Central Arkansas started things off with the ball, but couldn’t get anything going after A-State’s defensive line forced serious pressure onto quarterback Breylin Smith, forcing a three-and-out.

Arkansas State looked a lot better on its opening drive, after a connection between senior quarterback Logan Bonner and senior wide receiver Jonathan Adams brought the Red Wolves into the red-zone. However, A-State couldn’t get into the endzone after an overthrown pass by Bonner to Adams, and Grupe came on to kick the field goal.

Things didn’t go as planned for the Red Wolves however, as Grupe barely connected with his kick and Central Arkansas were easily able to get its hands on the ball and run it all the way down to A-State’s 24 yard line. The Bears were not able to convert with the incredible field position, and had to settle with a 36 yard field goal from senior kicker Hayden Ray. (3-0)

A-State were not able to do anything on the following drives as well, suffering a three-and-out. On the bright side, punter Ryan Hansen nailed a 64 yard punt and pinned the Bears down at its own 2 yard line.

The Red Wolves took advantage of the situation, and after a failure to bring in a snap on third down from Smith, the quarterback had to fall on top of the ball in the endzone, yielding A-State the safety. (3-2)

Roshauud Paul returned the safety punt for a touchdown for the Red Wolves in an impressive display of his speed, but a holding call brought the massive play back, and forced A-State to play offense at its own 42 yard line.

Not much got going for A-State yet again, but a poor returning decision from Central Arkansas’ Tyler Hudson allowed the ball to roll back again to the Bears’ two yard line, setting up the Bears with terrible field position again.

Central Arkansas were able to avoid the safety at the very least, after Hudson redeemed himself with a nice grab for 23 yards, but that’s all the offense could muster. 

The remainder of the first quarter remained a back-and -forth punting fest, as neither offense could get anything going in the rain. 

SECOND QUARTER

The second quarter started out just as slow, but after A-State was about to suffer yet another three-and-out, the Red Wolves went for it on fourth and one, and Jones was stuffed on a run up the middle, and Central Arkansas took over on downs at A-State’s 30 yard line.

Once again, Central Arkansas could not get itself into the endzone, so Ray extended his status of being the leading scorer of the game, and in doing so extended the Bears’ lead to 6-2.

A-State finally got things together and put together a solid 13 play, 75 yard drive that featured two fourth down conversions, the second of which ending in a touchdown pass from Layne Hatcher to Jonathan Adams, giving A-State its first lead of the game. (9-6)

UCA looked to respond, but couldn’t do anything except extend A-State’s lead themselves. Smith threw an interception to A-State cornerback Samy Johnson who used his blistering speed to convert a 60 yard pick-six, bringing A-State’s lead to 16-6.

The Bears were able to make up for it in a matter of minutes however, as Jamal Jones fumbled the ball on a run for the Red Wolves, giving Central Arkansas the ball at A-State’s 25 yard line and only took one play to score its first touchdown of the game on a Smith to Lujuan Winningham connection. (16-13)

It was A-State who had the last laugh in the first half, but it almost was not that way. On fourth and ten, Hatcher launched a pass towards Adams who couldn’t reel it in, but a defensive pass interference call that wasn’t completely clear bailed out the Red Wolves, and on the ensuing play, Hatcher was able to connect with Brandon Bowling on a 15 yard touchdown pass to score just before the half ended. (23-13)

THIRD QUARTER

A-State started out the second half in explosive fashion, after Reed Tyler reeled in a nice 32 yard catch and run play, which was quickly followed up by a 24 yard run from Lincoln Pare. The drive was capped off by Bonner throwing his first touchdown of the game to Dahu Green on a five yard play. (30-13)

Central Arkansas looked gamey on offense as well, breaking through to A-State’s side of the field rather quickly. But Hudson fumbled the ball after catching a long strike down at the 15 yard line and turned it over to the Red Wolves after Elery Alexander recovered the football.

The Red Wolves would make the Bears pay for that mistake, as Hatcher quickly led the team down the field and capped things off with his third touchdown pass of the game to Jonathan Adams for 15 yards. (37-13)

The Bears had a shot at scoring its second touchdown of the game, but couldn’t convert on fourth down from the goal line as Smith fumbled the snap and had to fall on the ball at the six yard line. A-State took over on downs and the drive ended with Dahu Green reeling in his second touchdown pass of the game from Bonner. (43-13)

FOURTH QUARTER

Scoring finally began early in the fourth quarter for the Bears, after Lujuan Winningham initially caught a 37 yarder from Smith, and followed that up a couple of plays later with a two yard touchdown reception. (43-20)

An onside kick from the Bears was successful and they made it count quickly, as Winningham came up with yet another touchdown catch to bring Central Arkansas within 16. (43-27)

Momentum continued to swing in the Bears’ favor as Hatcher overthrew both Adams and Green on two different plays, and then took a sack on third down at his own 15 yard line. This forced a punt to a surging Bears offense who took over at its own 45.

It had to be a perfect game from there on out for Central Arkansas if they wanted a chance to win, but a lazy throw over the middle from Smith found its way into the hands of A-State safety Antonio Fletcher to potentially end the Bears’ comeback bid.

The final nail in the coffin was instilled soon after, as Bonner connected with wide receiver Corey Rucker for Rucker’s first catch of the game, and it was a big one with a 56 yard touchdown. (50-27)

The game slowed to a halt for the remainder of the clock, and Ryan Hansen stamped off a nice afternoon for the Red Wolves and himself with a 69 yard punt to seal A-State’s victory over the Bears.

A-State improves to 2-2 with the victory, and will face Georgia State at Centennial Bank Stadium Thursday night as the Red Wolves search for its first Sun Belt win of the season.

STATS RECAP

Both A-State quarterbacks were incredibly successful this afternoon, as Bonner threw 11-19 for 239 yards and a trio of touchdowns. Hatcher threw for three touchdowns as well and for 153 yards. UCA quarterback Breylin Smith was 24-49 for 302 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but also threw an interception.

Marcel Murray led the rushing efforts for A-State with only six carries gaining 52 yards, including his 36 yard run in the third quarter. The Bears were led by Kierr Crossley who had an impressive day with 17 carries for 83 yards. 

Tyler Hudson had a career day for UCA, catching a career single-game high 12 receptions for 154 yards, but it was his teammate Winningham who caught four receptions for three touchdowns. Jonathan Adams and Dahu Green proved why they are called the star receivers for A-State, both catching a pair of touchdowns and gaining 101 yards and 94 yards respectively.

Justin Rice was A-State’s defensive player of the day with 12 tackles, three sacks, and four tackles for losses. Samy Johnson had the defensive play of the game with his pick six in the first half. UCA was led by TaMuari Wilson and Deandre Lamont with six tackles apiece.

Categories: News