The Trojans scored in every possession of the first half and routed the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks 52-14 Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The Trojans put up 27 points in the opening quarter, which is the most points put up in the opening quarter they faced Alabama State in 2000.

“Our guys are playing with a lot more confidence,” said Troy head coach Neal Brown. “We got off to a quick start on Saturday, which I thought was crucial. I said after the game, I was worried about that.”

The win for the Trojans gives them their first win over the Warhawks since the 2009 season.

“ULM had been a team that Troy traditionally had issues with and they play a different style offense and style of defense,” Brown said. “We were coming off really two brutal weeks of travel going to Las Cruces and then over to Boone. It was just a good team win.”

It was a day for the stat sheets on Saturday for the Troy Trojans. Quarterback Brandon Silvers threw for a career high in yards on Saturday with 326 yards and four touchdowns.

“The thing about it is, he has been healthy,” Brown said. “When he has been healthy and playing, he has been efficient and has played at a high level. I think he is figuring it out, he is putting less on pressure on himself.”

The defense also played a factor in the game by forcing six turnovers, the most forced turnovers by a Troy defense since 2008 when they forced seven turnovers against Alcorn Sate.

“We are playing better on defense,” Brown said. “What I mean by that is, we are anticipating things better. Like, (LaMarcus) Farmer’s two picks were preparation things – things that he saw on film and he was able to jump those balls. We scored two defensive touchdowns, which I think anytime you do that you have a chance to win.”

The Trojans got off to quick start when starting quarterback Brandon Silvers connected with Troy’s own John Johnson. With the ball sailing over his head Johnson laid out and made a leaping grab setting up the Trojans on their opening drive.

The Trojans were only able to get three points on the drive when Jed Solomon nailed on his first of three field goals on the night from 20-yards out. Solomon also made an attempt from 28-yards to give the Trojans a 13-0 lead.

Not only did the defense help out with turnovers on Saturday, they also helped in the scoring department by scoring two touchdowns.

Darrin Reddick and LaMarcus Farmer scored on a fumble recovery and an interception respectively. The score by Reddick gave Troy the 10-0 advantage early in the first quarter.

The Trojans separated themselves for the first time when Brian Holmes gave Troy a 13-point advantage when he caught a Silvers pass, which he returned 43-yards for a touchdown.

Holmes was one of eight players to catch a ball for Troy on Saturday.

For the second week in a row, Silvers really got the passing game going and the receivers were the beneficiaries.

Emmanuel Thompson hauled in six catches for 44-yards and two touchdowns, while Teddy Ruben finished with five catches for 55 yards.

The fact that Silvers has spread the ball around has really helped the receivers.

“He’s always had that ability,” Thompson said. “It’s really impacted us now. He’s our key component.”

Troy senior running back Brandon Burks had a career game finishing with 107 yards rushing and 89 yards receiving, finishing with 11-yards short of a 100/100 game.

Silvers connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass to Burks late in the opening quarter to increase Troy’s lead to 27-14.

Solomon had the only points in the second half converting a 33-yard field goal, increasing the Trojan lead to 51-14.

Due to his performance on Saturday Solomon was named the Sunbelt Conference Special Teams Play of the Week. Solomon connected on three field goals and had a career high seven touchbacks.

Troy will be back on Saturday when they take on Georgia Southern at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Kick off is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.