TROY, Ala. – The ULM football team (3-1, 1-0 Sun Belt Conference) grinded out a 13-9 victory in the team's SBC opener at the back-to-back defending conference champions Troy (1-4, 0-1) on Saturday (Sept. 28) night at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala.
 
For the first time since the 2014 season, ULM is off to a 3-1 start. The Warhawks' win on Saturday marks the first road victory and conference-opening victory for ULM since the 2022 season.
 
"It's about toughness, resiliency and believing," said ULM Football Head Coach Bryant Vincent.  "To come to Troy to the back-to-back champs and pull this win off says a lot about our character and toughness. I couldn't be more proud of this football team and how they fought until the very end. It says a lot about where we are going and what we are doing."
 
In a defensive struggle, freshman running back Ahmad Hardy scored the game's only touchdown with 9:08 remaining in the fourth quarter to pull the Warhawks into the lead. Hardy rushed for 106 yards on 27 attempts and averaged 3.9 yards per carry.
 
"I pressed the front side gap and I kept pushing," said Hardy. "I knew I couldn't go down since we needed the touchdown and I had to get in the end zone."
 
The ULM defense held the Trojans to 71 passing yards and kept Troy out of the end zone all night. The Warhawks contained Troy's leading receiver, Devonte Ross, to three receptions for 29 yards and eight rushing yards. Carl Glass Jr. and Carl Fauntroy both led ULM with nine total tackles while Kevontay Wells racked up a pair of tackles for loss.
 
On offense, the Warhawks tallied 247 yards of total offense on 112 rushing yards and 135 passing yards. Aidan Armenta completed four of six passes for 108 yards. Hunter Herring added a completion for 19 yards. Jake Godfrey hauled in a 57-yard reception, while Tyler Griffin snagged a 40-yard pass from Armenta.
 
On the first drive of the game, Troy went on a 12-play, 68-yard drive that resulted in a field goal for the game's first points. The Trojans moved the ball to ULM's seven-yard line, but Car'lin Vigers applied pressure on Troy quarterback Goose Crowder on 3^rd and goal that resulted in intentional grounding, and Troy had to settle for three. ULM responded with an 11-play, 51-yard scoring drive and evened the score at 3-3 after a Max Larson 42-yard field goal. The score was knotted up at 3-3 after one quarter of play.
 
A pair of fumbles by Troy pushed the Trojans out of field goal range early in the second quarter and resulted in a punt. After the Warhawks went three-and-out, Troy faced a 4^th and 10 at ULM's 40-yard line. Tucker Kilcrease overthrew Ross on an incomplete pass and ULM took over. Following a Troy interception, the Trojans tacked on another field goal from 49 yards to go back in the lead, 6-3, before halftime.
 
Out of the locker room, ULM went three-and-out on offense and was forced to punt. Troy attempted a 45-yard field goal on its first drive of the second half, but the kick failed. On the ensuing ULM drive, Aidan Armenta delivered a strike to Nate Sullivan Jr. to set up a 4^th and 1 at the Warhawks' own 36-yard line. Herring entered the game at quarterback and lofted a pass over the top of the defense to tight end Julian Nixon for a 19-yard pass for a first down to keep the drive moving. On the next play, Armenta unleashed a 40-yard pass to Griffin that set the Warhawks up at Troy's five-yard line. The Trojans' defense kept ULM out of the end zone, and Larson split the uprights from 20 yards to even the count, 6-6, at the end of the third quarter.
 
Troy recaptured the lead early in the fourth quarter after a 36-yard field goal. The Warhawks faced a 1^st and 15 at the 20-yard line to begin the next drive. Hardy rushed for 21 yards on two plays to give ULM a first down. On 3^rd and 14 at ULM's 37-yard line, Armenta dumped a pass to Godfrey in the flat. Godfrey slipped a tackle and ran down the sideline for a 57-yard pitch-and-catch to put ULM deep into Troy territory.
 
On 2^nd and goal from Troy's five, Armenta's pass to Davon Wells was initially ruled a touchdown on the field. A video review overturned the call to an incomplete pass, but a Troy pass interference penalty set up 1^st and goal for ULM from Troy's two-yard line. On second and goal from the one, Hardy crossed the goal line and gave ULM its first lead of the night. Larson drilled the extra point to put ULM in front, 13-9.
 
Wells recorded a tackle for a loss on the first play of Troy's ensuing drive to put the Trojans behind schedule. On 3^rd and six, David Godsey Jr. broke up a pass that resulted in a three-and-out for the Trojans. After a stalled drive for ULM, Makenzie Ryan pinned Troy back to its 10-yard line on a 47-yard punt with five minutes remaining. Again, the ULM defense forced another Troy three-and-out and the Warhawks took over at the ULM 48 with less than three-and-a-half minutes remaining.
 
The Warhawks continued to call Hardy's number on the ground, and he continued to deliver. He picked up a first down on 3^rd and two at Troy's 44-yard line to give ULM a fresh set of downs. Hardy rushed two more times and the Trojans burned all three of its timeouts. After the two-minute timeout, ULM faced a third down and seven. Hardy broke through the Troy defense for a 12-yard rush and sealed the victory for ULM. The Warhawks took a pair of knees and prevailed with a 13-9 road conference victory.
 
ULM returns home on Oct. 5 to take on undefeated James Madison inside Malone Stadium at 6 p.m. on ESPNU.
 
"Now is the time for the entire town to unite," said Vincent. "We have the biggest home game in Monroe, Louisiana in quite some time."