The Arkansas State Red Wolves rallied to beat the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 28-27 Saturday night in Jonesboro to clinch bowl eligibility for the ninth consecutive season. The Red Wolves faced a six-point deficit with under a minute to play but found a way to win in the final seconds.
With just 32 seconds remaining, quarterback Layne Hatcher found Kirk Merritt in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown. Blake Grupe’s extra point gave the Red Wolves the lead and set the final at 28-27. Prior to the score, the Chanticleers reeled off 14 points in a row off A-State turnovers to re-gain the lead for the first time since early in the third quarter.
“I’m excited that we got the win. That’s really the only positive I can give you at this point. We’ve been in this position before without getting the job done, but tonight we did,” head coach Blake Anderson said.
Merritt finished the game with 7 catches for 70 yards and 2 touchdowns — including the game-winner — taking over sole possession of second place on the Arkansas State all-time receiving touchdowns list with his 17th. Fellow A-State receiver Omar Bayless occupies the top spot with 23. Bayless finished with 7 receptions for 103 yards and a touchdown, rewriting record books in the process. On the night, he moved into first place for most 100-yard receiving games in Sun Belt history, fifth place on A-State’s single-season receptions list, and owns sole possession of fourth place on the Sun Belt career list for receiving touchdowns.
Anderson also notched a spot in Sun Belt history, moving into sole possession of second place on the conference’s all-time wins list with his 35th. Only Larry Blakeney from Troy has more wins in the Sun Belt with 52.
“Beyond (the win), this might be the most frustrated I’ve ever been as a head coach. Maybe as embarrassed as I’ve been because of how undisciplined we played,” Anderson said. “I’m excited to be bowl eligible, but beyond that, I’m not pleased in any area. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The Red Wolves looked flat and uninspired for the majority of the contest, but still found a way to notch a victory. Despite a horrendous cavalcade of turnovers (5 resulting in 17 points for the Chanticleers), penalties (14 for 116 yards), and other self-inflicted wounds, the Red Wolves finished the night victorious.
The defense played one of their better games this season, coming up with four stops on fourth downs and coming up with a pair of interceptions; one of which resulted in a 66-yard touchdown for Caleb Bonner.
Late in the game, Arkansas State led 21-13. Coastal Carolina punted, and B.J. Edmonds called for a fair catch at the A-State 12-yard line. On the very next play, Hatcher threw an interception to Derick Bush, who then returned it for 17 yards to the A-State 16. Five plays later, the Chanticleers punched it. The two-point conversion was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 21-19 in favor of the Red Wolves.
However, fortune was still yet to fall on the side of the Red Wolves. On the ensuing kickoff, Merritt uncharacteristically fumbled the ball and the Chanticleers recovered it. Six plays later, Coastal Carolina found themselves in the end zone again. This time, the two-point try was successful, giving the Chanticleers a 27-21 lead with just 2:31 to play.
Then, some magic happened.
On the final drive for Arkansas State, the Red Wolves marched 76 yards on 11 plays, burning nearly two minutes off the clock. Hatcher connected with Merritt — the players responsible for the two previous turnovers that led to 14 points for Coastal Carolina — for the game-winning touchdown with just 32 seconds remaining.
On the next drive, the A-State defense forced Coastal Carolina into a fourth-and-1 near midfield. In a fight for three feet with the game on the line, the Arkansas State defensive front didn’t budge.
“That’s the game of football. You’ve got to find a way to win on your bad days. This was definitely a bad day until the last minute and a half or so,” Hatcher said. “Tonight the defense carried the load. I couldn’t be happier for those guys. At the end of the day, we learned how to win.”
The Red Wolves are now bowl eligible for a school-record ninth-consecutive season. When considering all the adversity the team has been through both through the offseason and regular season, that alone is a monumental accomplishment.
Despite all odds, the Red Wolves have found a way to salvage a season that seemed hopeless at one point. They’ve got at least two more contests and they still have noise to make in the Sun Belt Conference.
Next up, the Red Wolves will face the Eagles of Georgia Southern on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Centennial Bank Stadium in Jonesboro. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
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