Red Wolves Roll Past MTSU Before National Television
JONESBORO, Ark. (11/2/10) - The Arkansas State defense forced seven turnovers, and the Red Wolves (4-5, 4-2) offense churned out a season-high 493 yards in a 51-24 win over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (3-5, 2-2) Tuesday night in a Sun Belt Conference matchup at ASU Stadium that was nationally televised by ESPN2.
Linebacker Demario Davis intercepted a pair of passes, both of which led to ASU touchdowns, and defensive back Kelcie McCray added 10 tackles and a pickoff to lead the Arkansas State defense. The Red Wolves offense was powered by 256 total yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Ryan Aplin, 138 receiving yards and a touchdown from wide receiver Dwayne Frampton and 104 rushing yards and a touchdown from running back Derek Lawson. Aplin completed 16-of-27 passes for 245 yards, and running back Jermaine Robertson added 79 yards and two touchdowns to the ASU offensive totals.
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"I'm certainly very proud of our football team," said ASU head coach Steve Roberts. "It was a great night for Arkansas State University and a great night for our program. I'm very proud of the effort that went into this, the way our kids prepared and the way they took that to the field. I thought we played well in all phases of the game. Offensively, we moved the football every time we got it. We only punted one time during the course of the game and I thought we had some guys up front that really paved the way for a lot of great things to happen, both running the football and throwing the football."
"The defense had a heck of a night flying around and playing great football," added Roberts. "We created 7 turnovers and I thought we held them in check for the majority of the night."
Arkansas State jumped out to a 13-0 lead early in the game, getting an interception from Davis on the first MTSU possession to set up the first ASU touchdown. Davis picked off Blue Raider quarterback Dwight Dasher at the Middle Tennessee 31 and returned it 10 yards. Four plays later, Aplin put the Red Wolves on the board with a four-yard touchdown run. Middle Tennessee's Emmanuel Perez blocked the extra point, leaving Arkansas State with a 6-0 advantage less than three minutes into the contest.
The Red Wolves went 71 yards in just five plays on their next possession, taking a 13-0 lead when running back Jermaine Robertson scored on a seven-yard run, and kicker Bobby Zalud added the extra point, but the Blue Raiders answered with 10 straight points before the first quarter came to a close.
Middle Tennessee kicker Alan Gendreau booted a 27-yard field goal to put the Blue Raiders on the board with 4:27 remaining in the first quarter, and when Arkansas State failed to field the ball on the ensuing kickoff, MTSU recovered at the ASU 39. Running back Benjamin Cunningham wrapped up the Blue Raider possession with a four-yard touchdown run that cut the A-State lead to 13-10 with 52 seconds to play in the first quarter.
Arkansas State countered with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Aplin to wideout Taylor Stockemer on the first play of the second quarter to stretch the ASU lead to 20-10, but a 29-yard scamper from Dasher with 9:24 remaining in the half pulled MTSU back within three at 20-17.
Arkansas State's Brian Davis pushed the Red Wolves' lead to six when he knocked through a 22-yard field goal with 13 seconds to play in the half, giving ASU a 23-17 lead at the break.
Demario Davis picked off his second pass of the night when he intercepted Dasher on MTSU's first possession of the second half, setting up another Red Wolves touchdown when he gave ASU the ball at the Blue Raider 33. The Red Wolves needed just one play to reach the end zone, getting the touchdown when quarterback Phillip Butterfield found Frampton down the right sideline. Brian Davis added the extra point for the 30-17 ASU lead at the 9:24 mark of the third quarter.
The Red Wolves defense forced another turnover later in the quarter when defensive tackle Bryan Hall forced a fumble from MTSU receiver Malcolm Beyah at the Arkansas State 25, and the A-State offense cashed in again. The Red Wolves drove 72 yards in eight plays and stretched their lead to 37-17 when Aplin passed to tight end Jeff Blake from five yards out with 2:24 to go in the third.
