TROY, Ala. – Troy committed five turnovers, leading to 17 Louisiana Tech points as the Trojans fell to the Bulldogs, 41-17, Saturday at The Vet in Sun Belt Conference action.
The Troy (4-5, 2-3 SBC) offense opened with a 15-play, 83-yard drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Gavin Griffin, giving Troy a 7-3 lead. Louisiana Tech (7-2, 5-0 SBC) answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass from Blake Baker to Marcus Calwise Jr.
The Trojans made two key defensive stands after fumbles gave the Bulldogs possession inside the Troy 20-yard line. Marcus Goree Jr. broke up two passes in the red zone on the first possession, limiting the Bulldogs to three points. Donnie Smith forced his fourth career fumble on the second, and Bryce Steele recovered, keeping the deficit at six. Louisiana Tech added another touchdown before halftime to take a 20-7 lead.
Troy cut into the deficit on the opening drive of the second half with its second defensive touchdown in as many weeks. Keno Jones forced a strip-sack fumble on third down, and Delvin Whitaker recovered the loose ball in the end zone to make it 20-17.
However, Louisiana Tech answered with a 74-yard touchdown drive before an interception by Janard Lockhardt put the Bulldogs at the Troy 7-yard line. Louisiana Tech scored on the next play to extend its lead to 34-17.
La Tech tacked on a late touchdown on a 66-yard fumble return for a touchdown for the only scoring in the fourth quarter. Baker finished 16-of-19 for 177 yards and a touchdown, while Calwise led all players with 137 receiving yards and a score.
Tucker Kilcrease completed 18-of-33 passes for 215 yards and Jordan Lovett finished with 31 yards on 10 carries to lead the Troy offense. Mojo Dortch pulled in a career-high five receptions while Howard Kinchen led the Trojans with 63 receiving yards.
Up Next
Troy travels to Mobile, Ala., for the “Battle for the Belt” against South Alabama. Kickoff between the Trojans and Jaguars is at 6 p.m.
Quotable – Troy Head Coach Gerad Parker
It’s tough for our Homecoming crowd and all of Troy Nation to have to go through another tough loss at home. It doesn’t hurt anybody more than myself and our football team, who’s crushed.
The preparation for the week was very good. The pace of it was very good. We just didn’t play well during the game. The fact of the matter is, you can’t lose the turnover margin. You’re not going to win against anybody, especially not our Western Division leader right now. We got too far behind, then tried to come out of it at halftime, gave up a huge drive right after, and then just fell apart.
There’s got to be resolve. We play our biggest rival next week.
Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Adam Prendergast, Executive Associate Director of Athletics / Communications, Branding & Creative Content
