MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (10/20/07) - The Arkansas State football team couldn't overcome a powerful Middle Tennessee defense, as the Blue Raiders defeated the Indians 24-7 Saturday at Floyd Stadium.
Middle Tennessee racked up a season-high nine sacks and 384 total yards of offense to power past the Indians.
The Blue Raiders got on the board early after junior Kevin Jones' fumble was recovered by Middle Tennessee's Rod Isaac and returned 42 yards for the 7-0 lead with 13:32 left in the first quarter.
The Blue Raiders increased their lead to 14 after Taron Henry took a 17-yard pass from freshman quarterback Dwight Dasher with 2:32 left in the first.
Middle Tennessee added a field goal and took a 17-0 lead before the Indians scored with 12:22 left in the second. Freshman Danny McNeal caught a 6-yard pass from Corey Leonard in the endzone and sophomore Josh Arauco added the extra point to make it a 17-7 game.
Henry caught his second pass of the game, a 52-yarder from Joe Craddock, with just over nine minutes left in the second quarter to extend the Blue Raiders lead to 17.
Neither team managed to score in the second half, as the Blue Raiders held on for 24-7 win.
“You've got to give Middle Tennessee credit, they won all the battles,” Arkansas State Head Coach Steve Roberts said. “Our defense shut them out the second half, but we didn't play in all the other areas enough to win the game. We had everything at our disposal, we just didn't execute. Middle never allowed us to get anything.”
Leonard completed nine of 16 passes for 116 yards and sophomore Reggie Arnold rushed for 39 on 14 carries. Sophomore Brandon Thompkins racked up 69 yards on three receptions, including a career-high 44-yard reception. Jones totaled 22 receiving yards on two receptions and senior Chris Miller notched 14.
Senior Koby McKinnon led the Indian defense for the with 12 tackles, including two for losses. Senior Tyrell Johnson grabbed his team-leading third interception of the season during the first quarter and added six tackles for the Indians. Junior Ben Owens had 10 tackles and sophomore Greg Hardy added five.
“Now, we've got to go back and figure out a way to beat Troy,” Roberts said.
Arkansas State will host Troy Saturday, Oct. 27 at Indian Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
