Trojans Burn Blazers Behind Southward's Career Day
By: Stephen Crews
Updated: September 3, 2012
Shawn
Southward rushed for a career-high 204 yards and scored three
touchdowns to lead Troy past UAB 39-29 in the 2012 season opener
for both clubs Saturday at Legion Field.
"I'm really proud of Shawn's effort today and for his team," Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. "Our guys didn't give up when
there were some times they could have."
The
Trojans led 25-23 early in the fourth quarter before pulling away with a
pair of touchdowns in less than a minute. Following a De'Von Terry
interception
that gave the Trojans the ball of their own 31-yard line, Corey Robinson
hit a pair of big pass plays to put Troy in the end zone at the 6:53
mark.
A
44-yard strike to Chip Reeves pushed the ball to the UAB 25-yard line
and then Robinson found B.J. Chitty for his only reception of the day
for the
touchdown and 32-23 Troy lead.
Freshman
Tyler Roberts delivered the knockout blow for the Trojans on UAB's
first play of the ensuing drive as he knocked the ball loose from
quarterback
Jonathan Perry. Tony Davis fell on the fumble to give Troy possession on
the UAB 13-yard line.
A
UAB penalty moved the ball to the Blazer 5-yard line and Southward did
the rest as he punched in his third touchdown of the day. It was
Southward's
sixth multi-touchdown game of his career and just one shy of the school
record that he tied back in 2009.
Southward's
204 rushing yards were the sixth most in a game in Troy history and he
moved into fourth place on the Troy career rushing touchdown list
with 26.
The Trojans won the turnover battle on the afternoon as they forced four Blazer turnovers and lost just two offensively.
Robinson
finished 12-for-21 for 184 yards and two touchdowns on the day, while
Reeves grabbed six receptions for 125 yards and a score. The Trojans
tallied 262 yards on the ground, which was their highest total since
burning Middle Tennessee for 296 in 2009.
The
Troy defense set the tone on the opening drive as it stuffed UAB on a
fourth-and-1 from the Blazer 45-yard line. Will Scott connected on a
44-yard
field goal attempt on the ensuing drive to put the Trojans on the board.
After
being stopped on its third drive of the game Troy was forced to punt,
but a great bounce on the rugby punt by Scott deflected off a Blazer and
was recovered by Jacoby Thomas at the UAB 36-yard line. Troy stuck to
the ground from there with seven straight rushing plays that was capped
off by a 1-yard touchdown leap by Southward.
Robinson
hit a streaking Reeves down the left side for a 55-yard touchdown with
12:08 remaining in the second quarter. Troy and UAB traded turnovers
on their next possessions before Jacki Williams caught a 47-yard pass
from Perry to jumpstart the following UAB drive.
With
just 34 seconds remaining in the second, Perry found Greg Franklin
streaking down the middle for a 21-yard touchdown to cut the Trojans
lead to
17-7 at the half.
The
third quarter began with a UAB onside kick which caught the Troy kick
return team off guard. The Blazers capitalized on the Trojans
misfortune
as Franklin capped a five-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown run, his
second score of the game.
"It's
easy to get low when something (third quarter onside kick) happens in a
game like that," Blakeney said. "It worries you sick and sometimes in
a football game stuff happens. You can't fold a tent and go over there
and sit down. You've got to fight your way back and find a way to
respond and maybe make something else happen for your team."
The
Trojans defense held strong on the next Blazers possession, including a
sack by Marty Stadom for a loss of 8 yards on third-and-4. A botched
snap
on the UAB punt attempt led to a Troy safety and a 19-14 lead midway
through the third quarter.
The
ensuing drive ended with Troy's second turnover of the game as
Southward rushed up the middle for 15 yards before losing the ball at
the Troy 20.
The Trojans defense held its ground again conceding just 13 yards on six
plays before a 27-yard field goal by Ty Long.
Southward
kicked off the next Trojan drive with a monster 55-yard rush and
wrapped it up with a 7-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, to
give
Troy a 25-17 lead with 1:22 remaining in the third quarter.
On
the next UAB drive, Perry picked his way through the Troy defense
helped by two Trojan pass interference penalties. The Blazers advanced
to the
Troy 1-yard line after a 28-yard completion to Patrick Hearn and closed
out the drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak for the score. UAB's
two-point conversion attempt failed and Troy maintained its lead, 25-23.
UAB
put the final points on the board as Perry found Lamarcus Nelson
streaking through the end zone for a 24-yard score. The 2-point
conversion attempt
failed.
"I'm
proud of the win," Blakeney said. "I'm proud of the way our guys
fought and conducted themselves. Hopefully we can make a jump into a
conference
opener that we really need to win."
The
Trojans open Sun Belt Conference play next week when
Louisiana-Lafayette comes to Veterans Memorial Stadium for Troy's home
opener. The game is
scheduled to kickoff at 6 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN3.
For
more information, be sure to visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find
Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or at Facebook at
www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.
Scoring Summary
TROY - Scott 44-yard FG, 11:52, 1st
0-3
TROY - Southward 1-yard run (Scott kick), 1:19, 1st 0-10
TROY - Reeves 55-yard pass from Robinson (Scott kick), 12:08, 2nd 0-17
UAB - Franklin 21-yard pass from Perry (Long kick), 0:34, 2nd 7-17
UAB - Jackson 9-yard run (Long kick), 13:31, 3rd
14-17
TROY - Team Safety, 5:15, 3rd
14-19
UAB - Long 27-yard FG, 2:20, 3rd
17-19
TROY - Southward 7-yard run (Scott kick blocked), 1:22, 3rd 17-25
UAB - Perry 1-yard run (Perry pass failed), 12:15, 4th 23-25
TROY - Chitty 25-yard pass from Robinson (Scott kick), 6:53, 4th 23-32
TROY - Southward 5-yard run (Scott kick), 6:29, 4th 23-39
UAB - Nelson 24-yard pass from Perry (Perry pass failed), 3:45, 4th 29-39
