.

On the final drive of the ball game, Free was sacked on third and 10 by Jeffrey Gunter, who knocked the ball out of the junior quarterback's hand. Tarron Jackson fell on the ball, securing the victory for the highest-ranked opponent to visit Veterans Memorial Stadium in school history.

Trailing 35-23 with 5:03 to play, Free, who entered the game when Gunnar Watson was injured on the Trojans' (5-6, 3-4 Sun Belt Conference) opening drive of the final period, led Troy on an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended in a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Jamontez Woods.

Down just 35-30, the Troy defense, led by Martial, held the Chanticleers (11-0, 6-0 Sun Belt) to just two yards rushing on back-to-back carries.

On Coastal's third down play, McCall was blown up by linebacker Richard Jibunor. The massive hit forced an underthrown ball that Martial was able to intercept at the Coastal 44-yardline.

After a 4-yard return set the Trojans up at the 40 with 2:31 to play, Free authored a seven-play 40-yard drive that culminated with a 6-yard strike to Tray Eafford that put Troy up, 36-35.

Looking to extend its lead, Troy called a screen pass to Khalil McClain, who darted into the endzone for a successful two-point conversion that gave Troy a 38-35 lead with 80 seconds to play.

On the afternoon, Watson completed 25-of-37 passes for 260 yards and a score. In relief, Free was 9-for-18 with 94 yards and a touchdown. Seniors Kaylon Geiger and Reggie Todd led the way for Troy catching nine and eight passes respectively. Geiger's 104 yards give him his ninth 100-yard receiving game, the second most 100-yard games in school history behind Jerrel Jernigan who recorded eight 100-yard games and two 200-yard games.

On the ground, Woods (9 carries, 49 yards) and freshman Kimani Vidal (12 carries, 47 yards) each rushed for a score.

The Trojans were led defensively by Martial (21 tackles, 2.5 TFL and an interception) and TJ Harris (10 tackles). Martial's 21 total tackles are the second-most in a game in school history. Anthony Rabb holds the all-time record (23) set back in 1999 against Middle Tennessee.

Quotable – Troy Head Coach Chip Lindsey
"Came up a little short obviously, just a few plays short. I want to say that I've never been more proud of a group of kids than I am of our team for what we've gone through this year. They never quit on us and they are going to stay here and keep fighting and I've never been more proud of a group of guys than I am right now. We didn't make enough plays at the end. That's the bottom line. Our guys fought their guts out. We know Coastal's got a good football team, but I thought we fought them tooth and nail and really had an opportunity to win the game there at the end."

Sound Smart with Your Friends
Carlton Martial has more tackles than any player in the country the last two seasons with 239 tackles; he is the first player in Troy history with back-to-back 100-tackle seasons since Naazir Yamini in 2001-02

Notable
• Carlton Martial finished with a career-high 21 tackles for his 13th career game with double-digit tackles, his fifth this season and the fifth time in the last seven games. Martial is averaging 12.7 tackles per game over that seven-game stretch.

• Carlton Martial's 21 tackles are tied for the most in the country this season and the second most in school history (Anthony Rabb had 23 vs. Middle Tennessee in 1999). His tackle total pushed his season number to 113 ... he becomes the first Troy player since Naazir Yamini in 2001-02 to record more than 100 tackles in consecutive seasons.

• Carlton Martial moved into 11th place all-time in Troy history with 315 career tackles, 20th place with 156 solo tackles and fifth place with 159 career assisted tackles.

• Carlton Martial recorded 2.5 tackles for loss in the game to push his career total to 37, one away from ninth all-time in Sun Belt history and fourth in Troy history. He now has multiple tackle for losses in 11 career games.

• Kaylon Geiger caught nine passes for 103 yards; he was his ninth career 100-yard receiving game. He moved into sole possession of second place in Troy history with his nine career games (one off the school record held by Jerrel Jernigan). His total is the third most in the country.

• Kaylon Geiger moved into ninth place all-time in Troy history with 141 career receptions and 14th place with 1,625 career receiving yards.

• Troy ran 81 offensive plays in the game, which is tied for the second most this season. It was Troy's first loss on the year when running more than 80 plays in a game.

• Troy topped the 30-point mark for the 15th time in Chip Lindsey's 23 games as head coach; the total was the 15th most in the country entering the weekend.

• Troy's 36 points in the game were the most allowed by Coastal Carolina's defense ... the previous high was 27 by Louisiana.