South Alabama ended seven years of frustration in emphatic fashion on Tuesday night, trouncing Troy 25-9 in the “Battle for the Belt” at Hancock Whitney Stadium.

It was the Jaguars’ first win over the Trojans since 2017, their first in Mobile against their in-state rival since 2014 and their first-ever in the “Battle for the Belt” on-campus. South Alabama allowed just 172 total yards and intercepted three passes, holding Troy out of the end zone until the final three minutes of the game.

“I’m just very excited for our players, for our campus, for our city,” first-year South Alabama coach Major Applewhite said. “This is a big game, a rivalry game, that we haven’t been as competitive in, in years past. To see our staff, our players and our (fans) pull together, it was awesome. … I’m so happy for our seniors, and so proud of them, to get the Belt back this year.”

Indeed the victory was a dream come true for the South Alabama seniors, all of whom were still in high school the last time the Jaguars beat the Trojans. Defensive tackle Maurice Strong, a seventh-year senior, recalled seeing the Belt trophy at the South Alabama football facility on his official visit in the winter of 2017-18, then never seeing it up close again until after Tuesday night’s victory.

“Words can’t describe it,” Strong said. “It’s a feeling I’ve never felt before. I’m overwhelmed right now.”

South Alabama (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) did most of its offensive damage in the second quarter, scoring 16 points to take a 19-3 halftime lead. Gio Lopez threw for one touchdown and ran for another, finishing the night with 219 yards of total offense.

Troy (1-6, 0-3) played both Tucker Kilcrease and Matthew Caldwell at quarterback, but could not mount much of an attack. The Trojans ran for just 36 yards, and Jaden Voisin, Lardarius Webb and Wesley Miller all recorded interceptions for the Jaguars.

Kilcrease, making his second straight start in place of the injured Goose Crowder, completed just 2 of 6 passes for minus-6 yards with an interception before being pulled in the second quarter. Caldwell went 17-for-30 for 142 yards and a touchdown, but was picked off twice.

“I thought the preparation was very good, but it did not translate on the field,” first-year Troy coach Gerad Parker said. “It was a complete failure for the most part on offense. And that’s my responsibility to get fixed and figure out why. We did not play good at the quarterback position to start the game and it put us in a tough situation. We’ve got to help him play better earlier and help him out.

“But there was essentially failure for the most part for the entire football game on that side of the ball and it put us in a position where we could not even function to score points or gain yards.”

After taking a 3-0 lead on Laith Marjan’s 36-yard field goal late in the first quarter, South Alabama broke the game open in the second. Voisin intercepted Kilcrease at the 22, setting up Lopez’s 24-yard pass to Jeremiah Webb — the Jaguars’ first touchdown against Troy in Hancock Whitney Stadium, which opened in 2020 — for a 9-0 lead at the 9:10 mark.

Voisin soon after dropped Troy’s Mojo Dortch for a 9-yard loss to the 1, leading to a safety and a 12-0 score when a snap got past Kilcrease and went out of the end zone. After the free kick, South Alabama drove for another touchdown, Lopez’s 49-yard run right through the middle of the Trojans’ defense on fourth-and-2.

Lopez scrambled for 20 yards on third-and-22, then burst through the Troy defense for the touchdown on the next play. With 4:34 left in the half, South Alabama led 19-0.

“I wasn’t expecting that to happen,” said Lopez, South Alabama’s leading rusher in the game with 67 yards on 11 carries. “I had run the ball the play before, and I was a little tried. I just wanted to get two yards; that was my intention. But I was like ‘all right, I guess I’ll get 49.’ I’ll take it though.”

Troy had just 4 total yards at that point, and pulled Kilcrease for Caldwell. The former walk-on led the Trojans on their best drive of the night to that point, ending in Scott Taylor Renfroe’s 40-yard field goal and a 19-3 South Alabama halftime lead.

Marjan added a pair of 42-yard field goals in the third quarter, extending South Alabama’s lead to 25-3. Troy finally scored again with 2:35 left, as Caldwell hit Devonte Ross for an 11-yard touchdown after a late hit penalty had moved the ball into the red zone.

The Trojans failed at an onside kick, and the Jaguars ran out the clock for the victory. South Alabama totaled just 318 yards and 12 first downs, but that was more than enough to turn back Troy on this night.

“We were sputtering so much offensively the whole night,” Applewhite said. “For the defense to do what they did, it’s a testament to how they’ve continued to improve throughout the year. … There’s two, maybe three guys, on that side that have played a lot of football (before this season), but you’ve seen steadily game-after-game, guys getting better, more confident. … I’m just very proud of those guys.”

Both teams now have an 11-day break before their next game. South Alabama hosts Louisiana-Monroe at 4 p.m. on Oct. 26, while Troy travels to Arkansas State at 6 p.m. the same day.