Top Plays in Troy History: A Retrospective (Part II)
Last week, I ranked the first half of Troy’s top plays. You can read about them here. For this week, we are heading into the top half of Troy’s legendary history with the Top 5 Plays.
Before we get to the Top 5, here are the final honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Silvers’ Golden Catch – October 20, 2016 (4:21 in video)
Down 14-0 in Mobile and looking to protect their one loss record, the Trojans had to do something. After a long Jordan Chunn rumble for a touchdown was called back, Troy’s offense seemed to stall.
Even with an 80 yard bomb from Brandon Silvers to Tevaris McCormick and two Ryan Kay field goals, Troy couldn’t seem to close the gap. South added another touchdown between Kay’s field goals making the score 21-13 at the end of the first half.
South punted twice and Ryan Kay missed a field goal to begin the half. Troy took over with only a few seconds gone in the 4th quarter. Brandon Silvers and Jordan Chunn alternated passes and runs until Troy reached the South 2 yard line. Jordan Chunn powered his way through the line, eventually bending over backwards to make the ball cross the plane. Down 21-19, the Trojans had to try for the two point conversion to tie the game.
The Play
Troy lined up with trips to the right and John Johnson as the lone receiver on the left. Johnson motions to the right and the ball is snapped to Silvers. As Johnson passes by, Silvers hands the ball off to him in what appears to be a simple jet sweep to the strong side.
Instead of cutting up field, Johnson starts running away from the endzone. As the defense rushes to the right side, three Trojan linemen shake their blocks and move left, as does Silvers. When he is in position, Johnson fires the ball back to SIlvers, who finds a way to nimbly stretch the last two yards after a Jaguar defender tried to tackle him at the two.
With his two point reception, Silvers tied the game and led the Trojans on a final drive capped off by a Chunn TD, winning the game 28-21. Silvers success wasn’t merely receiving however. He had 395 yards passing and 1 TD, with 18 yards on the ground as well in a very well-rounded performance.
Tyler Sumpter’s Boomin’ Boot – September 15, 2018 – (1:27 in video)
Troy looked to continue their success from the 2017 Sun Belt Championship season with a marquee win over Nebraska. While this was a down year for the Huskers, they were still Nebraska and the Trojans wanted a win.
The Men of Troy received the opening kickoff and only managed to gain 8 yards. Tyler Sumpter trotted out to kick the first punt of the day for the Trojans. Assuming the average college punt is 40 yards, that means Sumpter’s kick would have the Huskers taking over in decent field position around their own 39. That wasn’t good enough for Tyler Sumpter.
Standing at this own 8, Sumpter put not only his foot, but apparently most of his leg into the punt. The Nebraska return man kept backpedaling until he finally just turned around and chased the ball which finally hit on the Husker 15 yard line. It finally rolled into the endzone for a touchback. Officially it was a 79 yard kick by Sumpter, but was a 92 yard kick based on where he started his punt.
Sadly for Sumpter, the kick was counted from the line of scrimmage which left him 3 yards shy of breaking the longest punt record set by Matt Allen in 1999 vs Nicholls State.
#5 – Rook’s Hit/Blace’s Pick – September 30, 2017 (0:20 and 8:13 in video)
I floundered back and forth trying to weigh which of these two plays was bigger in my mind, but couldn’t justify putting one over the other. These two plays bookend one of the biggest games in Troy history.
The Plays
Play #1
Troy has played several P5 opponents for repeat games in the 18 years since moving up to FBS. None of those have been involved in as many close games as the Bayou Bengals of LSU. In the two games before the 2017 meeting, the combined margin of victory for the 2004 and 2008 games was a combined 13 points. The most heartbreaking of these being the 2008 game, wherein the Trojans built a 31-3 lead into the 3rd quarter. Then the Tigers scored 37 unanswered points to steal the game from the Trojans.
Cut to 9 years later, and the Trojans entered into Tiger Stadium again. Bratcher Underwood set the Tigers up on their own 25, with a booming 65 yard kickoff. LSU lined up with a single back, Nick Brousette in the backfield.
Tiger QB Danny Etling made the handoff to Brousette, who looked to be going right behind his linemen, but then cut back left. Safety Cedarius Rookard rushed forward, meeting Brousette at the 29. The ball popped out as Rook picked up Brousette and slammed him to the ground.
That hit led to Troy’s first points of the game, a Brandon Silvers rush from the 1 yard line. The Trojans used an Evan Lagassey kick and a Jordan Chunn touchdown to take a 17-0 lead over the Fighting Tigers into the third quarter. The score finally stood at 24-7 after LSU finally got on the board and a Josh Anderson score.
The Tigers roared back with two late scores in the 4th, the last coming with under 2 minutes to go. The Trojans held the ball until they were forced to punt it back to the Tigers who had 18 seconds left to work.
