Trojans shared victory
Published 12:52 am Sunday, November 23, 2008
DuJuan Harris nearly broke a school record and Jorrick Calvin did something that has never been done in Larry Blakeney’s tenure as the Troy head football coach in the Trojans’ 48-3 dismantling of the University of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
The Trojans (7-4, 5-1 Sun Belt) also clinched a share of the Sun Belt Conference championship with the victory and with a win Dec. 6 over Arkansas State they can clinch the outright title.
“The defense controlled the game for us,” Blakeney said. “We talked a little bit earlier about setting goals and wanting to be in a championship implication situation at this time of year with two home games. We are there. We have taken advantage of one. We are co-champions and nobody can take that away from us. That will be three in a row, but we would like to win it outright and we have to beat Ark. State to do that, period.”
Harris rushed for 234 yards, 10 yards shy of the school record, and two touchdowns on 28 carries. Harris also attempted and completed his first pass of the season for a five-yard touchdown pass to Mykeal Terry.
“I am happy we got the win and we are conference champs now,” Harris said. “The offensive line blocked real well and made the holes for me to get to.”
Eddie Brundidge set the record of 244 yards in 1984.
With the Trojans leading 7-0 after one quarter of play, Cameron Sheffield penetrated the line and blocked a field goal and Calvin scooted 65 yards for the end zone for the first blocked kick return touchdown in Blakeney’s 18 years at Troy.
“Before the play even started me and Tavares Williams were telling each other to go inside hard,” Calvin said. “The d-line had made their push and the block and I saw it and just scooped that thing up and took off. I wasn’t thinking of anything else but taking off and I saw the open field and I knew I was going to score. It felt good to get in that end zone.”
Blakeney was happy with the blocked kick.
“Our guys thought we could block it,” Blakeney said. “He might have kicked it a little low, but it popped right out there and scoop and score was on that guy’s mind because he wasn’t in the block pattern. Jorrick just took off with it.
The main thing about the blocked kick for a touchdown for Blakeney was momentum.
“Those special teams plays always carry momentum with them and you have to always ready to take advantage of one and build on one,” he said. “And then you got to be ready to counter act one if it happens to you.”
About seven minutes after the blocked kick the Ragin’ Cajuns (5-6, 4-2) scored their only points of the night and then it was all Trojans for the rest of the game, as Troy went on to score four more touchdowns and two field goals.
The Trojans put together a 459-yard offensive day as a team and held UL to 255 total offensive yards.
Kennard Burton had 66 yards and a touchdown on five carries and Xavier Moreland added 56 yards on nine touches. Maurice Greer scored a touchdown and had 30 yards on the ground.
Troy held Doak Walker semifinalist Tyrell Fenroy to 23 yards on 10 carries and two catches for nine yards.
Bear Woods led the Trojans with 10 tackles, including two for a loss, and seemed to be all over the field.
“I wanted to play as hard as I can on every snap because everyone on this team deserves it,” Woods said. “Every play I am going to go all out.”
Woods is happy with the share of the title, but he wants a little more.
“It is a good feeling (to know we have a share), but the more I think about it this is not where I want to be,” Woods said. “I want to be talking to you all next week and that is where I want to be. I will let this shared thing take a back seat because outright is where we want to be.”
Harris opened the scoring in the first quarter with a nine-yard run and Sam Glusman booted the PAT through for a 7-0 Troy lead with 10:08 left in the first. Calvin returned the blocked kick with 14:49 remaining in the first half.
UL’s Drew Edmiston kicked a 29-yard field goal with 7:52 to go in the first half, but Troy jumped on the Ragin’ Cajuns with two Glusman field goals, the pass from Harris to Terry, a 20-yard scamper from Burton, Harris’ second touchdown and Greer’s touchdown to finish out the game.