TYRONE – What a night.

The Troup Tigers went on the road and beat the Sandy Creek Patriots 28-20 on Friday, giving the program a massive victory in what has been a turnaround season.

A year ago this time, Troup was coming off a blowout loss to Sandy Creek that left it with an 0-6 record, and it finished the season at 1-9.

Now, Troup is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Region 5-AAAA, and it is coming off a road win over the state’s fifth-ranked team.

“What they went through last year, nobody should have to go through it,” Troup head coach Tanner Glisson said. “And we did it. And these kids, kudos to them and how they were raised. I’m so proud of those guys. It’s a wonderful win. That’s a great football team. Don’t take anything away from them. But we were the better football team tonight. I’m so very proud of those guys. Our coaching staff coached their tails off and made great adjustments, and had a great game plan. I really just love each and every one of them.”

Troup surged to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Montez Crowe threw a touchdown pass to Chanse Hill and Carson Wreyford made the first of his four extra points.

After Sandy Creek tied it, the defense got into the act, with freshman Kobe Hudson picking off a pass and taking it 75 yards for the touchdown, and Troup was ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter.

Sandy Creek answered with a touchdown to tie it at 14-14, and that was the score at the half.

In the third quarter, Crowe tossed a touchdown pass to Macenta Stafford, and Troup was ahead 21-14 with 7:34 left in the third quarter.

That’s the way it remained until, with 2:07 to play, Camren Russell’s 2-yard scoring run and the extra point gave Troup a 28-14 lead.

Sandy Creek scored a touchdown with a little more than a minute remaining, but Troup recovered the ensuing onside kick and was able to run out the clock.

Also on Friday, Lafayette Christian lost a road game to Praise Academy 55-20.

OF NOTE: For much more on Troup’s big win, see Monday’s sports section.

Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports