By Danielle Percival

Penalties plagued the Troy Trojans Thursday night leading to a 49-37 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.

The Trojans were flagged 11 times for 115 yards and the coaches and players agreed those mistakes changed the game.

“The worst thing is all the penalties that we had,” head coach Larry Blakeney said. “A high percentage of those were unsportsmanlike conduct.”

“I think we all know the reason why we lost,” quarterback Corey Robinson said. “115 yards. Come on. That’s unbelievable.”

The Trojans shot themselves in the foot with penalties but Louisiana-Monroe’s quarterback Kolton Browning contributed to the Trojans downfall.

Browning finished the night going 21-of-31 for 354 yards and five touchdowns.

“There were four or five plays that he made that I’m not sure another quarterback in this league can make,” Blakeney said.

“We expected a challenge, period, coming in,” linebacker Mark Wilson said. “We knew we couldn’t take them lightly. We knew we’d have to play our best game on defense to stop them.”

Wilson, who led the team with 11 tackles, led the defense, but the leading tackler on the team was not in the game.

Safety Camren Hudson was knocked out of the game in the first half and did not return.

“It threw us off a little bit but hopefully we get him back as soon as possible,” Wilson said.

The Warhawks took a 14-point lead to start the game but Troy cut that lead to 21-17 at the break.

One play that seemed to give the Trojans some momentum was a blocked punt that was picked up by K.D. Edenfield who scooped and scored his first touchdown from 11-yards out.

“It just happened to go right in my hands,” Edenfield said. “It felt great to finally get in the end zone.”

Even though the Trojans were down by as many as 18 in the second half, it was evident the team was still fighting.

A 55-yard touchdown pass from Robinson to wide receiver Bryan Holmes on a 2nd-and-40 proved the team still had life.

The Trojans pulled within five points with six minutes remaining on the clock on a Robinson rushing touchdown, but the defense was unable to get off the field without giving up another score.

The loss drops Troy to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt and snaps the teams’ three-game winning streak.

Though the team missed the opportunity to reach bowl eligibility on Thursday, they still know there is more left in this season.

“It’s not over,” offensive lineman Terrance Jones said. “We still have a couple more games.”

The team will return to action next Thursday night on the road at Louisiana-Lafayette.