Red Wolves earn 45-28 victory over ULM
An electric night by Johnnie Lang Jr. propelled the Arkansas State football team to a 45-28 Homecoming victory over ULM Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.
Lang racked up 276 all-purpose yards (46 rushing, 51 receiving, 179 return) and became just the third player in Sun Belt history to score rushing, receiving and kickoff return touchdowns in the same game – the first since 2010 (T.Y. Hilton, FIU). It marked just the 15th time since 2000 an FBS player achieved the feat.
A-State (2-3, 1-1 SBC) extended its winning streak in the series against the Warhawks (2-3, 1-1) to 13 games with the win. The Red Wolves outgained ULM 355-290, allowing the fewest yards against a Sun Belt foe since Oct. 26, 2019 (Texas State – 227).
James Blackman completed 78 percent of his passes (25-of-32) for 254 yards and a pair of scores, with Te’Vailance Hunt and Lang hauling in touchdowns. Hunt led A-State with six catches for 60 yards.
Brian Snead scored twice on the ground, rushing 17 times for 74 yards to lead the Scarlet and Black.
ULM quarterback Chandler Rogers completed 12 of 20 pass attempts for 138 yards and two touchdowns to Alred Luke and Zach Rasmussen. Luke led the Warhawks with two catches for 66 yards.
The Warhawks totaled 150 yards on the ground, led by 89 yards from Malik Jackson. He and Rogers rushed for touchdowns, with Rogers rushing for 56 yards on a dozen carries.
A-State struck first with 6:21 to go in the first when Blackman found Hunt in the front of the end zone for a 5-yard strike to end a 12-play drive. ULM then tied it on a 58-yard pass from Rogers to Luke.
With 2:12 left in the opening quarter, Dominic Zvada drilled a 46-yard field goal to give the Red Wolves a 10-7 lead after one. Zvada improved to 7-for-7 on the year from field-goal range.
The Warhawks took a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter when Rogers found Rasmussen for a 5-yard scoring toss. A-State scored 14 unanswered to close the half with a 24-14 advantage when Snead scored on a 13-yard rush followed by an 18-yard strike from Blackman to Lang.
After forcing a 3-and-out to start the second half, A-State drove down the field in 10 plays for its third consecutive scoring drive, capped off by a 1-yard rush by Lang to make it 31-14. ULM responded with a 1-yard plunge by Jackson, but Lang returned the kickoff 98 yards to push the score back out to 38-21. Lang’s kickoff return touchdown was the first by an A-State player inside Centennial Bank Stadium since Nov. 23, 2019 (Kirk Merritt versus Georgia Southern).
ULM once again made it a 10-point affair with a 22-yard scamper by Rogers with 11:22 to play, but Snead later scored on a 10-yard rush to make it 45-28 with 4:28 remaining. The Warhawks took over on offense, but a turnover on downs handed the ball back to the Red Wolves with just over two minutes remaining. A-State then ran out the clock to close out the victory.
A-State closes out its home stretch next Saturday, Oct. 8, hosting James Madison in a nationally-televised contest on NFL Network. Kick-off at Centennial Bank Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
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