Troy beats Middle Tennessee

TROY — Forget the drama of Tony Franklin returning to Troy. The Trojans made a statement Tuesday night with a 31-7 win over Middle Tennessee on national television.

Franklin, who brought his prolific offense to Troy in 2006 as the offensive coordinator but left after two seasons, made his return to Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium, but this time it was as MTSU’s offensive coordinator.

The Troy defense made sure he didn’t go home happy. In the meantime, the Trojans may have made a statement to the rest of the Sun Belt.

“I think it makes a small statement, but it’s big for our confidence going into the rest of our conference games,” defensive tackle Kevin Dixon said.

Troy held the mighty MTSU offense, anchored by the clever playcalling of Franklin, to just one score. MTSU had 354 yards of offense, but most didn’t come until the game was out of hand.

Defensive tackles Eugene Kinlaw and Dixon were dominant. Kinlaw had two tackles for a loss of 17 yards, including a sack, and Dixon had a sack for a loss of 10 yards. Cornerback Bryan Willis forced and recovered a fumble, and the Trojans had a key goal-line stand in the second half.

“We didn’t know what plays were coming,” Troy linebacker Bear Woods said. “We know the scheme but with Coach Franklin, you never know what’s coming when. We made plays, we hustled and our D-line dominated.”

Troy’s defense made its mark early. A sack by Kinlaw at the 1-yard line led to Troy taking over at the MTSU 32 on its third series.

A personal foul on MTSU’s Kevin Brown set Troy up inside the 10, and freshman Shawn Southward scored his first touchdown on a 7-yard run. Michael Taylor’s extra point gave Troy a 7-0 lead.

The Trojans started an 80-yard drive with 2:38 left on the clock, and it culminated with Levi Brown finding a wide open Chip Reeves down the sideline for a 52-yard touchdown pass. Reeves flipped his way into the end zone, and Taylor’s PAT made the lead 14-0 with 20 seconds left in the half.

Troy got the ball to start the second half. Backup quarterback Dantavious Parker provided the spark in the third quarter, running 46 yards to the MTSU 2 from the Wildcat formation and later scoring on a 1-yard run. Taylor’s 26-yard field goal on the next drive gave Troy a 24-0.

“A key time period was that we carried mo (momentum) into the locker room and we took mo out with us and scored on the first drive (of the second half),” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said.

MTSU’s first serious threat was snuffed out at the Troy 2-yard line, when Troy’s Sidell Corley and Brandon Lang stopped quarterback Dwight Dasher on fourth-and-goal.

Parker started the fourth quarter with a 28-yard touchdown run up the middle from the Wildcat, giving Troy a 31-7 lead after MTSU scored on a 35-yard pass from Dasher to Tavarres Jefferson.

Dasher, one of the league’s top quarterbacks, hit 24-of-44 passes for 245 yards, but he was held to 53 yards on 18 carries. At halftime, he was just 6-of-21 passing.

“Dasher is a guy that scares you to death,” Blakeney said. “For the most part, we tackled pretty well. It was a great defensive effort.”

“I think (our defense) is the story,” Brown said. “We didn’t do a whole lot offensively in the first half and were OK in the second half. (The defense) was phenomenal tonight.“

Troy got it going on the ground, running for 264 yards. Parker led the way with 83 yards on just six carries with two scores. Third-string tailback Maurice Greer ran for 80 yards on seven carries, all in the third quarter, and DuJuan Harris ran for 64 yards.

Troy quarterback Levi Brown went 18-of-30 for 191 yards and a score.

First quarter
5:58 Troy 7, MTSU 0: Shawn Southward 7-yard run (Michael Taylor PAT). 5 plays, 33 yards, 1:41. Key play: Personal foul on MTSU’s Kevin Brown following a short catch by Patrick Cherry, putting the ball on the 11. 

Second quarter
:20 Troy 14, MTSU 0: Chip Reeves 52-yard reception from Levi Brown wide open down the left sidelines (Taylor PAT). 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:18. Key play: Brown connects with DuJuan Harris on a 12-yard toss on the play before the touchdown strike.

Third quarter
12:14 Troy 21, MTSU 0: Dantavious Parker on a 2-yard keeper (Taylor PAT). 8 plays, 71 yards, 2:46. Key play: Parker on a 46-yard run out of the Wildcat formation to the 2.

8:42 Troy 24, MTSU 0: Taylor 26-yard field goal. 5 plays, 30 plays, 2:03. Key play: Austin Silvoy 24-yard reception from Brown to the 13.

:50 Troy 24, MTSU 7: Dwight Dasher 35-yard touchdown pass to Tavarres Jefferson (Alan Gendreau PAT). 3 plays, 41 yards, 1:09. Key play: D.D. Kyles had a 6-yard run to the 35 before the long TD pass.

Fourth quarter
14:53 Troy 31, MTSU 7: Parker 28-yard run (Taylor PAT). 3 plays, 39 yards, :58. Key play: Troy got good field position at the MTSU 39 when an onsides kick was handled by Troy.