Duke tops Troy 34-17

Scott Donaldson, GoDuke.com
Scott Donaldson, GoDuke.com

TROY, ALA. – The Duke Blue Devils posted their first road win of the season with a 34-17 decision over the Troy Trojans in front of a crowd of 21,331 at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Quarterback Anthony Boone finished with a 27-of-41 pass completion performance, throwing for 268 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 56 yards on nine rushes to post two more scores.

With its defense struggling, Duke (2-0) trailed Troy (0-2) 14-3 early in the second quarter.

Boone and backup quarterback Thomas Sirk (1-1, 2 yards, 1TD) then combined to put together a 21-point scoring surge on the Blue Devils’ next three possessions during the second quarter that eventually gave Duke a 24-14 lead at halftime.

“To  me  it  looked  it  the  entire  football  game,  so  we’ve  got  to  do  better,” Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said on how tough the game played out for his squad.

“This  is  a  one  week  at  a  time  process  for  our  team, so  we’ll have to  learn. I’m  proud  we  won, but  we  won in  a  few specific  areas. We lost on first down on both sides of the ball, and that concerns me.”

Boone scored his first touchdown of the game on the ground with a 30-yard run that was followed up with Sirk making a two-yard jump-pass to David Reeves over the Troy defense.

Boone’s 49-yard strike to wide receiver Isaac Blakeney (5 catches, 90 yards) then extended Duke’s lead to 10 points.

“Issac’s confidence  level  has  really  boosted,” Boone said.

“He’s hard to cover. He’s a big guy, he’s fast, he’s strong. He could be the next Kelvin Benjamin, if not better. When you need tough catches, to have a quick guy like Jamison (Crowder) on one side and a big guy like Issac on the other side, is a great advantage.”

ACC Digital Network – Highlights – Duke 34, Troy 17

Boone commanded the Duke offense to score one more time in the third quarter, while place kicker Ross Martin converted his second field goal of the game, a 48-yarder, and finished the game’s scoring with 10:53 remaining in the game.

Along with Boone, running backs Shaquille Powell (11 rushes, 46 yards), Josh Snead (10 rushes, 33 yards) and Joe Ajeigbe (7 rushes, 34 yards) shouldered their share of gaining 192 yards on the ground while Duke’s aerial attack included 28 total catches amongst 10 receivers for 270 total yards led by Blakeney, Jamison Crowder (7 catches, 70 yards), and Max McCaffrey (4 catches, 34 yards).

Once it got its bearings in the second quarter, the defense, led by linebacker David Helton (15 tackles) and safety DeVon Edwards (14 tackles), finished the job to extend Duke’s road-winning streak to six games.

Safety Jeremy Cash (9 tackles, 1 sack), defensive end Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo (4 tackles, 2 sacks), cornerback Bryon Fields (6 tackles), and linebacker Zavier Carmichael (6 tackles) were notables in helping to preserve the win over the Trojans.

A year ago, the Blue Devils posted a perfect 5-0 ledger on the road with wins over Memphis, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and North Carolina.

The win over the Trojans matched the program’s last six-game road-winning streak that spanned over the 1954-55 seasons.

The Blue Devils’ haven’t lost on the road since Nov. 17, 2012 — a 42-24 decision at Georgia Tech.

Having won 10 of their last 12 games dating back to last season and following a home-opening win over Elon, the Blue Devils return home to prepare for the Kansas Jayhawks who will visit Wallace Wade Stadium on Saturday.