Quarterback Trey Owens signals a “Wolves Up” while celebrating with his teammates. In the win over West Georgia, Owens threw 135 passing yards with two touchdowns.
The Arkansas State Football team opened their season at home with a 52-7 blowout win, overwhelming the West Georgia Wolves in a clash of two packs.
The Wolves, coming off a devastating 47-0 loss against Kennesaw State, came in search of their first win of the season. However, the Red Wolves walked onto Allison Field highly favored for victory despite coming off their season-opener loss against Memphis, placing big expectations on the players and head coach Butch Jones.
The two packs began to circle in the first quarter with neither team making much headway, much less reaching the endzone. West Georgia held the ball on offense for nearly nine minutes within the first quarter but found little success. The Wolves rushed the ball down the field but found little success in passing.
However, their biggest enemy within this first quarter wasn’t the Red Wolves but rather themselves. Repeated foul trouble pushed them back, turning a first and ten into a first and 22 during their first possession.
A-State found little success on their first drive after some failed running attempts from quarterback Trey Owens, making their opening possession a three-and-out blunder. However, unlike West Georgia, the Red Wolves worked into a rhythm on their second possession, as they gained 30 yards with a combination of short passes and confident rushes. The quarter ended with the Red Wolves holding possession at their own 45-yard line.
Wide receiver Chauncy Cobb stiff arms a West Georgia defender. Cobb recorded a receiving touchdown along with 54 yards.
During the second quarter, the A-State offense officially started its attack, sending wide receiver Chauncy Cobb into the endzone for the first touchdown of the night early in the quarter. The Red Wolves kept up this relentless assault throughout the second quarter as Owens completed a 30-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jaylen Bonelli.
While the offense kept the Wolves on their toes, the A-State defense made its contributions onto the scoreboard from turnovers in the second quarter. Cornerback Noah Flores took advantage of a fumble forced by linebacker Robert Stevens III to make a 68-yard scoop-and-score defensive touchdown. Stevens’ fumble and an interception later in the third quarter led to him receiving Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors.
As A-State’s lead extended to 21-0, West Georgia found themselves at their own 40-yard line with just a little over a minute left in the first half. They struggled to move the ball forward on incomplete passes and more fouls, making it seem like A-State would be the lone scorer of the half.
However, a miracle came for the Wolves. In their most explosive play of the night, they closed 37 yards with a touchdown pass from quarterback Colton Fitzgerald, picking up their lone score of the night.
Going into the second half, West Georgia’s defense started strong and gained possession after a fumble by Trey Owens. This victory faded shortly as safety Five Hamilton intercepted a Wolves pass and scored a 91-yard pick-six to solidify A-State’s dominance over the game.
After A-State’s third takeaway of the game, West Georgia’s offense started to falter under defensive pressure, which Jones said was a key reason to their success in the second half.
“The defense changed the momentum of the game,” Jones said. “When you force three consecutive turnovers, the offense did a great job of complementary football, scoring on all three of those turnovers.”
Even after such an overwhelming victory, Jones still says that there is a great need for improvement.
“We have to get better in a hurry,” Jones said. “The level of competition picks up, having to go on the road and play a Big 12 opponent (with) TCU, and then obviously defending conference champion (Kennesaw State) coming here.”
Seeing the defensive gaps during the first and early second half and correcting them up is a major factor that played into A-State’s victory.
Leading their offense was Owens, who showed a spectacular passing performance. Owens completed 13 of his 17 attempted passes, covering 135 yards in total. His passing, partnered with the offense’s rushing performance of 271 yards, led to A-State averaging six and a half points per possession.
While the Red Wolves celebrate their first win of the season, they prepare to face Texas Christian University (TCU) on Sept. 19 as the underdogs of the match.
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