The Belt Stays Home; Troy Outlasts South Alabama

Saturday, November 6

Troy, Ala.

2:30 p.m.

Troy University

5-4 , 3-2

South Alabama

5-4 , 2-4

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Alabama

Troy

The Belt Stays Home; Troy Outlasts South Alabama

11/6/2021 7:56:00 PM | Football

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By: Ken Rogers, TroyTrojans.com

Troy linebacker Carlton Martial has won the "Battle for the Belt" four times. He's also been on the losing side.

Trust him, winning it is better.

Martial made 14 tackles in a little more than a half and threw a key block on what became a huge defensive touchdown to help Troy defeat rival South Alabama 31-24 on Saturday at The Vet.

"It feels amazing, especially playing against some of my guys I grew up with -- Jalen Tolbert, Tre Young, those guys," Martial said. "We're close. Blood couldn't make us closer. Playing against those guys (and winning) ... that's nice."

The Trojans (5-4, 3-2 Sun Belt) won their fourth straight game in this heated series, and Troy coach Chip Lindsey improved to 3-0 against the Jags. However, it wasn't as easy as the Trojans' 31-7 advantage lead late in the first half indicated.

In typical Troy fashion, the game was a nail-biter. South Alabama (5-4, 2-4) fought its way back and trailed by just a touchdown with 6:45 left in the game.

The defense preserved the win with a stop on fourth down with 1:29 remaining, and the offense ran out the clock.

"Our league is so competitive. Nothing's easy," Lindsey explained. "You're going to have to play close to your best every time to win. Sometimes you play really good and don't. I think it's just a testament to our league. ...

"They did a great job keeping the ball from us in the second half. We only had three drives, four with the kneel down."

Both teams played at least half the game with their backup quarterback. In fact, South Alabama starter Jake Bentley was lost on the opening drive. Backup Desmond Trotter ended that march with a TD carry and led the Jaguars the rest of the game.

Troy starting quarterback Gunnar Watson suffered a head injury late in the first half and didn't return. Backup Taylor Powell, who started the first five games, led the offense from that point.
Powell finished 6 of 11 passing for 80 yards. He threw an interception but had a huge completion with Troy backed up to its own 9-yard line after South cut it to 31-24 in the fourth.

Powell hit Luke Whittemore up the right sideline for 34 yards on first down.

"They were starting to load the box pretty heavy on us," Powell said. "Talking to coach, we were like, 'If they're going to play man on us, let's start taking shots on these guys.' Luke made a heck of a play. Credit to the O-line. Good protection, too."

Lindsey called it a "huge" play. The coach also noted the play got Troy off its goal line. Even though Troy was forced to punt, the kick backed South Alabama deep in its territory. The Jags started their next drive at their own 10 with 4:14 left.

They turned it over on a fourth-and-3 incompletion from their own 29 with 1:29 left.

"Real excited to get this win. Hat's off to those guys," Lindsey said of South Alabama. "Really thought they played their tails off, especially in the second half.

"I'm really proud of my team and our guys. The way they battled, they stayed together, nobody panicked, and everybody kept being positive. I really like this team. They keep fighting. It's good to get a win, especially in a rivalry game."

Troy dominated most of the first half after South Alabama took the opening kickoff and quickly marched 88 yards in 11 plays. Jaguars backup quarterback Desmond Trotter, the grandson of NFL Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome, scored on a 4-yard run around the right side.

Trotter was playing for starting quarterback Jake Bentley, who left the game with a lower leg injury following a 27-yard completion to Jalen Tolbert. Bentley was hurt on the play, and Troy was penalized for a low hit on the play.

The Trojans capitalized on a turnover that set up their first points. Defensive lineman Antonio Showers recovered a fumbled exchange between Trotter and running back Terrion Avery at the South Alabama 22.

That set up a 22-yard field goal by Brooks Buce for Troy's first points at the 7:15 mark of the first quarter.

Troy's defense forced a punt and the offense answered with a key drive to a touchdown. A 28-yard completion from Gunnar Watson to Tez Johnson put the ball in South Alabama territory. Kimani Vidal later gained 12 yards to the 18 and then nine yards to the 3 and a first down. Jamontez Woods scored on a 3-yard run that gave Troy a lead it would not relinquish.

Troy broke the game open with touchdowns on its next touches. Tez Johnson took an end around 31 yards down the right sideline to the end zone with 10:10 left in the first half. That put the Trojans up 17-7.

The defense then stopped South Alabama on fourth-and-4 at the Troy 47 with an incomplete pass. Troy covered the 53 yards in six plays. Watson drew a late hit penalty from South Alabama's Tre Young. He later completed a 27-yard pass to Demontrez Brown. One play later, Woods scored off the right side from 3 yards out and the Trojans led 24-7.

Less than a minute later, the defense added another. Javon Solomon pressured Trotter, who desperately tried to throw the ball away to avoid a sack. Instead, it fluttered and linebacker K.J. Robertson picked it off in stride near the right sideline. A couple seconds and 32 yards later, Robertson had turned his first career interception into a pick-six and a 31-7 Troy lead.

South Alabama got a late TD when Trotter hit Avery for 11 yards in the left flat with just nine seconds left in the first half.

That score cut Troy's halftime lead to 31-14.

The Jaguars controlled the ball in the second half. Tre Young intercepted Powell at the South Alabama 24 to end Troy's first possession of the third quarter. The visitors then went on a ridiculous 19-0play, 76-yard touchdown drive. They converted three times on fourth down, including a fourth-and-3 pass from Trotter to Avery for the touchdown with 1:22 left in the third, making it 31-21.

The Jags' Diego Guajardo kicked a 34-yard field goal with 6:45 remaining that ended a 13-play, 45-yard drive that ate 6:08 of clock and made it 31-24 game.