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The Troy Trojans opened the 2019 season with a 43-14 home win over the Campbell Fighting Camels.
In Lindsey’s first game as head coach, he was very pleased with his bunch of guys. After jumping out to a quick 10 point lead, the flood gates opened for Troy which led to 527 yards of offense with just one turnover, a Reggie Todd muffed punt leading to the first Campbell TD.
Offensively, the Trojans looked about as clean as Lindsey and Pugh could’ve hoped. No turnovers on the offensive end is always a huge plus.
Barker finished 18-29 for 282 yards and 2 scores through the air. No complaints for Barker in his first game back since the ACL tear in the middle of the 2018 season. Look for him to be even more comfortable with week 1 finally under his belt.
The RB group stepped up big as Smith and Billingsley combined for 194 yards and 3 scores on just 22 carries.
Junior receivers Todd and Geiger were both impressive, tallying over 100 yards receiving. Barker and Todd hooked up for a 61 yd score against busted coverage early in the first, and Luke Whittemore had a 10-yd TD grab, his only reception of the night.
The other side of the ball was just as impressive. The defense held the Camels to just 143 yards, including 5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss. Sophomore phenom Carlton Martial led the way with 9 solo tackles while senior DT Marcus Webb cleaned up with 2 sacks to open the season.
Outside of Sumpter, the special teams unit was very average. As mentioned, Todd muffed a punt and Geiger and Todd were only able to muster 9 punt return yards between the two of them. On top of that, the Trojans averaged only 18.7 yards on 3 kickoff returns.
However, the highlight of this unit was once again Sumpter, who was 2/2 on FGs from 25 and 27 yards out. He also made all 5 of his XP attempts and netted 46.5 yards on 2 punts.
Troy has an early bye in week two but will prepare for another home match up against the Golden Eagles of Southern Miss in Week 3 of college football action.