Troy passes FIU test

TROY — Troy turned what could have been disaster into a three-headed monster.

Levi Brown, Jerrel Jernigan and Dantavious Parker all took snaps at quarterback and all were effective in their own ways as Troy handed upstart Florida International a 33-23 loss at Movie Gallery Veterans Stadium on Saturday.

Troy (4-2, 3-0 Sun Belt) is tied with UL-Lafayette in first place in the Sun Belt. FIU is 3-4 overall, 2-1 in conference play.

Starter Jamie Hampton was lost for the season with a knee injury in the Trojans’ last game. Coaches didn’t announce a starter prior to the game, but Brown, a junior, started and took most of the snaps.

But the star of the night was Jernigan, the sophomore from Eufaula. He caught five passes for 131 yards and a score, ran 10 times for 89 yards and even threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bray.

Jernigan also had a 60-yard touchdown run negated by a holding penalty.

“We sit around and try to be creative and find ways to let him help this football team,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “When he gets the ball in space, he’s dynamic with it.

“I’m not ever mad when they call his number. As long as he’s out there and he’s not tired, we’ve got to get it to him.”

That showed early in the first quarter. With Troy already up 6-0, Brown threw a crossing pattern to Jernigan, who caught it and burned a defender for an 86-yard touchdown pass.

“The defense blitzed two linebackers,” Jernigan said. “It turned into a man-beater. After that, it was off to the races.”

Brown went 18-of-28 for 253 yards and two scores in his first Trojan start. He didn’t throw an interception. The first strike came on a 15-yarder to Cornelius Williams.

But he missed one snap later in the quarter. Steven Adams started in place of injured Danny Franks at center, but his snap went past Brown and out of the end zone. FIU then scored a touchdown on its possession after the free kick.

“I just missed it,” Brown said. “It was catchable. I’ll take the blame for it. I’ve got no excuses.”

Troy led just 19-16 at the half, but Cameron Sheffield forced and recovered a fumble as FIU got the ball first in the second half. It ended with Jernigan’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Levi Brown.

Parker, a true freshman, played for the first time this year and scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter. FIU’s last score came when Jeremy Dickens, a native of Cottondale, Fla., scored on a 5-yard pass from Paul McCall.

But it was Troy’s rejuvenated offense that made the difference. Blakeney pushed the idea of taking Parker’s redshirt off on offensive coordinator Neal Brown, who had settled on Levi Brown as a starter. Parker and Jernigan will take snaps to give speed to the position.

“I’m not dissatisfied at all with the way our offense looked tonight with the combinations we were trying to put together,” Blakeney said. “We’re not limitless, but there are still things we can do to compliment these guys’ play.”

Levi Brown was making his first start since his time at Richmond, where he played from 2005-06. He sat out last year as a transfer. He hit five of his first six passes on Troy’s first two drives — both touchdowns.

He could have sulked when Hampton, a year younger, was named the starter, but he used that to get better.

“This definitely isn’t the situation I wanted to be in (with Hampton injured),” Levi Brown said. “With that said, it definitely feels good to be in there. I was excited about playing and looking forward to it all week.”

FIU quarterback Paul McCall was sacked seven times and threw for 266 yards on 22-of-33 passing. Sherrod Martin recorded an interception for Troy.

The Trojans kept the dangerous T.Y. Hilton out of the end zone, though he had 116 yards on six catches. He just returned one punt for minus-one yard. He did have 129 yards in kick returns.

“We did everything we could to keep T.Y. Hilton from beating us,” Blakeney said. “We challenged him by kicking deep to him and challenged our guys to make plays.”

First quarter
11:14 Troy 6, FIU 0: Cornelius Williams 16 pass from Levi Brown (PAT missed). 10 plays, 63 yards, 3:46. Key play: Roughing the kicker gave Troy a first down.

8:52 Troy 13, FIU 0: Jerrel Jernigan 86 pass from Levi Brown (Sam Glusman PAT). 2 plays, 90 yards, 0:47. Key play: The touchdown, where Brown hit Jernigan on a cross pattern.

7:03 Troy 13, FIU 2: Safety, snap went over quarterback’s head.

4:36 Troy 13, FIU 9: Junior Mertile 8 pass from Paul McCall (Dustin Rivest PAT). 5 plays, 62 yards, 2:27. Key play: Greg Ellingson with a 22-yard reception to the Troy 5.

1:35 Troy 16, FIU 9: Glusman 20 FG. 8 plays, 57 yards, 3:01. Key play: C. Williams with a 20-yard catch to the FIU 21.

Second quarter
3:58 Troy 19, FIU 9: Glusman 44 FG. 4 plays, 1 yard, 1:10. Key play: Jorrick Calvin returned the punt to the 28.

0:20 Troy 19, FIU 16: Daunte Owens 1 run (Rivest PAT). 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:38. Key play: T.Y. Hilton’s 40-yard reception on third down to the Troy 37.

Third quarter
13:22 Troy 26, FIU 16: Justin Bray 2 pass from Jerrel Jernigan (Glusman PAT). 3 plays, 17 yards, 0:59. Key play: Troy’s Cameron Sheffield caused and recovered a fumble at the FIU 17.

Fourth quarter
14:56 Troy 33, FIU 16: Dantavious Parker 1 run (Glusman PAT). 2 plays, 9 yards, 0:15. Key play: Troy’s Jorrick Calvin recovered an FIU fumble when the punt hit an FIU blocker at the 9.

9:27 Troy 33, FIU 23: Jeremy Dickens 5 pass from Paul McCall (Rivest PAT). 7 plays, 69 yards, 1:48. Key play: T.Y. Hilton with a 22-yard reception to the Troy 16