Arkansas State vs. Louisiana-Monroe final stats
JONESBORO, Ark (10-7-06) - Quarterback Corey Leonard's 10-yard touchdown run with 2:07 remaining lifted the Arkansas State Indians to a 10-6 victory over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks in a Sun Belt Conference battle Saturday night at Indian Stadium
Leonard's touchdown helped the Indians overcome five turnovers in Warhawk territory, and kept ASU unbeaten in Sun Belt play at 2-0. Arkansas State improved to 3-2 overall, and stretched its Indian Stadium win streak to seven games with the win. With the loss, ULM dropped to 1-4 overall, 0-2 in league play.
ASU's game-winning drive began at the Indian 38 with 5:20 remaining. Leonard hooked up with tailback Cedric Wilkerson on the second play of the drive for a first down at the Warhawk 38, then hit wideout Gary Vincent for another first down on third-and-nine at the ULM 21 with just under four minutes remaining. Tailback Reggie Arnold picked up another first down on a run to the Warhawk 11 with 2:55 remaining, and two plays later, Leonard did the honors on a draw play from nine yards out. Arauco was good on the point-after for the 10-6 ASU lead.
ULM took over at its 20 with 1:58 to play and drove as far as the ASU 29, but the Indian defense forced four straight incomplete passes to preserve the win. ASU's Khayyam Burns broke up a pass from Lancaster to LaGregory Wade in the end zone on fourth down to end the drive.
“First off, I just want to point out that this is a team game,” said ASU Head Coach Steve Roberts. “Offenses don't win it. Defenses don't win it. The Indians won this football game tonight. I'm very, very proud of the effort of our football team and the way that we stepped up and the way that we made the plays that we had to make to win this game.”
For the second straight game, the ASU defense forced a turnover on the opponent's initial possession, putting the ball in the hands of the Indian offense when linebacker Josh Williams intercepted OULM quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster at the Warhawk 48. Williams returned the pickoff nine yards to set up the Indian offense at the ULM 39, but two plays later, Indian quarterback Travis Hewitt was intercepted by cornerback Greg James to kill the drive.
Arkansas State put points on the board on its next possession when placekicker Josh Arauco knocked through a 24-yard field goal to give the Indians a 3-0 lead with 5:20 remaining in the opening quarter. Louisiana-Monroe answered the field goal with a 13-play, 61-yard drive that ended when Warhawk running back Calvin Dawson scored on an eight-yard run on the first play of the second quarter, but the extra point was no good, leaving the Warhawks with a 6-3 lead.
ASU drove to the ULM 23 midway through the second quarter, and with time running down in the half, the Indians reached the Warhawk 32, but turnovers killed both drives, and the two teams went to the locker room with Louisiana-Monroe clinging to a 6-3 lead. ASU turned the ball over again midway through the third quarter when Hewitt fumbled at the ULM 37, but the Indian defense held the Warhawks without a first down on the ensuing possession, then forced a turnover on the next Warhawk drive when cornerback Darren Toney picked off a Lancaster pass at midfield. ASU drove to the ULM seven but again the drive ended in frustration when Leonard was intercepted in the end zone by ULM's on third-and-goal from the ULM seven with 8:24 remaining.
The Indian defense allowed just 11 yards on the ensuing Warhawk possession, and the Indians responded with the game-winning drive.
“There's a lot of things on our football team that we need to improve upon, but I was proud of our effort and proud that we got a win,” said Roberts. “Anytime you get a conference win it's huge for your football team.”
Leonard led the Indians in rushing with 48 yards on seven carries, and completed 13-of-26 passes for 130 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Arnold added 48 yards on 10 carries and Wilkerson tallied 10 carries for 42 yards. Hewitt completed 6-of-10 passes on the night for 70 yards and one interception.
Linebackers Devrett Wade and Koby McKinnon led the ASU defense with 11 tackles each, while Toney and Williams each added seven tackles and an interception.
