A second-half offensive surge on Saturday afternoon carried the Arkansas State football team past ULM, 34-24, at Malone Stadium.
A-State (4-4, 2-2 SBC) earned its 14th consecutive win over the Warhawks (2-6, 0-5) and scored 24 points in the second half.
The Red Wolves out-gained ULM 457-448, including 298 passing and 159 rushing, marking their second straight game of 400-plus yards.
Zak Wallace rushed 18 times for 118 yards and two scores, averaging 6.6 yards per carry, while Corey Rucker hauled in six receptions for a season-high 160 yards – his third time recording 100-plus receiving yards against the Warhawks.
Charles Willekes led A-State with a career-high 12 tackles, including a sack, with freshman Javante Mackey matching his season high of 11 stops. Nate Martey posted a career-high eight tackles and added three quarterback hurries.ULM had a pair of early touchdowns wiped due to penalties, but struck first on a 50-yard field goal by Derek McCormick.
A-State answered on the next drive, marching 75 yards in under two minutes to take a 7-3 lead on a 2-yard rushing score by Raynor.McCormick added a pair of field goals from 30 and 20 yards out to give the hosts a 9-7 lead with 5:32 left in the first half, but Dominic Zvada booted a 49-yard kick through the uprights with just over 2 minutes left in the half to give the Red Wolves a 10-9 lead at the break.
The Warhawks retook a 16-10 lead in the third quarter when Blake Murphy found Nolan Quinlan for a 32-yard touchdown. Murphy completed 25 of his 44 passes for 300 yards and two scores for ULM.
A-State then scored 24 unanswered points to lead 34-16, beginning with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Raynor to Courtney Jackson to cap a 13-play drive that made it 17-16 after three.
Wallace then found the end zone twice early in the fourth quarter, scoring on rushes of 34 yards and 1 yard to push the Red Wolves' lead out to 31-16. Zvada tacked on a 42-yard field goal with 2:08 left to cap A-State's scoring. With 22 seconds remaining, Murphy connected with NyNy Davis for a score, followed by a successful 2-point conversion, but the onside kick was recovered by the Red Wolves to seal the win.
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