Troy Trojans vs Alabama-Birmingham Blazers Match Player Stats On Sep 01, 2012

SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 1, 2012

Troy 39, UAB 29: Shawn Southward rushed for a career-best 204 yards and three touchdowns as Troy opened with a victory at Alabama-Birmingham.

The Trojans also got a solid performance at quarterback out of Corey Robinson, who threw for 184 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-21 passing. The junior is now just 367 yards shy of becoming Troy’s all-time leading passer.

Southward’s performance was just the sixth 200-plus-yard game in school history and the first since DuJuan Harris went for 232 in 2008.

UAB was held to just 134 yards on the ground in its first game under head coach Garrick McGee. The Blazers were hampered by four turnovers.

UAB fell behind early, with Southward’s 1-yard run making it 10-0 as the first quarter wound down. On Troy’s next possession, Robinson hit Chip Reeves for 55-yard touchdown to make it 17-0 before UAB would finally get on the board.

Jonathan Perry connected with Greg Franklin for a 21-yard touchdown just before halftime, and the Blazers used some trickery to close the gap further. After an onside kick recovery on the second half kickoff, the offense took advantage of a short field and pulled within three on a 9-yard Dontavius Jackson touchdown run.

Perry, who rushed for a score and threw for two others in a 317-passing effort, pulled the Blazers to within two points but an interception on UAB’s following possession led to a Troy touchdown that put the game away.

Jackie Williams hauled in six catches for 157 yards for the Blazers.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Trojans lead the series against UAB 6-4 … Williams now has at least one catch in 24 straight games for UAB, the third-longest streak in school history behind Roddy White and Derrick Ingram (35) … Southward’s season high for rushing yards last year was just 94 – less than half of Saturday’s output.