Jonesboro (9-27-2007) ? In a game that was delayed almost three weeks by severe weather, the Arkansas State Indians stormed back from a 31-6 halftime deficit, riding the arm and legs of quarterback Corey Leonard to stun the Memphis Tigers 35-31 Thursday night at Indian Stadium. The game was originally to have been played Sept. 8, but lightning around Indian Stadium forced the postponement of the game until Thursday night.
Leonard totaled a career-high 329 yards on the night, rushing for 74 yards and throwing for 255 and a career-high three touchdowns before a crowd of 27,774, the majority of which stayed until the end despite the Indians' large halftime deficit.
The comeback was the biggest for Arkansas State since 1989, when the Tribe was down 31-0 at Lamar and rallied to defeat the Cardinals 41-31.
The Indian comeback was sparked with 8:15 remaining in the third, when junior Kevin Jones returned a Tiger punt 89 yards for a touchdown to trim the Memphis lead to 31-13. Jones' return was the third-longest in Sun Belt Conference history, and the first punt returned for a score for ASU since the 2005 season.
“We came out in the second half and got a very big punt return that was huge for our football team,” said ASU Head Coach Steve Roberts. “It got the crowd back into the football game. You sort of see the light at the end of the tunnel because of that score.”
Senior safety Tyrell Johnson followed the punt return with a tackle on the Memphis return, recording his 301st career stop to become the Sun Belt Conference's all-time leader.
The Indians then put together three touchdown drives on their next three possessions to complete the rally. Arkansas State took over with 4:42 remaining in the third, and Leonard rushed for 55 yards on the 77-yard drive, capping the possession with a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Catlin. The two-point try was good when Leonard completed the conversion to senior wideout Levi Dejohnette, cutting the Memphis lead to 10 at 31-21.
“The defense played very well,” said Roberts. “They (Memphis) had some three-and-outs, and offensively, we moved the football very well and scored touchdown after touchdown.”
Arkansas State drove 72 yards on its next possession, getting a 27-yard touchdown pass from Leonard to Dejohnette that pulled the Tribe to within three at 31-28 with 14:12 remaining, and Leonard hooked up with tailback Preston Brown for a 1-yard touchdown strike on the next Indian possession to put ASU on top 35-31.
The Indians took possession with 12:23 to play and marched 60 yards in 10 plays for the go-ahead touchdown. Brown scored with 7:52 remaining in the game, and Arauco added his third extra point of the night for the 35-31 final.
Memphis drove to the ASU 30 before turning the ball over on downs on the Tigers' next possession, then got the ball back with 3:16 remaining at the Tiger 31, but never got past the Memphis 45, turning the ball over on downs again with 46 seconds to play.
Memphis grabbed the momentum early, and didn't let go until Jones' punt return midway through the third. The Tigers opened the game with an 84-yard drive that resulted in a 7-0 lead when tailback Joseph Doss scored on a 1-yard run. The drive opened with a 56-yard completion from quarterback Martin Hankins to wideout Maurice Jones to set the Tigers up at the Indian 28, and eight plays later, Doss put Memphis on the board.
Arkansas State answered with a 40-yard by Josh Arauco on its first possession to cut the Tiger lead to 7-3 midway through the first quarter, but Memphis matched the three-pointer with a 32 yard field goal from Matt Reagan to make it 10-3.
The Tiger lead swelled to 17-3 on the first play of the next Memphis possession when receiver Dave Thomas took a lateral from Hankins and lofted an 80-yard scoring strike to wideout Steven Black, who ran untouched to the end zone to give the Tigers a 14-point cushion.
The Indians drove to the Memphis two on their next possession before settling for a 21-yard boot from Arauco that trimmed the Tiger lead to 17-6 with 9:02 remaining in the half, but Memphis tacked on two touchdowns in the remainder of the half to build a 31-6 lead at the break.
Memphis quarterback Matt Malouf dove in for a 1-yard score to make it 24-6, and after ASU had driven to the Tiger 14, Memphis defensive tackle Freddie Barnett scooped up a fumble by ASU's Cedric Wilkerson and returned it 88 yards for the score.
