Troy notes: Golden steps up

Redshirt freshman Donnell Golden made the most of his third start of the year, intercepting a pass and finishing with 10 tackles. Linebacker Bear Woods missed his second straight game and third of the year with a foot injury.

“I knew the whole week because I practiced the whole week with the starters, trying to prepare myself for this big game,” Golden said.

Golden’s interception set up Troy’s second touchdown that gave Troy a 17-8 lead. He picked off quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster’s pass and took it 12 yards to the ULM 18. Troy later scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Levi Brown to Cornelius Williams, but fell 31-30 to ULM Saturday.

“I was watching him the whole way,” Golden said. “I knew he was going to throw it to me. I started backpedaling and tried to score to help my team.”

Golden wasn’t the only one who racked up big defensive numbers. Defensive end Cameron Sheffield had 13 tackles, two for loss, and safety Sherrod Martin had 13 tackles. Boris Lee had 12 tackles and combined for a sack with Rashad Roussell.

Perhaps telling of ULM’s dominance of the clock – holding it for nearly two-thirds of the game – was the fact that Martin had 13 tackles from his safety spot.

“Everybody’s at fault,” Golden said. “We’re just trying to get things together and they won’t work for us. You’re not going to be perfect. You’re going to have faults and everything, so you try to get things together to finish the game.”

Injury update
Center Danny Franks and linebacker Bear Woods, both nursing foot injuries, again didn’t start. Steven Adams started for Franks and Donnell Golden for Woods. Franks came in on Troy’s third series after a snap from Adams went past quarterback Levi Brown into the end zone, resulting in a safety. Adams shifted to right guard.

Franks said he tweaked his ankle again, which he hurt Oct. 7 against FAU, but played through the pain.

“It was definitely painful,” Franks said. “I tweaked it (again) but you’ve got to fight. It’s a team effort and you’ve got to be there for the person beside you.”

Reserve safety Kedric Manning left the game with a knee sprain. Safety Terence Moore was hurt on one play, but came back into the game.

Welcome to the party
Andrew Davis’ 11-yard TD reception in the first quarter made him the eighth different person to catch a TD pass for Troy this year.

Turnovers come back
Justin Bray lost a fumble in the second quarter for Troy. It was the first time since the second quarter of the FAU game — spanning 11 quarters — that Troy had turned it over. Quarterback Levi Brown also threw a fourth-quarter interception, his first of the season that snapped a streak of 104 throws without a pick, which was fourth in the country. The ball was tipped by receiver Gerald Tate and intercepted by ULM’s Cardia Jackson.

Best/Worst
Best block: Troy’s Jorrick Calvin came from around the right side to block a point-after attempt after ULM’s first touchdown.

Best tackle for loss: Troy’s Donnell Golden and Cameron Sheffield tackled ULM’s J.J. McCoy for a loss of 10 late in the first quarter.

Best hands: Troy’s Donnell Golden hauled in a bullet pass for an INT and returned it to the ULM 18 in the second quarter.

Worst snap: Steven Adams snapped one past Troy QB Levi Brown’s head on the second series. Brown was tackled in the end zone for a safety, the second such problem in three games since starter Danny Franks has been out, but it’s unclear who was at fault.

Worst penalty: After ULM was flagged for offsides, Warhawks safety Greg James hit Troy wideout Gerald Tate late, meaning 20 yards of penalties were assessed on the early second-quarter play.

Worst drop: ULM’s Mitch Doyle dropped a pass on a fake punt when he was wide open. Troy took over at the ULM 29.