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By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

COLUMBUS – The Troup Tigers made easy work of the Columbus Blue Devils.

In the Region 2-AAAA showdown on Thursday night at Kinnett Stadium, Troup took control early, and it never looked back on the way to a 53-7 victory.

Troup (2-3 overall) won its second consecutive game and improved to 2-1 in the region heading into next Thursday’s game against Kendrick.

It was a complete performance by the Tigers.

Troup’s offense was in control, with freshman quarterback Taeo Todd continuing to make big plays with his legs and his throwing arm.

Troup’s defense was dominant as well, and it even found the end zone twice on a fumble return by Jacob Bailey and an interception return by Zy Varner.

Troup got it done on special teams as well, with Cody Bray making a 36-yard field goal to complete the first-half scoring.

Troup struck quickly, needing less than a minute to go 80 yards for an opening touchdown, with Anthony Ferguson capping the quick drive with a 26-yard touchdown run, and Bray made the extra point.

Moments later, Jacob Bailey scooped up a fumble and rumbled into the end zone for the touchdown, and Todd completed a pass to Navelle Dean for the two-point conversion.

After Columbus scored to make it a 15-7 game, Troup went right back to work and went 80 yards for the touchdown.

Running back A.J. Tucker did a lot of the work on the drive, and Todd finished things off with a 6-yard scoring run, and Bray made the extra point to push the lead to 22-7.

The defense then got into the act once again, with Varner returning an interception for a touchdown, and Troup led 29-7 late in the first quarter.

Early in the second quarter, Todd took off on a 50-yard touchdown run, and the Tigers led 36-7.

After a Qua Moss interception, Todd found Varner for a 7-yard touchdown run, and Troup led 43-7 with 10:03 left in the first half.

The Tigers capped the first-half scoring with a Cody Bray 36-yard field goal, and they took a 46-7 lead into the break.

Troup completd the scoring in the third quarter, with backup quarterback Tyson Duncan throwing a touchdown pass to Dwartney Wortham.