By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow
MONROE, La. – The ULM football team closed out the home schedule Saturday with a 45-14 loss to Troy at Malone Stadium.
ULM (2-8, 0-7 Sun Belt) dropped its eighth straight overall after opening the year with a pair of home wins. Troy improved to 8-2, 5-1 Sun Belt while winning its seventh straight.
"I feel bad for our players again," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "They had to take a tough loss."
Troy's defense registered nine sacks against ULM, which gained 309 yards of total offense. Starting quarterback
Jiya Wright completed 20-of-36 attempts for 243 yards and two touchdowns in his final home game. Senior
Tyrone Howell caught four balls for 93 yards and a score.
The Warhawks made eight penalties for 76 yards while going 4-of-15 on third down and 0-for-4 on fourth down.
Troy gained 346 yards with 26 first downs and scored on all seven red-zone trips. Gunnar Watson passed for 219 yards with four touchdowns. Javon Solomon made four sacks while Richard Jibunor had 3.5 sacks.
Troy took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Watson to Damien Taylor with 5:55 left in in the first quarter. The Trojans drove 64 yards in eight plays for the game's first score.
The Trojans were in the end zone for a second time with 13:11 showing in the second quarter when Watson found Jabre Barber for a 5-yard touchdown strike. Troy traveled 78 yards in 11 plays to go ahead 14-0.
Braxton Guilbeau, filling in for injured kicker
Derek McCormick, had a 43-yard field goal attempt blocked with 9:48 remaining in the second quarter. Troy's Keyshawn Swanson returned the ball 43 yards back to the ULM 46. Guilbeau was injured on the play, further depleting ULM's kicker corps for the rest of the game.
"We had no idea on Thursday who our field goal kicker would be," Bowden said. "He thought he'd be able to go. Our backup kicker is our punter and he gets hurt. Now we don't have a kicker or a backup kicker."
Seven plays and 46 yards after the block, Watson threw his third touchdown pass of the game, finding Devonte Ross for a 4-yard score, and Troy's lead increased to 21-0 with 6:52 left in the half.
The Warhawks came up empty on three first-half trips to the red zone, including a loss of 16 yards on fourth-and-4 from the Troy 11 with 46 seconds left in the second quarter.
ULM trailed 21-0 at the half despite outgaining Troy 189-172 through two quarters. Wright completed 13-of-22 passes for 138 yards and
Bennett Galloway ran four times for 51 yards.
Dariyan Wiley made four catches for 57 yards. Six penalties for 51 yards hurt the home team's cause.
After being shut out in the first half, ULM cut the deficit to 21-7 with 7:36 remaining in the third quarter as Howell snared a 46-yard touchdown pass from Wright.
Troy pushed the lead back to three possessions at 24-7 on Scott Taylor Renfroe's 32-yard field goal with 4:04 left in the third quarter. The scoring drive covered 40 yards over nine plays.
Missed opportunities continued to haunt ULM in the second half. After the Trojans' field goal,
Alred Luke returned the ensuing kickoff 53 yards to the Troy 35 -- but the Warhawks went four-and-out and turned the ball over on downs at the 32.
Troy found paydirt again with 14:13 left in the game as Watson's 5-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Conner boosted the lead to 31-7. The Trojans mounted an 8-play, 68-yard scoring drive.
Senior
Bud Tolbert, playing his last home game, caught his first ULM touchdown pass from 3 yards out. The Warhawks narrowed the score to 31-14 with 8:07 left after a 12-play, 65-yard drive.
Howell's muffed punt return gave Troy possession at the ULM 13 with 6:58 left in the game. Three plays later, backup quarterback Goose Crowder flipped a 9-yard touchdown pass to Asa Martin for a 38-14 lead.
The Trojans kept their foot on the gas to the end, scoring with 1:56 to go on Tae Meadows 5-yard touchdown run.
"It got away from us at the end," Bowden said. "We went for it four times on fourth down. If you kick field goals in the first half, you're winning and not losing. But we've got to overcome that.
"Today we had to overcome the kicking. They kind of piled it on at the end."
Up next: ULM is on the road for a non-conference game at Ole Miss on Nov. 18. Kickoff is 11 a.m.
A senior moment: ULM recognized 10 seniors before their final home game at Malone Stadium: LS
Trey Corley, TE
Jordan Crumpton, LB
Ja'Terious Evans, S
Austin Goffney, WR
Tyrone Howell, WR
Jalen Jackson, TE end
Nolan Quinlan, WR
Bud Tolbert, RB
Isaiah Woullard and QB
Jiya Wright.
