WKU fell behind early, but rallied to win at Troy Thursday night to extend their winning streak to four. The Hilltoppers' 31-26 win came despite trailing by ten in the first quarter, several lost fumbles, and numerous penalties.
WKU quarterback Kawaun Jakes missed several wide open receivers for touchdowns in the first half, but made up for it with three touchdown passes later in the game.
Down by ten early, the Hilltoppers got on the board with one minute left in the first quarter when Jakes completed a 20 yard touchdown pass to tight end Mitchell Henry. Jakes and Henry connected for two scoring passes in WKU's previous game, a win at Arkansas State.
Troy responded, going up 17-7 with a touchdown drive midway through the second quarter. But Jakes connected with senior tight end Jack Doyle on a nine yard scoring pass with less than a minute remaining in the first half. Troy went into the locker room with a 17-14 lead.
That lead was gone for good, however, when WKU scored quickly on their opening drive of the second half, capped off by a one yard touchdown run by Kadeem Jones. Jones later made an acrobatic touchdown catch that put WKU up 28-20.
Troy came close to evening the score late in the third quarter, when quarterback Deon Anthony connected with Eric Thomas on a 47 yard touchdown pass. Troy tried a two-point conversion that would have evened the game at 28, but Anthony's pass failed.
A fourth quarter field goal brought Troy to within five points, but the WKU defense pass rush began to pressure Anthony and the Trojan passing game in their final drives. After failing on a fourth-down attempt late in the fourth quarter, the Hilltoppers took over on downs and ran out the clock.
WKU running back Antonio Andrews rushed 26 times for 113 yards. Jakes completed 21 of 31 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns.
WKU's next game is an Oct. 20th homecoming matchup against a very strong Louisiana-Monroe team. Kickoff is scheduled for 3pm.