Play #2
The second play that book-ended the Trojans victory in Death Valley happened on LSU’s last drive. Danny Etling started the drive on his own 9. He threw a completion 27 yards downfield to D.J. Chark, the Tiger wideout. With 11 seconds left, he loaded up for another pass. Etling felt the pressure from his blind side and rolled to the left. He had trips to the left side, two men running go routes straight up the sideline and another on an out route who cut to the sideline near the first down marker.
Etling passed the ball right before being hit by a Trojan lineman. His pass fell short of his intended target, right into the waiting arms of Blace Brown. Brown caught it an immediate fell down at the Trojans 42, sealing arguably the biggest win in Trojan history.
#4 – Rayshun Reed’s Return – October 13, 2001
Transition years are tough for football teams and 2001 was no different for the Trojans. Troy faced three BCS schools that year: Miami and Nebraska, who would face off for the National Championship, and Mississippi State.
Jackie Sherrill’s Bulldogs had fallen mightily since their 10-2 Peach Bowl season two years before. They’d finished 8-4 in 2000, and were 1-3 going into the game with the Men of Troy.
Things were looking grim before the game for MSU, mostly due to the severe thunderstorms around Starkville. They only got worse once the game started.
Both teams traded possessions without a score until Troy took over on their own 45 after a Bulldog punt. The Trojans only needed 4 plays to get into the endzone on the back of a 38 yard Brock Nutter pass to runningback Demontray Carter.
Mississippi State started their next drive on their own 27. After a 31 yard completion, the Bulldogs drove all the way to the Troy 30 yard line.
The Play
Faced with a 3rd and 6 from the Troy 30, MSU decided to pass for the first down. Bulldog QB Wayne Madkin dropped back and looked left, then right to pass. Runningback Dontae Walker released into his route on a delay, running an out route from the backfield after staying to block.
The play would have worked as designed, if the right tackle picked up his block. Defensive end Shelton Felton flew past the tackle and made a beeline to the waiting Madkin. Felton was bearing down on the QB forcing his throw early. That’s where Rayshun Reed stepped in.
Playing a bit of a soft coverage from the cornerback position, Reed bolted to the runningback as he broke out of the backfield. Recognizing that the pass was going his way, Reed pushed forward and made it to the 26, snagging the ball before the Bulldog runningback could turn around.
From there, he was off. Reed streaked down the field, being careful not to run through the large puddle which stretched from the Troy 25 to the MSU 20. By the time Reed crossed the goal line, the closest Mississippi State player to him was an offensive lineman 10 yards away.
Demontray Carter added another touchdown to offset the Bulldogs 9 points down the stretch to secure the victory for the Trojans. Reed’s interception allowed the Trojans to build a decent lead over Mississippi State and stalled out what could’ve been an early rally. This gave the Trojans their first victory over an SEC school and a BCS school.
Thankfully, it wouldn’t be the last.
#3 – Turk’s Trip – December 12, 1987
The 1987 Troy State team was a special resilient squad led by quarterback Mike Turk, runner-up for the Harlon Hill Trophy. The #3 Trojans lost the first game of the season to SE Missouri State by one point, 18-17, and then tied Nicholls State in game 2, 17-17. From there, the Trojans rolled throughout the rest of their schedule, winning 12 straight games.
The 1987 Troy State team won the Gulf South Championship and went into the playoffs ranked #4 in the nation. They won their first two round matchups and were paired with Portland State in the DII National Championship game.
Troy fell behind early, trailing the Portland State Vikings 10-3 at the half. Senior Mike Turk, however, would not be denied. Turk placed the Trojans on his back and carried his team to victory in the second half. The third quarter saw the Men of Troy score 21 points on the hapless Viking defense.
The Play (8:26 in video)
In what would become his last play as a Trojan, Turk had one more trick up his sleeve. Turk started under center, snapping the ball from the Troy 48 with 1:43 left in the game. Running the wishbone, Turk faked the handoff to the fullback, but Turk cut outside once the outside linebacker bit on the fake. He started to turn the corner to prepare to option it out to the trailing halfback.
A Viking defender over pursued the run, getting to Turk’s outside forcing him back inside towards waiting Viking players. Instead he found a clean running lane for almost 20 yards. There he found a waiting safety who fell to the ground as Turk cut quickly to his left at the Portland State 30 yard line. The pursuit almost caught up to him as he reached the 10 yard line. Turk cut back right and pushed past another Portland State defender at the 5 to score his final points as a Trojan.
Troy defeated Portland State 31-17, locking up the Trojans second Division II National Championship and third National Championship overall.
#2 – Junior’s Fumble Rumble – September 9, 2004
Once in a lifetime plays tend to make an impact on a team’s long-term history and become legends over time. That is the case for our #2 play. This particular play earns the distinction for being the only play I was actually in attendance for.
