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Writer's pictureTaylor Fraze

Trojans fall flat in rivalry matchup


Troy Athletics photo Brendan Jackson makes a tackle against South Alabama.

For the first time in six years, the Trojans would not be victorious in the annual Battle for the Belt rivalry game as  South Alabama defeated Troy 25-9 to win the belt for the first time since 2017.


“I was so proud of our players and our staff with just how they carried themselves to finish out the game,” said head coach Gerad Parker in his interview with Troy Athletics. “When it got to the point where we were not going to be able to win the football game, I thought they continued to play and play like a Troy Trojan.”


The game started with both defenses showing intensity. Neither team would let up yards to each other. The first two drives of the game combined for a total of -7 yards.


The Jaguars would strike first after Gio Lopez connected with leading receiver Jamaal Pritchett on a long pass down the sideline. The 29-yard connection led to a 36-yard field goal from Laith Marjan, giving South Alabama a 3-0 lead.


Troy could find zero offensive momentum, going backwards on multiple drives. On the Trojans’ fourth drive of the game, quarterback Tucker Kilcrease threw the ball into the opponent’s hands, setting a Jaguars scoring drive. Two plays later, Lopez found Jeremiah Webb for a 22-yard strike to gain a 10-0 lead.


“It was a complete failure for the most part on offense,” Parker said. “That’s my responsibility to get fixed and figured out.”


The miscues for Troy’s offense continued. On the following drive, the Trojans let up a safety after the ball was snapped out of the back of the endzone. Suddenly, the Trojans found themselves down 12-0 with many questions about the offense.


South Alabama took advantage of these mistakes. The dual-threat quarterback Lopez housed a 49-yard run to give the Jags a 19-0 lead. Lopez finished the game with 158 passing yards and 67 rushing yards, including the only two Jaguar touchdowns.


Troy made a change at the quarterback position and immediately found new life on the offensive side of the ball.


Matthew Caldwell entered the game and drove the Trojans down the field. The drive resulted in a Scott Taylor Renfroe 36-yard field goal, bringing the halftime score to 19-3.


The defense continued to play well. Jordan Stringer tallied 11 total tackles for the game, the most on the team. Brendan Jackson had 4.5 tackles for loss. The Trojans did not let up a touchdown in the second half, but the miscues and mistakes on offense were too big to overcome.


Caldwell would throw two interceptions in the second half, wasting scoring opportunities for the Trojans. South Alabama connected on two more field goals to put the game out of reach.


The Trojans drove the field in search of any momentum to take into next week. Caldwell connected with Devonte Ross twice on the final drive of the game. One of those connections resulted in an 11-yard touchdown. The score was too little too late. South Alabama walked away with the belt 25-9.


“We have got to get back to work and find a way to play winning football,” Parker said. “We took steps, especially defensively, but in other ways we did not.


“I’ve got to go back to the drawing board and get this organization going the right way.”


The Trojans fall to 1-6 on the season, the worst record since Neal Brown’s first season in 2015. Troy will head to Jonesboro, Arkansas, for a Sun Belt Conference battle with Arkansas State on Oct. 26.

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