Troy crushes La. Lafayette

TROY — Troy went away from its conventional throw-the-ball-all-over-the-place mentality Saturday night.

Turns out, it led to the Trojans’ biggest whooping of a Sun Belt opponent this season, and a career night for sophomore running back DuJuan Harris as the Trojans clinched a share of the Sun Belt title for the third straight year and beat UL-Lafayette 48-3 at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium.

Troy will play Arkansas State Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. for a chance to win the Sun Belt title outright. If the Red Wolves (5-5, 3-2) beat North Texas (1-11) next week, the winner of the Dec. 6 game will have a chance to go to the New Orleans Bowl.

Harris ran 28 times for 234 yards, second-most in Troy history, and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mykeal Terry. The yardage was second to Eddie Brundidge, who ran for 244 yards against Valdosta State in 1984. Harris’ final carry came well before the clock hit zero.

“Normally we throw the ball a little bit,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “We got into the freeze. With all the different little nuances of the offense, we wound up with a lot of opportunities to run it.”

Harris scored the first time on a 9-yard run and added a 35-yard run in the fourth quarter to put Troy up 41-3. He took a handoff on Troy’s first possession of the second half and threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mykeal Terry that gave Troy a 24-3 lead.

“We got the win,” Harris said. “The O-line did their job and I had to do my job. I wasn’t thinking about (yardage). Coach told me to play and said you’d be surprised at the yardage you’d get.”

It wasn’t just Harris who ran over and around the Cajuns. Kennard Burton ran five times for 66 yards on speed sweeps, including a 20-yard touchdown run and Xavier Moreland ran for 56 yards. Maurice Greer added a 1-yard score late in the game. Troy ran for 391 yards.

Quarterback Levi Brown, who threw 72 passes last week, threw just 16 times. He hit seven for 51 yards, by far his lowest as a starter. But the Trojans knew well in advance they would be pounding it on the ground.

“There was a lot of stuff said in the media (from ULL),” left tackle Chris Jamison said. “We just used it as motivation. We don’t talk to the media, we do our talking on the field. I don’t know exactly what was said, but there were some things coming from the other side.”

Harris’ career-long run was a 67-yarder, but he fumbled on the play and the Cajuns recovered inside the 5-yard line.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Harris said. “I’m not going to let it happen again. They just stripped it from me. I was trying to push him off me and he wrapped around me and it came out.”

Troy got a blocked field goal from Cameron Sheffield, which Jorrick Calvin ran 65 yards for a score. Sam Glusman kicked field goals of 42 and 40 yards.

ULL quarterback Michael Desormeaux ran 15 times for 136 yards, but the Trojans held Tyrell Fenroy, the nation’s leading active rusher, to just 23 yards on 10 carries.

Calvin and Terence Moore each had interceptions for the Trojans.

FIRST QUARTER
10:08 Troy 7, La.-Lafayette 0: DuJuan Harris 9-yard run (Sam Glusman PAT). 8 plays, 69 yards, 2:45. Key play: On third-and-3, Troy quarterback Levi Brown hit Gerald Tate for nine yards and a first. On the next play, Harris gained 21 yards around the left side.

SECOND QUARTER
14:49 Troy 14, ULL 0: Jorrick Calvin 65-yard return of a field goal attempt. (Glusman PAT). Key play: Troy’s Cameron Sheffield crashed from the defense’s right side and blocked Drew Edmiston’s 43-yard field goal attempt. The ball caromed to Calvin, who had clear sailing to the end zone up the right sideline.

7:52 Troy 14, ULL 3: Drew Edmiston 29-yard field goal. 5 plays, 38 yards, 1:47. Key play: After Troy punted from its own end zone, ULL quarterback Michael Desormeaux hit Jason Chery on a post patter for 39 yards to the 15.

4:21 Troy 17, ULL 3: Glusman 42-yard field goal. 10 plays, 45 yards, 3:24. Key play: It came in the replay booth. Running back Maurice Greer appeared to fumble on a 6-yard gain to the ULL 27. However, the call was overturned when replay showed Greer’s knee hit the ground before the ball came out.

THIRD QUARTER
10:39 Troy 24, ULL 3: Mykeal Terry 5-yard reception from DuJuan Harris. (Glusman PAT). 10 plays, 71 yards, 4:21. Key play: Troy’s Harris gained 12 yards up the middle on third-and-10 from the ULL 36. He capped the drive by taking a pitch from Levi Brown and pulling up on the right side to complete a touchdown pass to Terry, who was wide open in the end zone.

4:44 Troy 31, ULL 3: Kennard Burton 20-yard run (Glusman PAT). 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:23. Key play: The drive started the same way it ended, with Burton taking a handoff from Brown on a speed sweep around left end.

FOURTH QUARTER
9:43 Troy 34, La.-Lafayette 3: Glusman 40-yard field goal. 17 plays, 59 yards, 8:10. Key play: The longest drive of the season in terms of plays and time was kept alive when Harris picked up 10 yards on third-and-11, then four more on fourth-and-1 at the ULL 26.

7:57 Troy 41, ULL 3: DuJuan Harris 35-yard run (Glusman PAT). 3 plays, 51 yards, 0:41. Key play: Troy’s Terence Moore intercepted a pass by Chris Masson near midfield, giving the Trojans a short field.

3:56 Troy 48, ULL 3: Maurice Greer 1-yard run (Glusman PAT). 7 plays, 38 yards, 2:23. Key play: Backup quarterback Dantavious Parker completed a 12-yard pass to Chip Reeves on third-and-10.

REPORT CARD

A- Offense: Troy ran 75 offensive plays to ULL’s 50. DuJuan Harris’ 234-yard performance on the ground was a big part of the Trojans’ 459-yard offensive breakout. All but 68 of that came on the ground.

A- Defense: The Trojans nearly shut down two standout players Troy coach Larry Blakeney called “warriors” — quarterback Michael Desormeaux and running back Tyrell Fenroy. Fenroy, in fact, was held to 23 yards on 10 carries. Desormeaux did much more damage with his legs — 15 carries for 136 yards — than his arm. He threw for just 72 yards.

A- Special teams: A special teams touchdown — the first blocked field goal returned for a touchdown under Blakeney — provided a big momentum boost early in the second quarter. Sam Glusman was 2-for-2 on field goals from 40 and 42 yards out.

A Overall: Troy rebounded admirably from last week’s near-miss at LSU. Troy has Arkansas State at home with a trip to the New Orleans Bowl on the line. However, the Trojans have clinched at least a share of of their third consecutive Sun Belt championship.