The #17 Missouri Tigers had come to town, then from the Big 12, on that September night. The Trojans also had a full broadcast crew on hand for their first nationally televised game, with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Mike Tirico and Jill Arrington on hand to call the game.
The Tigers brought with them Heisman Hopeful quarterback Brad Smith and a talented offense. Through most of the first quarter, it looked as if all the media attention Missouri brought with them to Troy was warranted. They broke out to a 14-0 lead before the clock had even reached 7 minutes left in the quarter. Troy looked helpless as the Tigers found ways to score.
The Trojans didn’t get on the board until the 6:36 mark in the second. QB Aaron Leak threw a lateral to wide out Jason Samples. Samples looked to the streaking Jermaine Richardson who had split the safeties and was wide open in the endzone. Samples hit him on a 26 yard pass to get the Trojans on the board.
The Play (0:17 in video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV3tyhH2NU0
After a quick three and out by the Tigers, Troy took over at their own 7 yard line. Runningback DeWhitt Betterson carried the ball for 6 yards on first down. On the next play, Betterson got the Men of Troy to the 27 yard line.
On the first down play, Troy came out in an I-formation look. Leak snapped the ball and handed the ball off to Betterson, who was following the fullback’s blocks. He is able to push through the mass of bodies at the line of scrimmage as the Tiger defensive line collapsed the Trojan front five.
As Betterson bursts past the line, lineman Junior Louissant leads him out and finds himself without a block. He begins to run to the right of Betterson. Just then, the Sam linebacker leaped for Betterson, grabbing only the speeding back’s ankles. This proved enough, as Betterson began stumbling and looked to be falling around the first down marker. As he struggled to maintain his balance, the ball popped loose and flew into the air.
It landed right in to the waiting arms of Junior Louissaint at the 38 yard line. Louissaint rumbled all the way to the 7 yard line before a Tiger defender caught up to him. But Louissaint’s momentum was too much for him as he fell behind the galloping lineman. His body did hit Louissaint causing him to trip into the endzone, but the damage was done for the Tigers.
Louissaint’s fumble return sparked the Trojans who finished out the game scoring all of the final points in the game. This handed the Trojans a 24-14 win over their first BCS opponent in Troy and first win over a ranked team. The victory over Missouri also helped the Men of Troy to earn a bowl bid to the Silicon Valley Classic in California.
#1 – The Kick
There was really no question that this would be the #1 choice on this list. There is no more exciting play on this list than The Kick. The 1984 Trojan squad led by Carey Christensen at quarterback is arguably one of the best teams Troy has ever fielded. The 1984 team finished with a 12-1 record and a Gulf South Championship. The only week they weren’t ranked in the Top 3 in the country was Week 8 at #6, following the only loss of the season to North Alabama.
Along the way, Troy defeated the #1, #3, #8, and #10 teams in the country. The D-II National Championship was a close, back-and-forth affair that came down to the final minute.
With 1:30 seconds left, the Trojans found themselves down 17-15. Carey Christensen brought the Trojans out on the 15 yard line. Chan Gailey’s boys had three timeouts left and began a meticulous drive down the field through the air and on the ground.
Christensen’s second pass attempt was caught for a 20 yard gain putting the Trojans in position on their own 35. Two plays later, another Christensen pass was completed to the 48. The Trojans pushed forward to the Bison 44 with yet another pass.
After an incomplete pass on second down, a fullback dive to the NDSU 39 gave the Trojans another first down. A swing pass got the Trojans to the 35 yard line 29 seconds left. Christensen rolled left on the next play and rushed forward for two yards. The kicking team ran out onto the field as time ticked down.
The Play (1:45:46 in video)
Ted Clem, a freshman kicker with a long of 45 yards, trotted out to put the game away for the Trojans. Time was running out, as Clem didn’t place his tee down until there were only about 8 seconds remaining. As he measured out the distance, he placed the tee on the 40 yard line – a 50 yard kick.
The clock continued to tick, 5, 4, 3. The ball is snapped, the hold is good. Clem runs forward, gets a good plant on his left leg, and swings his right into the ball. The kick is high and true. So true that the Trojan bench clears before the ball has crossed the uprights.
Pure pandemonium ensued as Clem is mobbed at the 50 yard line. Troy won its first National Championship in 24 years by a score of 18-17. To underscore the gravity of their feat, from 1983-1988, NDSU won the D-II National Championship every year, except for when the Trojans won it.
The Kick will live on as the defining play of Troy history. It showed the heart and resiliency that is expected of Trojan players, as well as, how the biggest contributors in Troy history can come from the most unexpected places.
Feel free to give me your top plays in the comments or hit me up on Twitter at @benonsports.