Troy University Athletics
NOTEBOOK - Special Teams Keeps Troy in the Game Early
9/18/2021 11:26:00 PM | Football
Throughout a tight, low-scoring game, the kicking game gets even more important. Both punters – USM's Mason Hunt and Troy's Luke Magliozzi – may have been the most valuable players on the field in the first half.
Both turned in excellent performance in the first two quarters. Hunt punted five times and averaged 44.2 yards per kick. That included a 55-yarder and two that put the Trojans inside their 20.
Magliozzi kept pace. He also punted five times and averaged 46 yards per boot. He had two kicks of 50 yards or more, including a 54-yarder that pinned Southern Miss to its 2-yard line.
For the night, Magliozzi finished with nine points and a 44.9-yard average. Three of those were for 50 yards or longer.
"He was unbelievable helping us flip the field," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said of his punter. "We're lucky to have him, man. He transferred in here (from UConn) and he's been outstanding for us. That was a big part of our win tonight, getting field position in our favor."
Finding the end zone: Jabre Barber's 17-yard touchdown reception on Troy's opening drive of the second half was the first touchdown of his career. He became the sixth Trojan to score their first career touchdown this season.
Barber finished with a career-high four catches for a career-best 46 yards, highlighted by the leap into the end zone after a fine catch-and-run.
"Jabre's one of our young players and he's getting better and better," Lindsey said. "He's explosive and he's developing into a really good receiver. He and Tez (Johnson) are rotating in there. What a great play by him. It was a big-time play, to be honest with you."
Defenses don't rest: Both defenses were intent on making the opponent one-dimensional in the first half. Southern Miss managed just nine rushing yards in the first half. Troy had zero yards on the ground at halftime.
Troy finished with 16 tackles for loss as a team, second most in a game in Troy's DI history. They Trojans also had nine sacks, which tied for their most as an FBS team. Those nine sacks were first recorded against Georgia Southern in 2019.
Continuing a trend: Troy has held seven of its last nine opponents to 21 points or fewer dating back to last season. In those games the Trojans had allowed an average of 12.3 points per game coming into Saturday night's contest.
Staying healthy: Troy used the same exact starting lineup in the first two games of the season. That's the first time since 2015 the Trojans used identical starting lineups in consecutive games.
Long snapper Cameron Kaye extended his consecutive games started streak to 52 straight games. Left tackle Austin Stidham started his 39th career game and linebacker Carlton Martial started his 35th straight game. Kaye's 52 starts are the most in Troy history.
Finding a weapon: Troy has targeted its tight ends 12 times through the first three games with eight receptions. In the past seven seasons combined, Trojan tight ends had been targeted 18 times with 12 receptions.
Saturday, Trojan tight ends Deyunkrea Lewis and A.J. Lewis both caught a pass. Deyukrea Lewis won't forget his reception. It covered 16 yards for a touchdown on a clever misdirection screen in the left flat after the Troy offensive appeared to be sending everyone to the right side. A.J. Lewis' reception lost two yards.
"He's an extremely skilled guy, very, very talented," Lindsey said of Deyunkrea Lewis. "We ran a tight end screen to him, and he made a great run with it after the catch, too."
USM series: USM leads the football series with Troy 8-3, but the Trojans now have won two of the past three meetings. Troy snapped a seven-game losing streak to Southern Miss with a 37-31 victory in 2016 at Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagles won in 2019, Lindsey's first season as Troy's head coach, in a 47-42 shootout that bore little resemblance to Saturday night's contest.
What's next: Troy stays on the road for its Sun Belt Conference opener when it plays at ULM. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Trojans follow that with a road game at SEC member South Carolina before returning home Oct. 9 against Georgia Southern at 6 p.m.
Both turned in excellent performance in the first two quarters. Hunt punted five times and averaged 44.2 yards per kick. That included a 55-yarder and two that put the Trojans inside their 20.
Magliozzi kept pace. He also punted five times and averaged 46 yards per boot. He had two kicks of 50 yards or more, including a 54-yarder that pinned Southern Miss to its 2-yard line.
For the night, Magliozzi finished with nine points and a 44.9-yard average. Three of those were for 50 yards or longer.
"He was unbelievable helping us flip the field," Troy head coach Chip Lindsey said of his punter. "We're lucky to have him, man. He transferred in here (from UConn) and he's been outstanding for us. That was a big part of our win tonight, getting field position in our favor."
Finding the end zone: Jabre Barber's 17-yard touchdown reception on Troy's opening drive of the second half was the first touchdown of his career. He became the sixth Trojan to score their first career touchdown this season.
Barber finished with a career-high four catches for a career-best 46 yards, highlighted by the leap into the end zone after a fine catch-and-run.
"Jabre's one of our young players and he's getting better and better," Lindsey said. "He's explosive and he's developing into a really good receiver. He and Tez (Johnson) are rotating in there. What a great play by him. It was a big-time play, to be honest with you."
Defenses don't rest: Both defenses were intent on making the opponent one-dimensional in the first half. Southern Miss managed just nine rushing yards in the first half. Troy had zero yards on the ground at halftime.
Troy finished with 16 tackles for loss as a team, second most in a game in Troy's DI history. They Trojans also had nine sacks, which tied for their most as an FBS team. Those nine sacks were first recorded against Georgia Southern in 2019.
Continuing a trend: Troy has held seven of its last nine opponents to 21 points or fewer dating back to last season. In those games the Trojans had allowed an average of 12.3 points per game coming into Saturday night's contest.
Staying healthy: Troy used the same exact starting lineup in the first two games of the season. That's the first time since 2015 the Trojans used identical starting lineups in consecutive games.
Long snapper Cameron Kaye extended his consecutive games started streak to 52 straight games. Left tackle Austin Stidham started his 39th career game and linebacker Carlton Martial started his 35th straight game. Kaye's 52 starts are the most in Troy history.
Finding a weapon: Troy has targeted its tight ends 12 times through the first three games with eight receptions. In the past seven seasons combined, Trojan tight ends had been targeted 18 times with 12 receptions.
Saturday, Trojan tight ends Deyunkrea Lewis and A.J. Lewis both caught a pass. Deyukrea Lewis won't forget his reception. It covered 16 yards for a touchdown on a clever misdirection screen in the left flat after the Troy offensive appeared to be sending everyone to the right side. A.J. Lewis' reception lost two yards.
"He's an extremely skilled guy, very, very talented," Lindsey said of Deyunkrea Lewis. "We ran a tight end screen to him, and he made a great run with it after the catch, too."
USM series: USM leads the football series with Troy 8-3, but the Trojans now have won two of the past three meetings. Troy snapped a seven-game losing streak to Southern Miss with a 37-31 victory in 2016 at Hattiesburg.
The Golden Eagles won in 2019, Lindsey's first season as Troy's head coach, in a 47-42 shootout that bore little resemblance to Saturday night's contest.
What's next: Troy stays on the road for its Sun Belt Conference opener when it plays at ULM. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
The Trojans follow that with a road game at SEC member South Carolina before returning home Oct. 9 against Georgia Southern at 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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