STATESBORO – The Troy football squad scored touchdowns on the three drives it had the ball in the second half to propel itself to a 28-20 victory over Georgia Southern Saturday at Allen E. Paulson Stadium/Evans Family Field in Sun Belt action.
The Eagles struck first late in the first quarter when receiver Josh Dallas took an end-around for a 4-yard rushing touchdown. The Trojans tied it up early in the second period, but Gavin Stewart's 21-yard field goal late in the half gave the Eagles a 10-7 going into the locker room.
After the Eagles went 3-and-out to start the second half, the Trojans marched down the field and took their first lead on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 7:50 left to go in the quarter. On the next drive, Southern marched down the field in 11 plays and scored when OJ Arnold earned a hard-fought 3-yard touchdown run with 1:53 left in the quarter. Troy responded with a quick scoring drive to take the lead back to start the final quarter. The Eagles had their drive stall in Troy's territory before Gavin Stewart drilled a 45-yard field goal to cut the lead to one.
Troy iced the game with a 16-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 8:11 off the clock and ended with a 1-yard scoring run by Matthew Caldwell with 2:32 left.
Troy went 11 for 14 on third downs, keeping the Eagle defense on the field for ove 38 minutes minutes while outgaining the Eagles 444-246 in total offense.
Up Next: The Eagles (6-4, 4-2) will travel to Coastal Carolina (5-5, 2-4) next Saturday for a game from Brooks Stadium that will kick at 3:30 p.m.