A-State downs SEMO behind record-setting performance from Hansen

Despite a sloppy first half, Arkansas State pulled out a 48-21 win in their home opener against Southeast Missouri State behind a record-breaking performance. The Red Wolves escape week one undefeated for the first time since the 2015 season.

“It’s hard to be too upset with a 48-21 win when a lot of folks didn’t get it done this weekend,” said Head Coach Blake Anderson. “It was an eye-opening experience. I love the win, but it’s a chance to learn and hopefully improve quickly.”

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Senior Quarterback Justice Hansen set the school record for touchdowns in a single game (six) to go along with 423 yards on 26-36 passing and one interception. He also added 31 yards on the ground on five carries.

“It is a school record? I didn’t know it was a school record. It’s just a testament to the guys around me. I had a clean pocket all night,” Hansen said.

Remarkably, the six touchdowns Hansen threw were to six different receivers for the Red Wolves. In total, the team had seven touchdown passes (also a school record) to seven receivers.

“In a lot of offenses, guys tend to lock onto one receiver as their go-to guy. I don’t think we have just one guy. As a quarterback that really allows me to go through all my reads and put the ball wherever it needs to be,” Hansen said.

A-State (1-0, 0-0) drew first blood, capping off their opening drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Jonathan Adams Jr. with 9:05 left in the first quarter.

The Redhawks (0-1, 0-0) intercepted Hansen at their own 10-yard line, eventually setting up a 5-yard touchdown pass from Daniel Santacaterina to Kobe Bryer, tying the game at seven apiece with 10:34 left in the second quarter.

The Red Wolves wasted no time regaining the lead, capping off a five-play, 63-yard drive thanks to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Justin McInnis in just under two minutes.

The Redhawks responded almost instantly, as Marquis Terry reeled off a 67-yard touchdown run on the second play of the drive. With 8:02 left in the first half, the game sat at a stalemate, 14-14.

A-State was able to take control before the half, as Hansen tossed his third touchdown pass, this time to Kendrick Edwards from 36 yards out. The Red Wolves missed a 46-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half, setting a 21-14 halftime score.

Early penalties cost the Red Wolves tremendously. A third-down sack was negated due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and a 46-yard punt return that would have given the Red Wolves a first down at the SEMO 40 was negated, resulting in the Red Wolves starting inside their own 10-yard line. Those, among other self-inflicted wounds, led to the Red Wolves finishing the first half with nine penalties for 85 yards.

“It’s heartbreaking. We had guys that didn’t respond well and it hurt our football team. It was one of the first things we talked about in the locker room (after the game),” said Anderson. “It was a comedy of errors.”

“(It was) sloppy. It’s going to be a great film to watch,” Hansen said.

It truly was a tale of two halves for the Red Wolves.

A-State opened the second half with a 59-second, three-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 57-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Javonis Isaac to give the Red Wolves a 28-14 lead.

The points started piling up from there.

Bubba Ogbedor was next in line to catch a Hansen touchdown, and he did so with 8:51 left in the third quarter from six yards out to extend the lead to 34-14 after a missed PAT.

The next two drives for the Red Wolves went for a combined two plays, 121 yards and two touchdowns, lasting a total of 22 seconds. First was a 54-yard strike from backup quarterback Logan Bonner to Omar Bayless on his first attempt of the season and the second was Hanen’s record-breaking throw, a 67-yard shot to Marcel Murray, setting the score at 48-14.

If you weren’t keeping up, that’s a 27-0 third quarter for the Red Wolves.

SEMO scored late to beat the spread (+31.5), setting the final score at 48-21.

“It was a reality check at halftime. We weren’t playing very well, and the offense came out and played really well and we just started clicking,” Anderson said. “They responded to a bad half in the right way: like a mature football team.”

SEMO spent the entire second half without their starting quarterback after an injury and subsequent targeting penalty on the Red Wolves led to him leaving the game for good.

“It was the tale of two halves – the first half we were playing well. We went up with them and we got a little tired, obviously, on defense. I think fatigue set in a little bit on defense. They snapped the ball pretty quick,” said SEMO Head Coach Tom Matkewicz. “We left two guys open, and they hit them and capitalized on it, really that was the difference other than our injury.”

Injuries

Dahu Green left the game early with a broken leg, which may require surgery according to Anderson. Late in the fourth quarter, Jamal Jones was carted off the field with an apparent head injury. He is expected to be okay.

Up Next

The Red Wolves will travel to Tuscaloosa next week to face the top-ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama.

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