Jaheim Merriweather runs for 3 touchdowns and Troy defeats Alabama State 34-17

TROY, Ala. -- — Jaheim Merriweather ran for 127 yards and scored three times, leading Troy to a 34-17 victory over Alabama State on Saturday. Troy gained 314 yards on offense in the first half and led 31-7 at the break. A 73-yard pass play from Goose Crowder to TK Keyes opened the scoring and Merriweather had touchdown runs of 69, 6 and 1 yard. After scoring on five of six possessions in the first half, the Trojans managed just three points after halftime. The Hornets rallied in the third quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Body to John Austin and a 37-yard field goal by Andrew Abu-Akel, making the score 31-17. Both scoring drives started on the Troy side of the 50-yard line. Ethan Head's 47-yard field goal made it 34-17 and Alabama State was stopped on downs at the Troy 32-yard line on the Hornets' only sustained drive through the remainder of the game. Crowder finished 14-for-27 passing for 201 yards and Keyes had five catches for 119 yards for the Trojans (2-0). Body was held to 105 yards passing for the FCS Hornets (2-1) and Jamarie Hostzclaw had 80 yards rushing that included a 50-yard run for Alabama State's first score. This was the 17th matchup between the schools separated by less than an hour, but only the fourth since the turn of the century. Troy leads 15-2. Up next Troy: at No. 23 Missouri next Saturday. Alabama State: vs. Mississippi Valley St. on Sept. 26 —- Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here