Troy, AL – What started as a defensive slugfest turned into a late runaway as Trojan RB Kimani Vidal exploded for five rushing touchdowns among 233 yards on 26 carries for Troy to win the Sun Belt title, 49-23. In a scoreless first quarter, both teams exchanged punts after each possession. A turnover on downs caused by Troy at their 39 midway through the second seemed to indicate this contest would a defensive struggle until the end. Troy’s Vidal finally broke the score open with a seven-yard TD run to cap the ensuing 61-yard drive. Vidal broke though against a physical Appy defense later in the period with a 38-yard jaunt.
The Mountaineers fought back before the half as QB Joey Aguillar connected on several key passes to get down to the Troy one. Kayne Roberts score from there to cut the score to 14-7 heading into halftime. Rain started and persisted throughout most of the game played before 20,446 sold seats. Vocal student contingents from both schools added to the excitement of this game sitting on both ends of the same side of Veteran’s War Memorial Stadium. The atmosphere was generally vociferous and friendly as contests were held between game breaks by students of both universities. The Sun Belt presented a very fun event to attend despite the rainstorm which most students enjoyed despite in attire for dry weather.
Appy fights back, but Troy defense takes over
ASU drove 82 yards to open the third with Roberts scoring on a six-yard run to tie it, 14-14. Game on. Troy went to work through the air on its next possession. Gunnar Watson tossed a 51-yard scoring strike connecting with Chris Lewis on a 51-yard catch and run to go back into the lead. The Troy defense forced a punt on ASU’s next possession, but it was muffed by the returner. Appy took over at the Troy 15. The Mountaineers could only muster a 42-yard FG after a sack on third down to cut the score, 21-17.
Mountaineer mistake mires momentum
Heading into the fourth, ASU once again had the ball. On fourth and one at the Troy 48, they set up to go for the first. However, a procedure penalty pushed them back five yards and Coach Shawn Clark called on his punt unit. Costly penalty. Troy drove 81 yards. On a fourth and one at ASU’s 43, Vidal converted a two-yard gain for the first down. Then, he followed though with consecutive carries of 32 yards, next for nine, and finally for a three-yard TD run to take a 28-17 Trojan lead. The killing shot came on State’s next possession.
To start from the 25, Aguillar dropped back to pass, but DB Don Callis stripped the ball right from his hand as he drew back to throw. The ball bounced up off the turf, and on the run Callis picked it up at the ten to put six more on the board for Troy. With 5:34 remaining, the Mountaineers completed a 75-yard drive for a touchdown. Aguillar got stopped short and fumbled into end zone. TE Eli Wilson recovered it for the ASU score. The two-point conversion failed.
Troy nails down SBC championship
Down 35-23, the visitors attempted an onsides kick. Troy recovered and picked up five more yards on an offside infraction and took over at ASU’s 38. Very next play, Vidal sped over left tackle for the distance to extend the lead 42-23. On Appy’s next possession, this time LB Javon Solomon stripped the ball from Aguillar’s hand just like Callis had previously. Troy recovered at the 49. Once again, Vidal wasted no time. Very next play, he whisked down field 49 yards for his fifth touchdown of the day. The celebration for the Troy faithful started as time expired with the goal post near the student section coming down quickly. Victory party on!
Next!
Head Coach Jon Sumrall’s Trojans stand 23-4 under him in their first two seasons, 11-2 this year. On December 23, they will meet Duke (7-5) of the ACC at the 76 Birmingham Bowl. We plan to be there to see the Trojans once again. Appalachian (8-5) will take on Mid American Conference champ Miami (O.), 11-2, who surprised Toledo for that championship in The Cure Bowl in Orlando. We at collegefootballfan.com head to Boston next Saturday for the final regular season game as Army takes on Navy for the 124th time. Both teams stand 5-6. No bowls seem to be on the horizon for either program. A few more overtimes this season?
Parting shot
Couldn’t stand listening to all the SEC hype on the radio on the drive back yesterday from Alabama. The build-up before the selection show just shows how much the media influences all the hype for their TV ratings. One ESPN broadcaster, a Kentucky grad, pointed out Kentucky beat Louisville in the final game of their season, 38-31, but then had the audacity to say South Carolina almost beat Clemson and Florida almost beat Florida State with their second team QB.
So even though the ACC defeated the SEC head to head in six of ten games this year, the SEC is far superior? Have to laugh what a big deal it was for Bama to defeat Auburn on the last play of their game. On that same field a week earlier, I heard no mention of how New Mexico State humiliated the Tigers, 31-10. The SEC is no better than any other conference regarding wins and losses against other power five programs. They can count other losses this season to BYU and Utah. I attended Tennessee’s win over Virginia in their season opener. UT tried to give that game away, but UVA couldn’t block or tackle. No mention of Georgia’s 31-23 win over Georgia Tech. FSU beat Florida by nine. Isn’t Tech’s 8-point loss to UGA an “almost.” Sickening. Other similar points were made by other media types.
Read all about it!
I’m glad I go to games and don’t spend time listening to these guys and their spins. Get my book Fifty Years of Tailgate tale: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly. I don’t pull any punches when it comes to topics I include among “the Ugly.” From Mel Kiper, Jr. to excessive TV time-outs, I find that the media is out of control.
