Trojans lose to Loyola Sacred Heart, 24-15

Troy’s Sean Opland rushed for more than 200 yards and scored two touchdowns Friday night, but it wasn’t enough to propel the Trojans past Loyola Sacred Heart. Loyola defended their home turf and handed Troy a 24-15 defeat.

Opland, playing quarterback, carried the ball 22 times and was the only Trojan to find the end zone, but only connected on three of eight passing attempts for a total of 19 yards.

Loyola quarterback Kellen Rounds finished with 153 passing yards as well as 72 on the ground. Aiden Collins added 75 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries for Loyola.

 Troy coach Brendan Miller said his team is on the verge of reaching their potential, and looks forward to the coming weeks.

“Friday’s game was a game that we had chances to win, Miller said. “We are finally back to full strength on the line and it really showed. With those guys up front, we were able to rush for more than 300 yards. Twice we were inside the 15 during the first half and came away with no points. To lose by nine to a team of that caliber is great, but knowing we could have beaten them if we executed makes it tough. We are on the cusp of becoming a really good team, we just need to turn that last corner. Our offense is almost where we want it to be, but we need to tighten up our defense still. If the boys play to their potential and execute like they can, we should be able to get a win this week.  Which would be a great boost heading into conference play.

 Troy is now 0-3 on the season with their next game on Friday, Sept. 25 in Florence. Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. 

Troy     0,7,8,0; 15

Loyola 14,3,7,0; 24

Rushing: Troy: Sean Opland 22-205, Connor Quiring 10-45; Loyola: Aiden Collins 19-75, Kellen Rounds 9-72, Josh Byrne 1-43; passing: Rounds 15-25-153; Opland 3-8-19.