Red Wolves dominate Chanticleers 44-16, reach bowl eligibility mark

Arkansas State notched their sixth win of the season, reaching bowl eligibility in the process, thanks to a 44-16 win over the Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina. This is the eighth-consecutive year that the Red Wolves will be bowl eligible.

The Red Wolf offense got rolling early and never looked back, racking up 454 total yards while only giving up 293 on the night.

“We’ve gone on the road and not played our best before so for guys to come out and handle their business, create turnovers and take care of the ball was really big for us,” said Arkansas State head coach Blake Anderson. “It is a pretty cool thing to be bowl eligible for the eighth straight year and that is a streak we wanted to keep alive, but we still have more to do and more we want to accomplish.”

Justice Hansen had one of the most efficient stat lines you’ll ever see in a college football game, going 18-for-20 for 253 yards and four touchdowns, playing only three quarters. His 90 percent completion rate is good enough for second in school history (minimum 15 attempts), as Ryan Aplin finished at 90.5 percent (19-for-21) twice in his illustrious career. When any quarterback has more touchdowns than incompletions, you can rightfully call it a solid night.

Punter Cody Grace only had to make two appearances on the night (the Chants muffed and recovered both), and it was after Hansen had already been pulled for the night. With Hansen running the show, the Red Wolves scored on six of seven drives. The only drive that they failed to score was a missed field goal as time expired in the first half.

Kirk Merritt picked up where Justin McInnis left off a week ago, hauling in 11 passes for 180 yards. After being held out for much of the game against South Alabama, Marcell Murray dazzled his way to 86 yards and two scores on the night, one on the ground and the other through the air, on just 11 touches. Warren Wand also got in on the action, taking his six rushes and one catch for 26 yards and two scores.

Though a bowl bid is not set in stone, reaching the six-win mark is a huge first step in the process. Step two will be next weekend. The Red Wolves will play in Jonesboro for the final time this season when the Warhawks of Louisiana-Monroe come to town. Kickoff is set for 2:00 P.M. at Centennial Bank Stadium.

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