Just seeing what Hamilton had done to opponents in its two previous District 16-2A games was more than enough motivation for the Troy Trojans.
There was no way that the Trojans were going to let the Bulldogs hang at least 50 points on an opponent for a third straight week.
Troy jumped out to an early lead then spent the rest of the night frustrating what had been a potent Hamilton offense as the Trojans beat the Bulldogs 35-14 on Friday night at Kooken Field.
“We came out here and shut them down,” linebacker Ryan Dach said. “We just wanted to show them what Troy’s about.”
But more important, the Trojans’ win over Hamilton (3-3 overall, 2-1 in 16-2A) kept them unbeaten in district and atop the 16-2A standings along with McGregor. Troy (4-2, 3-0) and McGregor, which beat Crawford 42-14 on Friday, are tied for first place nearly halfway through district play.
Troy knocked six-time defending district champion Crawford from the ranks of the 16-2A unbeatens a week ago by using a punishing rushing attack that racked up 496 yards.
On Friday, the Trojans picked up right where they left off.
Just five minutes into the game, Troy already had a stranglehold on the momentum thanks to touchdown runs by Cyrus McKenzie and Trey Collier that gave the Trojans a 14-0 lead.
One of Hamilton’s few highlights came on its third play, an 80-yard touchdown run by quarterback Keaton Muxworthy. But Troy answered moments later with senior Jeremy Conrad’s 58-yard run that gave the Trojans a 21-7 lead after just one quarter.
That quick start, Trojans coach Grady Rowe said, was exactly what his team needed.
“It not only gave us a little bit of a lead, it gave us a lot of confidence,” Rowe said. “We were able to keep rolling from there.”
Troy added to its lead with a second-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Dylan Sebek to tight end Demetrius Smith and a third-quarter run by McKenzie.
McKenzie ran for a team-high 112 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Conrad had 90 yards and a score on 12 carries. Seven players carried the ball as Troy racked up 278 yards on the ground.
With Troy’s running game clearly established, it opened up options for the Trojans’ passing game. Sebek had one of his best games of the season, completing five of seven passes for 71 yards and a second-quarter TD.
“Sebek can throw the ball,” Rowe said. “It’s just a matter of us putting him in good positions.”
For an offense that struggled with consistency entering district play, the Trojans have put things together at the right time. Troy has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns in the last three games.
“We’ve really got our run game going and our line is blocking good,” McKenzie said. “We’ve just been more enthusiastic about it.”
Other than that run by Muxworthy, the Bulldogs never got anything going against Troy’s experienced defense.
Muxworthy finished with 106 yards, though most of those came on his first-quarter touchdown. Take that 80-yard score away from Hamilton’s total and the Bulldogs averaged less than 3 yards per carry.
Troy limited Hamilton to 227 yards of total offense, 148 in the first half. The Trojans also forced two turnovers on fumbles recovered by linebacker Angel Lurati and Dach.
“They did a good job of playing assignment football, being aggressive and getting to the ball like we talked about all week,” Rowe said.
Troy won’t meet fellow district leader McGregor until Week 10. But until then, the Trojans simply keep reminding themselves to take things one week at a time.
“In this district, you can’t take a single game for granted,” Dach said. “You have to play hard every week because you never know what can happen."
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
