The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB
Troy St
Blazers Edge Troy State, 27-26
9/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 7, 2002
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Freshman quarterback Darrell Hackney came off the bench in the first quarter to spark a stagnant UAB offense and the Blazers held on to beat Troy State 27-26 Saturday night.
Hackney came in for Thomas Cox, who accounted for eight yards of total offense. Hackney completed 11 of 15 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Blazers (1-1) before leaving the game with an ankle injury in the third.
Troy State's Hansell Bearden completed 18 of 34 passes for 190 yards and LeBarron Black ran for 105 yards on 25 carries.
The Trojans (0-2) pulled to 27-26 on 9-yard TD run by Black with 4:29 left in the fourth quarter, but the extra point failed on a fumbled high snap.
Troy State got one last chance in the fourth quarter after a 39-yard punt return by Heyward Skipper set the Trojans up at their own 43.
But on a 4th-and-1 at UAB's 48, Bearden was stopped on a quarterback sneak and the Blazers took over with 1:26 left.
Hackney entered the game to take over a Blazers offense that had no first downs, leading a drive that ended with a 47-yard field goal by Nick Hayes for a 10-3 UAB lead.
Cox completed 2 of 7 passes for minus-2 yards and ran for 10 yards on nine carries before he came out late in the first quarter.
UAB took a 24-6 halftime lead on a touchdown pass by Hackney and two defensive touchdowns.
The two teams combined to fumble 11 times, each turning over three.
Sophomore running back DeWhitt Betterson came off the bench in the second half to rally Troy State. His two-yard scoring run capped a 92-yard, 13-play drive that pulled Troy State to 24-13.
Troy State drove 66 yards in nine plays to score on a 4-yard run by Black, making it 27-20 with 7:38 to play.
The Trojans had 427 yards of total offense to UAB's 221.
Both teams looked ragged early, combining for eight fumbles in the first half.
A fumble led to the game's first score, when UAB safety Chris Brown returned a fumble by Troy State's Jermaine Richardson for a 91-yard TD.
