Ball sets school rushing record

The Jackets and Troy Trojans battled back and forth throughout the first three quarters on Saturday. Tech's offense finally came together in the fourth quarter to turn a 14-14 game into a 35-14 blowout within a five minute time frame early in the fourth quarter.

The Jackets picked up their second win of the season with a 35-20 win over the Trojans. The 21 points scored by Tech in the fourth quarter were the most points since 2004, when Tech defeated Clemson 28-24.

Reggie Ball set another school record by rushing for 130 yards, the most any Tech quarterback has rushed for in a single game. He surpassed the previous mark of 122 yards set by Gary Hardie in 1978. Ball also threw for two touchdowns and 164 yards.

He exceeded the century mark for the second time in his career. This feat, gaining 100 yards both through the air and on the ground, has only been accomplished four times in Tech's history and Ball has half of those to his credit.

Ball's performance highlighted a strong Tech rushing attack that gained 320 yards on the ground. Even Calvin Johnson gained 21 yards on a reverse in the first quarter. Running backs Tashard Choice, Rashaun Grant and Jamaal Evans each ran for a score.

The turning point came when Mike Cox made a one handed catch on fourth-and-one with just over a minute into the period. The play was reviewed by the replay booth, and the play was upheld as there was "no indisputable visual evidence" to overturn his first collegiate touchdown.

"Reggie threw it a little harder than I was hoping," Cox said.

Cox dislocated the thumb on his left hand during the season opener against Notre Dame game.

"It was a good thing we ran it to the right, so that I could catch it with my right hand. If [the play] was run to the left there was no way I could have caught it."

The defense intercepted two more passes against Troy, both in the fourth quarter, to set up two Tech touchdowns. The defensive line dominated the undersized Trojan offensive line and held Troy to just 2.7 yards per rush on the day.

"[This is] the best depth rotation we've had at the defense line since I've been here," said Head Coach Chan Gailey.

The defense had started off shaky in the beginning of the game, giving up a lot of deep throws. But after a second half Troy touchdown, the defense shut down the Trojans.

"[The coaches] told us that we were playing complacent and we didn't like that. We had to go out and show what Tech defense was all about," said Philip Wheeler.

While the score reflects a rout, the Trojans hung with the Jackets through three quarters. Troy intercepted Ball twice, including one in the end zone on a pass intended to Johnson at the end of the first half. The hail mary pass was picked off by Troy's Tavares Williams just before the second quarter ended.

Ball was also intercepted in the third quarter by Terence Moore as Ball tried to find Johnson on a jump ball in the endzone.

"[The Trojans] have a lot of speed. I think if you're not on the field, you can't see how fast those guys fly to the ball," Ball said.

Several plays were called back during the first three quarters because of holding and false start penalties committed by both teams. The final quarter provided the drama as Tech scored 21 points in 4:46 of game time to seal the victory.

The Jackets played Virginia yesterday, and will travel to Blacksburg, Va. to face the Hokies of Virginia Tech next week at 3:30pm.