An interception by ASU defensive back Darryl Feemster set up a 17-yard touchdown run from running back Derek Lawson, extending the A-State lead to 44-17. Middle Tennessee's final touchdown came on a 14-yard pass from Dasher to wide receiver Garrett Andrews, and Robertson scored on a six-yard run for ASU with 4:48 remaining to set the final score at 51-24.
The Red Wolves will return to action Nov. 13 when they host Western Kentucky in A-State's final home game of the 2010 season. Kickoff at ASU Stadium is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
ARKANSAS STATE POSTGAME NOTES
ASU vs. Middle Tennessee
November 2, 2010 - ASU Stadium
TEAM
* ASU has the most league victories in the Sun Belt Conference with four. ASU's four conference wins ties its most since the 2005 season when it had five.
* ASU improved to 3-1 at home this season and 32-11 under head coach Steve Roberts at ASU Stadium.
* ASU's 27-point margin of victory was its largest ever against Middle Tennessee, and its largest against any opponent since defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 52-21 in 2007.
* The Red Wolves scored a season-high 44 points, its most against an NCAA FBS
OFFENSE
* Ryan Aplin recorded his team-high 8th rushing touchdown of the season. He has posted a rushing touchdown in five games this year . . . Aplin recorded two passing touchdowns to finish the game with 15 for the season, tying the third most in school history for a single season. He has thrown at least one TD pass in every game this season. Aplin also moved into a tie for first place for completions (194), third place for passing yards (2,329) and third place for total offense (2,634).
* Taylor Stockemer recorded his 3rd TD reception of the year and his first since the 5th game of the year.
* Jermaine Robertson scored a career-high two rushing touchdowns, giving him five for the season and six for his career. Robertson has posted a touchdown in four games this year, including the last two in a row.
* Arkansas State has posted at least 23 points in every game this season, marking the first time since 1986 that it has scored 20-plus points in nine straight games.
* Dwayne Frampton took over fifth place all-time at ASU for single-season receptions, finishing the game with 52 receptions on the year . . . Frampton also recorded his fifth touchdown reception this season, tying the fifth most in school history for a single season . . . Frampton finished the game with a career-high 138 receiving yards, the 18th most in school history.
* Phillip Butterfield threw his first career TD pass, which was also his longest pass of the season at 33 yards.
* Jeff Blake caught his first TD pass of the season and fourth of his career.
* ASU piled up over 400 yards of total offense for the sixth time this year, including the last two games in a row. ASU has posted at least 300 yards of total offense in every game, marking the first time since 1996 that it has recorded 300-plus yards in nine straight games.
* ASU posted a season-best 493 offensive yards.
* Derek Lawson recorded a season-high 104 yards rushing, which is also the most by any ASU player this season. He became the first player this year to record over 100 yards rushing in a game.
DEFENSE
* ASU intercepted a season-high four passes and now has six over the last two games. ASU has picked off at least one pass in five games this year. The Red Wolves now have 10 interceptions total, two more than they had for all of last year.
* ASU forced a season-high seven turnovers, one game after posting its previous high of three.
* ASU recorded a fumble recovery for the sixth straight game and seventh overall.
* Kelcie McCray recorded his second interception of the season and sixth of his career.
* Demario Davis recorded his first two interceptions of the season and now has three for his career. Davis is the third ASU player this season to intercept two passes in the same game.
* Adrian Hills and Marquette Williams both made their first start of the season.
* Amos Draper recorded his third sack of the season, giving him the second most on the team. He also now has a team-high 7.0 tackles for loss.
* Bryan Hall recorded his second forced fumble this year.
* Javon McKinnon posted his third fumble recovery of the season, and all three came over the last four games.
* Marquette Williams recorded his first career forced fumble and fumble recovery.
* Darryl Feemster recorded his first career interception.
* Brandon Joiner recorded a career-high two sacks and now has 3.5 for the year. Three of those have come over the last two games.
SPECIAL TEAMS
* Rod Hall took over fourth place for single-season kickoff return yards, finishing the game with 623 yards on the year.
* True freshman Brian Davis made his third field goal of the season, but his first since the Auburn game. He is now 3-of-3 on the season.