TROY, Ala. - Troy used three big plays in the first quarter to tally three touchdowns en route to a 36-18 victory over Georgia Southern on a chilly and rainy Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The game was the first game for GS interim head coach Chad Lunsford.

The Trojans (6-2, 3-1 Sun Belt) wasted little time in getting on the board as Tray Eafford caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from John Johnson on a receiver pass on the second play of the game. The Eagles responded though, marching 43 yards on 12 plays, eating up over seven minutes of clock and scored the equalizer on Monteo Garrett's 3-yard run.

After the teams traded short drives, Troy busted one up the middle on a 32-yard TD run from Josh Anderson on the first play of the drive to reclaim the lead late in the first quarter. Southern marched down the field with another time-consuming drive, but had to settle for a 46-yard field goal from Tyler Bass, which set a new career long for the sophomore.

Troy quickly retaliated with a 59-yard run up the middle Jamarius Henderson on the second play of the drive. The Trojans' three early scoring drives consisted of two plays, one play and two plays to start the game, taking just 1:29 to score 21 points.

Late in the first half, the Trojans completed an 11-play drive to go up 28-7 on a 6-yard scoring pass to Clark Quisenberry.

After an uneventful first 13 minutes of the second half, Troy's drive stalled deep in GS territory and Tyler Sumpter drilled a 28-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 21 points. Late in the fourth quarter, Wesley Fields capped off a 15-play drive with a 3-yard scoring run, but the Trojans scored late on a 3-yard run from B.J. Smith to finish off the scoring.

Fields led the way on the ground for the Eagles, tallying 83 yard and a score on 18 carries while quarterback Shai Werts tallied 72 yards in his return from an injury.

The Eagles (0-7, 0-3 Sun Belt) will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 4, hosting Georgia State (4-3, 3-1) at 3 p.m.