Football: Ragin’ Cajuns Drop Season Finale to Troy

LAFAYETTE – Brandon Silvers tossed three first-quarter touchdown passes and Troy University turned three Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns turnovers into 20 points as the Trojans claimed a 41-17 win in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday at Cajun Field.

Teddy Ruben caught touchdown passes of 15 and 62 yards as Troy (4-8, 3-5 SBC) built a 24-0 lead after the first quarter. The Trojans’ final push came with 17 unanswered points in the third after Louisiana (4-8, 3-5 SBC) had trimmed the lead to 24-17 on Elijah McGuire’s seven-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Davis.

“Give Troy credit…they’ve got a good football team,” Louisiana head football coach Mark Hudspeth said. “I was disappointed with our defensive effort, but overall I am proud of how our kids battled through adversity.”

McGuire, who finished with 97 all-purpose yards including 75 yards on the ground, scored on an 18-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to become the third player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season in consecutive years (Tyrell Fenroy, Michael Desormeaux).

After the Ragin’ Cajuns cut the lead to 24-17, Troy answered as Silvers hit Jarvis Bentley for a 67-yard touchdown with 8:56 remaining, capping off a four-play drive. The Trojans added 10 points in the quarter off two straight Ragin’ Cajuns turnovers as Jed Solomon booted a 21-yard field and Demetrius Cain returned a Davis fumble 17 yards for a touchdown and a 41-17 lead.

McGuire caught four passes to become the first running back in school history to reach 100 career receptions. With his two touchdowns, McGuire passed Brett Baer into fourth place on the Cajuns all-time points list with 264. The junior running back finished the season with 1,047 yards on the ground and 16 total touchdowns.

Freshman quarterback Jordan Davis entered the game midway through the first quarter in relief of starter Brooks Haack. Davis completed 20-of-34 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown through the air on the afternoon.

“He showed some promise,” Hudspeth said of Davis’ performance. “I thought for his first extensive game action he played really well, considering it’s in the last game of the season.”

Freshman wide receiver Gary Haynes led the Cajuns with 67 yards receiving on a team-high eight catches.

Defensively, sophomore safety Travis Crawford tallied a team-high nine tackles (eight unassisted). Defensive end Chris Prater, one of 19 seniors honored prior to the game, made seven total tackles and a tackle for loss.

Score by Quarters      1          2          3          4          F

Troy                             24        0          17        0          41

Louisiana                     0          10        7          0          17

Attendance: 22,264

1st Quarter

12:34 – TROY – Burks, Brandon 23 yd pass from Silvers, Brandon (Solomon, Jed kick)

6:37 – TROY – Ruben, Teddy 15 yd pass from Silvers, Brandon (Solomon, Jed kick)

2:57 – TROY – Solomon, Jed 39 yd field goal

0:47 – TROY – Ruben, Teddy 62 yd pass from Silvers, Brandon (Solomon, Jed kick)

2nd Quarter

13:00 – UL – McGuire, Elijah 18 yd run (Alvarez, Carlos kick)

0:35 – UL – Alvarez, Carlos 41 yd field goal

3rd Quarter

10:51 UL – McGuire, Elijah 7 yd pass from Davis, Jordan (Alvarez, Carlos kick)

8:56 TROY – Bentley, Jarvis 67 yd pass from Silvers, Brandon (Solomon, Jed kick)

3:10 TROY – Solomon, Jed 21 yd field goal

2:31 TROY – Cain, Demetrius 17 yd fumble recovery (Solomon, Jed kick)

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