JONESBORO, Ark. – Despite creating three turnovers on defense, the ULM football team dropped its first conference game of the season when Arkansas State topped the Warhawks 28-14 on the road Saturday night in Centennial Bank Stadium.
The ULM (3-2, 2-1 Sun Belt) defense forced two sacks and seven tackles for loss to go along with two interceptions and a forced fumble, while Arkansas State (3-2, 1-0 Sun Belt) jumped on two fumbles.
Pete Thomas completed 21 of 39 passes for 181 yards and one touchdown, while backup Brayle Brown went 5-of-7 for 97 yards and one touchdown.
Rashon Ceasar and Kenzee Jackson each captured 82 yards on the night with 10 and 6 catches, respectively. Ajalen Holley added four receptions for 76 yards.
Gerrand Johnson led the Warhawks on defense with 11 tackles, one sack and two tackles for loss, while Joey Gautney added ten tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble.
Fredi Knighten went 21-of-36 for 284 yards and threw two interceptions.
The Warhawks cut the lead to 14-7 with 12:21 remaining in the game when Thomas connected with Holley for a 59-yard touchdown pass. The catch was Holley's third touchdown reception of 58 or more yards this season.
The first quarter remained scoreless as both teams showed impressive defensive stops. The Warhawks were able to stop a fourth and five attempt to gain a turnover on downs midway through the quarter. Later in the frame, ULM was able to stop Arkansas State's drive in its tracks, forcing a 23-yard field goal attempt that went wide right to keep the score nodded at zero heading into the second quarter.
The ULM defense continued to battle hard as they recovered an Arkansas State fumble and grabbed an interception in the second quarter. The Warhawks made a crucial stop on fourth and ten at the end of the first half to keep the game scoreless going into the break.
Arkansas State put points on the board first as Knighten scrambled three yards into the end zone to put the Red Wolves up 7-0 with 8:51 remaining in the third quarter.
The home team increased their lead to 14-0 when Knighten tossed a 12-yard pass to Tyler Trosin with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
Arkansas State stretched its lead out with two more touchdowns for a 28-7 score in the fourth quarter.
Brown found Jackson on a 41-yard touchdown strike to make it a two-possession game with 1:30 left in the game.
ULM takes the gridiron again on Saturday as they travel to Kentucky (4-1) for an 11 a.m. showdown televised on the SEC Network.
First Quarter
No scoring
Second Quarter
No scoring
Third Quarter
8:51: ASU – 3 yard run by Fredi Knighten, (Ferguson, L. XP), 3-71-0:33, ASU 7-0
1:38: ASU – 12 yard pass from Fredi Knighten to Tyler Trosin, (Ferguson, L. XP), 11-80-4:30, ASU 14-0
Fourth Quarter
12:21: ULM – 59 yard pass from Pete Thomas to Ajalen Holley, (Manton, J. XP), 1-59-0:10, ASU 14-7
10:08: ASU – 29 yard run by Fredi Knighten, (Ferguson, L. XP), 6-75-2:13, ASU 21-7
9:13: ASU – 12 yard run by Fredi Knighten (Ferguson, L. XP), 2-22-0:25, ASU 28-7
1:30: ULM – 41 yard pass from Brayle Brown to Kenzee Jackson, (Manton, J. XP), 7-97-1:11, ASU 28-14
