Tday

In Saturday’s annual Cardinal and White Trojan football scrimmage, Coach Larry Blakeney was pleased with the performance of the Troy Trojans. The White won the scrimmage 22-14. Usually, the goals of a spring scrimmage are to practice in a game environment and work on fundamentals with no injuries and coach mistakes that players can sometimes make. Blakeney had a goal to run the Trojans through at least 80 plays in the T-Day game, which was accomplished. “Our goal was to get some of these guys that don’t get many reps some game experience,” Blakeney said. “ There are a lot of good players on this team and we still need some more.” Overall, Coach Blakeney expressed that he is looking forward to the new recruits contributing to the Trojans when fall practice begins in June. Most spring games display a ‘plain vanilla’ performance as coaches focus on fundamentals and look for leadership from the players. The Troy Trojans offense is the spread offense that makes opposing defenses cover the entire field. "We improved a lot,” Coach Blakeney said. “At first we weren't hitting on all cylinders, but as the weeks went on we got better and we got close to each other. As a team, I think we all did good. As a whole, we got better.'' Four different quarterbacks led scoring drives for the cardinal and the white teams. Senior quarterback Corey Robinson was efficient in passing completing 11 for 15 passing for 130 yards and a touchdown. Deon Anthony combined passing skills with his running ability passing for seven of 10 for 124 yards, a touchdown and 29 yards on five carries. Anthony led the white team on a 97 yard scoring drive with Dothan’s Brandon Knight scoring the only rushing touchdown on a 4-yard run. Junior quarterback Kinderick Dent completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Chaise Dunn. Sophomore quarterback Dallas Tidwell was seven for seven for 112 yards with a touchdown pass. The Trojan running backs Brandon Burkes, Michael Lindsay and Brandon Knight all rushed for solid production. This is an area Blakeney has considered to be an area of growth for the Trojans. The defense, under defensive coordinator Wayne Bolt, had highlights and strong performances by Antonio Gillespie, Shermane TeArt and Tyler Roberts. Coach Blakeney’s predicted playmakers for the Trojans had a productive day. Eric Thomas led the receivers with 81 yards on six catches, K.D. Edenfield had 48 yards on five catches, Chandler Worthy caught three passes and Bryan Holmes had a 69-yard touchdown catch. The scoring drives for the Trojans began with a 97-yard drive with the highlight of Anthony’s 45-yard completion to Brett Thiesen giving the White a seven to nothing lead. The cardinal scored on the last play of the first half with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to Edinfield to tie the game at 7-7. In the third quarter Anthony connected on a shuttle pass to Cam Worthy, who went 49 yards to put the white in the lead 14 to 7. The Cardinal scored a 69-yard touchdown pass from Tidwell to Holmes to tie the game 14 to 14. With the game tied 14-14, Kinderick Dent completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Chaise Dunn. In the point after attempt, the snap was mishandled allowing holder Trey Page to run the ball in for a two-point conversion making the final score 22-14. Trojans conclude spring practice and team preparation begins this summer for the opening game against UAB on August 31.