Battle for the Belt: Gunnar Watson throws three touchdown passes as Troy beats South Alabama 28-10

Gunnar Watson threw three touchdown passes to Chris Lewis and Kimani Vidal ran for 125 yards and a TD to help Troy beat South Alabama 28-10 on Thursday night and extend the Trojans’ winning streak to six games.

Watson threw a long pass up the middle to Lewis, who spiked the ball at the 5 and then raced through a would-be tackler into the end zone for a 47-yard touchdown with 11:30 left in the second quarter, and Lewis rallied one-handed the pylon for a 26-yard TD that capped a 12-play, 96-yard drive and gave Troy a 14-7 lead with 19 seconds left in the first half.

Facing fourth-and-goal, Vidal scored on a 1-yard run that capped a 16-play, 75-yard drive that lasted nearly nine minutes after halftime with 3:12 left led to the score being 21:10.

Watson finished 19 of 27 for 271 yards and Lewis had four receptions for 120 yards. Deshon Stoudemire added 81 yards on six receptions for Troy (7-2, 4-1 Sun Belt Conference).

La’Damian Webb had 15 carries for 53 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown run that gave South Alabama (4-5, 2-3) a 7-0 lead with 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

Lewis, with a defender on his back, caught a 29-yard touchdown pass with 1:48 to play for the game-winning score.

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