Kimani Vidal rushed for a program record 248 yards on 25 carries and Gunnar Watson threw four touchdown passes as Troy ran its winning streak to 12 games with a 48-30 victory over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday night at The Vet.

Troy retired DeMarcus Ware's No. 94 in a ceremony at halftime to celebrate his legendary Troy and NFL career.
 
Vidal has rushed for more than 200 yards in three of his last five games, averaging 164.8 yards in those contests. The junior from Marietta, Ga., came two yards shy of the record last season against ULM; the previous record was held by Eddie Brundidge's who rushed for 244 yards against Valdosta State in 1984.
 
He rushed for 155 yards in the first half and carried 207 all-purpose yards into the locker room at the break. Vidal moved into fourth place in Troy history with his eighth career 100-yard rushing game and is just 845 yards shy of becoming the program's all-time leading rusher.
 
Watson threw a pair of touchdown strikes to tight end Ethan Conner as he became the first tight end in Troy's recorded history with multiple touchdown receptions in a game. Defensively, Reddy Steward moved into a tie for first in program history with his third interception return for a touchdown.
 
Troy (1-0) looked like they were going to blow the doors off The Vet in front of the fifth largest crowd (28,179) as it raced out to a 24-3 lead thanks to Watson touchdown passes to Conner and Jabre Barber around Stewards' 45-yard interception return for a score on SFA's (0-1) first play from scrimmage.
 
However, the Jacks scored 17 straight points to close the gap to 24-17 with 36 seconds remaining in the half, with 10 of the 17 points coming following Troy fumbles.
 
On the ensuing drive following the late SFA field goal, Vidal took the opening carry 12 yards and followed with a 44-yard reception to set the Trojans up on the Jacks' 19-yard line. From there, Watson connected with Conner for a touchdown to send the Trojans into the break with a 31-20 advantage.
 
It was all Troy in the second half as Scott Taylor Renfroe hit his second field goal of the game, and Devonte Ross caught his first career touchdown pass to push the Troy lead to 41-20 with just over two minutes to play in the third.
 
A muffed punt set up an SFA field goal, one of three in the game by Chris Campos, and a late touchdown against Troy's young guys followed a Jarris Williams touchdown for the Trojans to set the final score.
 
The point tally for the Jacks was misleading as Troy held SFA to just 104 rushing yards but just 66 before the final drive of the game and just 240 total yards of offense.
 
O'shai Fletcher had a pair of stops behind the line to lead the Trojans, while Keyshawn Swanson led Troy with six tackles. 
 
Up Next
Troy travels to No. 16 Kansas State next week for an 11 a.m. showdown on FS1.