The Belt Belongs in Troy

After defending for 81 plays, more than 36 minutes and holding off South Alabama with a final fourth-down stop, there was one final sprint for the Troy defense at the end of Saturday's 31-24 victory.

It was an all-out dash down the home sideline to the North End Zone, where The Belt was waiting.

Defensive lineman Will Choloh won the sprint and held the coveted Belt – the prize awarded annually to the victor in this spirited rivalry – high over his head with two hands securing it.

Teammates danced around while the Troy offense was running out the clock. Receiver Tez Johnson turned a backflip.

Trojan head Chip Lindsey breathed a sigh of relief – the comfort of a 31-7 lead long gone – and noted that he actually had hair when he took this job three years ago.

Sunday and Monday will be about pointing out things that went wrong and trying to get them fixed. The rest of the week will be about preparing for a ranked opponent in Louisiana – with Appalachian State and Georgia State to follow.

But the rest of Saturday was devoted to relishing Troy's fourth straight victory in this series. There is never a need to apologize for winning, especially in the crazy competitive Sun Belt Conference. After all, only Cincinnati needs style points. Everyone else just has to score one more point than the other guy.

This rivalry is now a decade old. Troy leads it 7-3.

Most Troy players don't know what's it like to lose to South Alabama. Linebacker Carlton Martial does.

"When we lost the Belt a few years, it left a bad taste in our mouth," said Martial, who led Troy with 14 tackles despite missing much of the second half with an injury. "We knew we had to buckle down and execute our game plan for four quarters. That's what we did tonight."

Johnson said no one needs to tell the Trojans what's at stake against South Alabama.

"Every time we battle for the Belt, it's special," said the receiver, who caught four passes for 46 yards and added a 31-yard touchdown on an end around. "My motto is, the Belt is never going to leave home – which is Troy. We just went out and played as one as a team."

And those backflips?

"I learned how to do backflips when I was, like, 3, on the bed because I was a hard-headed child," Johnson said. "As the years came, I got better at it. Every time I have a victory or some type of success, that's my way of celebrating."

Backup quarterback Taylor Powell was a key performer for the Trojans after starting QB Gunnar Watson left the game late in the first half with an unspecified head injury and did not return.

Powell sensed all week there is something special about this game.

"This is my first rivalry game at Troy. I've been in other rivalry games – Mizzou-Arkansas – but it's big. The Belt's big down here," Powell said. "I could feel it all week in the community. Even at the coffee shop, people are talking about it. …

"A lot of people were telling me all about it. I'm not from here, so I don't really know about it. I try to buy into it. You've got to treat it as a big game because it is a big game. You can't deny that."

Powell confirmed he did hold the Belt as it was passed around in the locker room after the game.

"That thing's actually pretty heavy," he said. "I didn't think it was going to be that heavy. We took a cool picture, too."

Linebacker K.J. Robertson talked about the ferocity of the game – but also noted the brotherly nature of the rivalry, too.

"I know a lot of guys on that team, a lot of close friends, a bunch of guys I went to high school with on that team," said Robertson, who turned his first career interception into a pick-six with a 32-yard return to the end zone. "I've never lost to South since I've been here, which is great.
"It is very intense. It's very meaningful to us. Like I said, there's a lot of guys who have grown up with each other who go to that school. Like (South Alabama receiver) Jalen Tolbert and (Troy's) Carlton Martial, they went to the same high school (McGill-Toolen). They grew up together and they're two of the best players in the conference.

"So, it's a lot of jibber-jabber back and forth – we try to stay away from that – but it's all family and love at the end of the day. We're all grateful to play this great game. It's fun. It means a whole lot to both teams."

But only the winning side gets to look at the Belt for 365 days.

Troy University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Will Choloh

Tez Johnson

Carlton Martial

Taylor Powell

Gunnar Watson

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