JONESBORO, Ark. (10/5/16) – Omar Bayless hauled in outstanding catch before falling out of bounds in the end zone to help Arkansas State rally past Georgia Southern, 27-26, Wednesday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.
The Red Wolves (1-4, 1-0 Sun Belt) entered the fourth quarter facing a 23-17 deficit, but the A-State defense held Georgia Southern (3-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) to eight total yards in the fourth quarter to support the rally and give the offense a chance. On the night, A-State held the Eagles to 3-of-15 (20 percent) on third down and forced seven three and outs defensively.
Offensively, Warren Wand had 19 carries for 140 yards and a touchdown while Johnston White had 17 carries for 126 yards. Quarterback Justice Hansen was 16-of-27 passing for 182 yards and two touchdowns while carrying the ball nine times for 61 yards. The Red Wolves rushed for 343 yards on 49 carries, outgaining the Eagles 343-162 on the ground.
"I've never seen anything like it,” said A-State head coach Blake Anderson. “I know I've never as a player and never as a coach won a game that we had five turnovers and didn't create any. Really, really proud of the group of guys who have worked really hard. This was our best week of work. We had eight practices. We hit each other. We tackled each other. We banged the guys up. We had about half of them in red jerseys for half the week. They just bought in to going back and doing things simple, out-working and out-hitting people.”
The seventh three and out forced the Eagles to punt and A-State took over at their own 30 with 2:41 remaining facing a 26-20 deficit. Two incompletions and a loss of six yards on a rush forced fourth and 16, but Hansen scrambled out of the pocket and picked up 18 yards to move the chains and stop the clock.
Hansen hit Blake Mack for nine yards on 3rd-and-8 to move the chains and two plays later hit Dijon Paschal for a 10 yard pickup to move the Red Wolves to the Eagles' 37 yard line. Two plays later, Hansen hooked up with Kendall Sanders for a 29-yard gain to set up 1st-and-goal from the eight. On 2nd-and-goal, Omar Bayless snagged a pass and got a foot down before falling out of bounds in the end zone for a touchdown. Replay review upheld the ruling on the field and J.D. Houston converted the extra point to complete the rally.
“I was really proud of Justice to be willing to make the two throws he had to make in one-on-one coverage,” Anderson said. “Number one to see them and number two to throw them. Because he tried that earlier and threw them an interception. I know that has to be in the back of his mind. To have the presence and the confidence to make the throws when it counted. Those two one-on-one balls are right where they need to be where it's us or nobody. That takes a lot for a guy. That's why he's our quarterback with the good and bad. Really proud of how they found a way to get that done."
Despite three first quarter turnovers, A-State trailed just 7-0 at the end of the period. The Red Wolves had their first two drives end with fumbles and the Eagles grabbed the 7-0 lead with a 61-yard touchdown run on their fourth drive of the night.
After the Eagles touchdown, A-State marched down the field into the red zone, but a tipped pass was intercepted resulting in the third turnover of the night. The Eagles went three-and-out and A-State took over on the Georgia Southern 49-yard line late in the first quarter.
White rushed for 41 yards on two carries setting up 1st-and-goal, but the Red Wolves were forced to try a 19-yard field goal. J.D. Houston split the uprights to make it 7-3 after the first play of the second quarter.
The Eagles responded with a 32-yard field goal to take a 10-3 lead with 9:35 left in the first half and the Red Wolves tied the game at 10-10 with a drive that chewed up six minutes of clock. After the kickoff was downed at the three-yard line, A-State used 14 plays to cover the 97 yards with 60 of the yards coming via the rushing attack. Hansen hit Justin McInnis in the back of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass to cap the scoring drive.
Georgia Southern tacked on a 53-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the first half to lead 13-10 at the break. The Eagles opened the second half with a nine-minute drive, but A-State forced a 24-yard field goal as the Eagles took a 16-10 edge with 5:56 left in the third quarter. Georgia Southern used a 63-yard pass and catch to take a 23-10 advantage with 2:26 left in the quarter, but the Red Wolves refused to go away.
On the ensuing possession, Hansen hooked up with Blake Mack for a gain of 20 yards and two plays later Wand broke free for a 55-yard touchdown run. The 40-second drive was part of just 2:58 possession time in the third quarter for the Red Wolves.
The A-State defense forced its fifth three-and-out of the night to force the Eagles to punt, but the fourth turnover of the game set up Georgia Southern inside the 30 with a chance to make it a two possession game once again. The Red Wolves defense forced the fourth field goal of the night as the Eagles extended the lead to 26-17 with 11:53 remaining.
A sixth three-and-out by the Eagles set up A-State with a chance to take the lead with 6:27 remaining. The Red Wolves managed to move the ball 32 yards, but came up short on fourth down to turn it over on downs.
Xavier Woodson-Luster led the A-State defense with 14 tackles while Kyle Wilson, in his first career start, had 13 tackles with five tackles-for-loss. The Red Wolves swarmed Georgia Southern to the tune of 13 tackles-for-loss on the night and Chris Humes had three of the four pass break-ups.
A-State continues the four-game home stand with homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. against South Alabama.
