Troup Overpowers Rival Arp, 33-13, to Remain Unbeaten on the Season [VIDEO]

ARP -- First-year Troup coach Dennis Alexander said earlier in the week that Friday's night matchup against Arp would be his team's biggest challenge of the season to date.

Troup passed with flying colors, dominating all facets of the game in a 33-13 victory over its arch-nemesis in the ETSN.fm Dairy Queen Game of the Week at Bill Herrington Tiger Field.

"It was a great effort," Alexander said. "We played well. It was a great game, a great win for us. We've got a ways to go, but it was really a huge win, obviously. Arp's got a really good team."

The visiting Tigers improved to 4-0 on the season, while Arp fell to 2-2 after handily winning its previous two games.

Troup did its damage without leading rusher Seth Gibson, who injured his ankle early in the first quarter and never returned. Sophomore Marcus Kincade picked up the slack, rushing for 94 yards and two touchdowns. Teammates Blake Lynch and Marquis Davis added 89 and 74 yards, respectively.

"Marcus Kincade really stepped up at running back, then (Marquis) Davis after that because Kincade got cramps," Alexander said. "It was a great team effort."

Aside from Mikechell Potts' 95-yard touchdown run that gave Arp a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter, the Troup defense held down Arp's explosive offense.

"It all comes down to one thing: they physically whipped us," Arp coach Dale Irwin said. "They physically just dominated us up front."

Potts finished the game with 107 yards, while standout Michael Roberson was limited to just 37 total yards on 13 touches.

"They did a great job of game-planning and we didn't do a great job of executing," Irwin said. "Sometimes you get a game like this and it helps you. We've got to go in and fix some things, and we're going to find out what we're made of."

Following the long Potts TD, Troup scored the game's next 26 points, beginning with Kincade's 11-yard run late in the opening quarter. Gabriel Leon's PAT gave Troup a 7-6 lead.

After a Roberson fumble on the ensuing Arp possession, Troup extended its lead with a little trickery. On second down, receiver Brandon Hearon took the pitch from the quarterback and Lynch and hit a wide-open Richard Lacy down the seam for a 31-yard touchdown. The PAT was no good, but Troup led 13-6 with 9:24 remaining in the second quarter.

Troup's next scoring drive consumed 86 yards and took 4:10 off the clock. Lynch's 32-yard run inside the 5 set up Kincade's 2-yard TD run that put Troup ahead 20-6 with 1:11 remaining until halftime.

Arp quarterback Chase Bonner was intercepted by Hitachi Lydia on the Arp's first drive of the second half, and Troup advanced its lead further by marching 81 yards 11 plays, scoring on a 20-yard pass from Lynch to Tanner Emery.

The snap on the PAT was high, and Potts picked up the loose ball and rumbled 77 yards the other way to make the score 26-7 with 2:02 showing in the third.

Arp got a 42-yard kickoff return from Andre Summers, and scored on the first play of the drive -- a 46-yard run by Marcalas Johnson. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Arp behind 26-13 late in the third.

Troup put the finishing touches on its impressive win on its next drive, scoring on Michael Davis' 1-yard run with 9:05 remaining in the game.

"(Troup) just physically got after us," Irwin said. "We couldn't sustain drives with penalties and having dumb things happening."

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Troup 33, Arp 13
At Bill Herrington Tiger Field, Arp
Troup                 7    13    6    7    --    33
Arp                      6      0    7    0    --    13
First Quarter
ARP--Mikechell Potts 95 run (run failed), 7:32.
TRO--Marcus Kincade 11 run (Gabriel Leon kick), 2:01.
Second Quarter
TRO--Richard Lacy 31 pass from Brandon Hearon (kick failed), 9:24.
TRO--Kincade 2 run (Leon kick), 1:11.
Third Quarter
TRO--Tanner Emery 20 pass from Blake Lynch (kick failed), 2:20.
ARP--Potts 78 yard missed PAT return, 2:20.
Fourth Quarter
TRO--Michael Davis 1 run (Leon kick), 9:05.

                                            TRO                 ARP
First Downs                                        22                             11
Rushes-Yards                            46-316                   21-183
Passing Yards                                    89                          122
Comp.-Att.-Int.                         6-10-0                 16-25-1
Punts-Avg.                                   2-41.0                   2-44.0
Fumbles-Lost                                    1-0                           1-1
Penalties-Yards                             5-30                        7-63

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Troup, Marcus Kincade 15-94, Blake Lynch 7-89, Marquis Davis 7-70, Hitachi Lydia 4-19, Marcus Davis 3-18, Michael Davis 6-13, Seth Gibson 2-8, Chris Bell 2-5. Arp, Mikechell Potts 8-107, Marcalas Johnson 7-64, Chase Bonner 1-6, Michael Roberson 5-6.
PASSING--Troup, Lynch 5-8-0--58, Brandon Hearon 1-2-1--31. Arp, Bonner 15-24-1--119, Roberson 1-1-0--3.
RECEIVING--Troup, Richard Lacy 3-47, Lydia 2-22, Tanner Emery 1-20. Arp, Potts 6-38, Roberson 6-31, Jeremy Shelton 2-27, Jonathan Guevara 1-13, Johnson 1-13.

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