Troy pummels Arkansas State 37-3 for 3rd straight win

Troy pummels Arkansas State 37-3 for 3rd straight win

Kimani Vidal ran for 245 yards and three touchdowns and Troy held Arkansas State to 203 total yards in a 37-3 victory on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The win was the third straight for the Trojans, who are now 4-2 overall, 2-1 in the Sun Belt Conference. The Red Wolves (3-3, 1-1) saw their three-game winning streak snapped.

Troy outgained Arkansas State 587 yards to 203, and held the Red Wolves to just 10 first downs. The Trojans rushed for 351 yards as a team, with back-up running back Damien Taylor chipping in 63 on 13 carries.

Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, coming off a 363-yard, six-touchdown performance vs. UMass, completed 15 of 27 passes for 156 yards. The Trojans sacked Raynor five times and held the Red Wolves to only 47 rushing yards.

The Trojans led 20-0 at halftime after outgaining the Red Wolves 317 yards to 92 in the first two quarters. Vidal ran for a pair of 1-yard touchdowns and Scott Taylor Renfroe kicked field goals of 28 and 27 yards.

Only a number of untimely penalties and a turnover in the red zone kept Troy from building an even bigger lead at the break. Jabre Barber’s 75-yard punt return for a touchdown was nullified by a holding penalty, while Deshon Stoudemire fumbled at the Arkansas 12 after a 51-yard gain.

Arkansas State’s best scoring chance before the game got out of reach came on the opening possession of the second half, after Ja’Quez Cross returned the kickoff to the 45 and an unnecessary roughness penalty was tacked on. The Red Wolves got to the Troy 20, but Trojans safety Dell Pettus stopped Jaylen Raynor a yard short of the first down on 4th-and-2.

Renfroe then hit a 39-yard field goal to make it 23-0 with 7:59 left in the third. Troy added to its lead early in the fourth quarter, when Gunnar Watson threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Chris Lewis.

After Troy forced another punt, Vidal iced the game with a 69-yard touchdown run right up the middle with 8:13. He’s now up to 835 yards and six touchdowns on 131 carries this season, an average of 6.4 yards per attempt.

Vidal has 3,184 rushing yards in his career, second in Troy history. DeWhitt Betterson Sr. set the program record with 3,441 yards from 2001-04.

Arkansas State avoided the shutout with Dominic Zvada’s 45-yard field goal with 3:51 to play.

Troy steps out of conference next Saturday, traveling to Army for 2:30 p.m. kickoff on CBS Sports Network.