JONESBORO, Ark. (09/18/10) - Led by 318 total yards and two touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Ryan Aplin, the Arkansas State Red Wolves (1-2, 1-1) opened their 2010 home schedule with a 34-20 Sun Belt Conference victory over the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe (0-2, 0-1) Saturday night before 23,176 fans at ASU Stadium.

Aplin led a balanced ASU offense that finished with 474 yards on the night, with the Red Wolves gaining 234 yards on the ground and 240 through the air.  Aplin completed 20 of 32 passes for 243 yards and a touchdown, while adding 75 more yards and a score on the ground.  Safety M.D. Jennings intercepted two passes and logged six tackles to lead the Red Wolves' defensive effort.  

Arkansas State churned out 180 yards in the opening quarter to put its two touchdowns on the board.  The Red Wolves put together two 70-yard drives in the first period, capping the possessions with a 4-yard touchdown run from Aplin midway through the quarter and a 12-yard scoring run from tailback Derek Lawson with just over a minute remaining.  Aplin accounted for 158 of the Red Wolves' yards in the first quarter, passing for 125 while rushing for an additional 33.

"Obviously it was a great feeling to get a victory," said ASU head coach Steve Roberts. "I was really proud of the way we started. It started with kickoff coverage and defense, and the offense came out of the gate well...really really fast."

"Offensively, I thought we played outstanding," added Roberts.  "We had 87 plays, no turnovers and punted the ball the just once.  Defensively, I was very pleased with the turnovers we created."

Arkansas State added another touchdown on its first possession of the second quarter, driving 80 yards in 10 plays and scoring when Aplin hooked up with wide receiver Dwayne Frampton from 34 yards out.  Kicker Bobby Zalud added his third extra point of the night to give the Red Wolves a 21-0 advantage with 7:59 remaining before halftime.

The Warhawks got on the board three minutes later when ULM wrapped up a 77-yard drive with a 33-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Kolton Browning to wideout Brent Leonard.  Arkansas State's Tim Starson blocked the Warhawk extra point attempt, leaving the Red Wolves with a 21-6 advantage that held until halftime, but ULM answered the second half bell with an 80-yard drive that ended in a four-yard touchdown run from quarterback Zach Rhodes.  Browning passed complete to wide receiver Anthony McCall on the two-point conversion attempt to cut the A-State lead to 21-14 at the 10:49 mark of the third quarter.

Arkansas State responded with a 75-yard drive that ended in quarterback Phillip Butterfield's one-yard scoring run.  Butterfield's touchdown gave the Red Wolves a two-touchdown cushion at 28-14 with just over five minutes to play in the third period. 

Louisiana-Monroe drove deep into ASU territory on its next possession, but A-State stopped the drive when safety M.D. Jennings snagged his second interception of the night, picking off the Browning pass at the ASU goal line and returning it 20 yards to give the Red Wolves possession.  Arkansas State capitalized on the turnover with a 37-yard field goal from Zalud with 9:31 remaining in the game.

The Warhawks added a touchdown at the 5:38 mark to trim the ASU advantage to 31-20.  Browning connected with wide receiver Luther Ambrose on the scoring pass, but Starson again came up with the block on the extra point attempt, leaving ULM with the 11-point deficit.

Zalud added his second field goal of the night, this time from 24 yards out with 2:25 remaining to set the final score at 34-20.

Frampton hauled in a team-high eight passes for 83 yards and a touchdown, Lawson rushed for 52 yards on 10 carries and Butterfield added 49 yards on eight carries to go along with Aplin's offensive statistics.  Linebacker Nathan Herrold and defensive back Tausean Holmes each added eight tackles for the ASU defense.

The Red Wolves continue Sun Belt Conference play next week when they travel to Troy, Ala. to take on the Trojans Sept. 25 in a 2:30 p.m. game that will be televised by the Sun Belt Network.

ARKANSAS STATE POSTGAME NOTES

ASU vs. Louisiana-Monroe

September 18, 2010 - ASU Stadium

TEAM

• ASU's Team Captains for game 3 were Marquette Williams, Jonathan White, Jeff Blake and Lucious Henderson.
• The crowd of 23,176 was the ninth largest in ASU Stadium history.
• ASU improved to 30-10 all-time at ASU Stadium under head coach Steve Roberts.
• ASU won its sixth straight home opener and improved to 8-1 all-time in home openers under head coach Steve Roberts.
• ASU improved to 18-14 all-time versus ULM and to 6-4 vs. the Warhawks as Sun Belt foes.  The home team has now won the game the last six seasons.

OFFENSE

• Sophomore QB Ryan Aplin threw his fourth TD pass of the season, giving him one more after three games than he had for all last season . . . Aplin also recorded a rushing TD for the second straight game, giving him 2 for the year . . . Aplin posted a season-high 75 rushing yards.
• Junior WR Dwayne Frampton posted his team-leading second TD reception and found the endzone for the first time since the season opener at Auburn . . . Frampton also posted three rushes for 26 yards, both career highs.
• True freshman WR Carlos McCants recorded 3 receptions to surpass his season-best total originally set against Auburn.  The true freshman caught a game and career-long 42 yard pass in the first quarter to set up an ASU TD.
• WR's Dwayne Frampton and Anthony Robinson have both caught at least one pass in all three games this season.
• ASU recorded a season-high 234 rushing yards and had four players (Aplin, Lawson, Butterfield, Frampton) post an individual season-best rushing total . . . A-State also posted 3 rushing TD's to surpass its season high of 2 originally set at Auburn.
• Junior WR Rod Hall caught his first pass of the season, actually finishing with four receptions for 49 yards.
• True freshman RB Sirgregory Thornton recorded his first five rushing attempts of the season, finishing the game with 30 yards that included a long run of 14 yards.
• Junior RB Derek Lawson posted his second rushing touchdown of the year.  He finished night with 10 rushes for  52 yards.
• Redshirt freshman QB Phillip Butterfield recorded eight rushes for 49 yards and a touchdown, all career highs.  He posted a long run of 23 yards.
• ASU's 34 points were its most since its 1st game (vs. Mississippi Valley State) of last season.

DEFENSE

• Senior safety M.D. Jennings posted his first two interceptions of the season, giving him seven for his career and his first multiple-interception game.  The interception was also the first this season by any ASU player.
• Brandon Joiner was credited with a sack, his first of the season.
• Tausean Holmes recorded eight tackles to set a new career-high, and Justin Robertson tied his career-high of four.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Rod Hall led ASU in kickoff returns and return yards for the third straight game, finishing with three returns for 70 yards.