Trojans fall to Coastal in heartbreaker

Scott SheltonStaff Writer   A go-ahead touchdown with under a minute remaining gave Coastal Carolina a 36-35 victory over Troy With the loss, the Trojans fall to 1-3 in the Sun Belt Conference and 3-5 overall. The loss puts Troy in a tie for last place in the East division of the Sun Belt Conference. Offense reigned supreme early as the teams scored touchdowns in each of the first five  drives of the game. Troy struck first with a four-yard run by senior quarterback Kaleb Barker—his second rushing touchdown of the season. After the Chanticleers scored twice early in the third quarter, the Trojans held them at bay for most of the second half until the end of the fourth quarter. Coastal Carolina put together an 11-play, 71-yard drive capped by a touchdown by CJ Marable. The Chanticleers went for a two-point conversion and were successful with another rush by Marable. Though the Trojans accrued 500 yards of offense, they gave up 476 yards. Senior quarterback Kaleb Barker led the offense, completing 26 of 35 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns. Redshirt sophomore D.K. Billingsley led all rushers with 14 carries for 83 yards. Wide receiver Kaylon Geiger led the receiving core with 12  catches for 145 yards and a touchdown. Reggie Todd hauled in four catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns, including a 47-yard score, which was Troy’s longest play from scrimmage of the day. Sophomore linebacker Carlton Martial led the team with 12 tackles, including eight solo tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Defensive lineman Will Choloh reached the double-digit mark in tackles with 10. Next week, the Trojans return to Veterans Memorial Stadium for their homecoming game against Georgia Southern.