BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (AP) — Shawn Southward ran for 140 yards and four touchdowns in Troy's 40-20 victory over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.
The Trojans (7-2, 6-0 Sun Belt Conference) and the Hilltoppers (0-9, 0-5) traded scores until halftime.
Troy, which led 21-20 at intermission, shut out Western Kentucky in the second half with a big boost from Southward. He exploded for 127 yards and three of his scores after being held to only 13 yards on four carries and a touchdown in the first half.
The game was decided by the Trojan offense dominating the Hilltopper defense in the second half, going for 330 yards. Troy held Western Kentucky to 112 yards as the Hilltoppers were only 1-for-7 on third-down conversions in the second half after going 7-for-10 in the first.
Levi Brown went 20-for-33 for 251 yards and a touchdown for the Trojans. His most reliable receiver was Jerrel Jernigan with six receptions for 81 yards.
Troy finished the game with 477 yards of total offense, Western Kentucky with 422.
Kawaun Jakes paced the Hilltoppers with 156 yards and a touchdown rushing and 185 yards and a score passing. He accounted for 269 of Western Kentucky's 310 first-half yards.
In the first quarter, wide receiver Jake Gaebler became the Hilltoppers' all-time leader in receptions, finishing the game with 153 career catches to surpass Curtis Hamilton (149). Gaebler finished with five passes for 57 yards.
Bobby Rainey led Western Kentucky running backs with 12 carries for 58 yards.
The loss extends the Hilltoppers' losing streak to 17 games dating back to last season.
