COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A stout defensive effort that limited the Texas A&M offense to 272 yards below its season average was not enough to lift the ULM football team past the Aggies as the Warhawks fell 21-16 Saturday in front of 100,922 fans at Kyle Field.
The ULM (3-5) defense detained the Aggies (6-3), who were averaging 515 yards per game, to 243 total yards, including just 106 passing yards.
Hunter Kissinger led the defensive effort with 13 tackles including two for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery.
Mitch Lane and Cordero Smith added nine tackles each.
Pete Thomas completed 26 of 47 attempts for 246 yards and had one interception. The quarterback also led the team in rushing as he garnered 63 yards on 19 carries.
Kenzee Jackson led the Warhawks in receiving yards as he caught 8 passes for 87 yards, while Rashon Ceaser added 99 yards on five receptions.
The Warhawk defense held Kyle Allen to 13-of-18 passes. In addition, ULM sacked the freshman quarterback three times and recorded one interception.
Texas A&M struck first as Brandon Williams capped a 13-play drive with a one-yard run into the end zone to put the Aggies up 7-0 with 10:44 to play in the first quarter.
After going three-and-out on their first drive, the Warhawks regained possession of the ball as Bryce Ray snagged his first career interception off of Allen's pass attempt. However, the ULM offense could not capitalize on the turnover.
The Warhawks evened the score in the second quarter thanks to a drive that featured a series of trick plays. On the first play of the drive, Thomas handed the ball off to Brayle Brown, who completed a 15-yard pass to Jackson that advanced the Warhawks to the 25-yd. line. Later in the drive, Jackson took a hand-off from Thomas around the corner and then threw it back to Thomas, setting up second down and goal at the Aggie one-yard line. On the next play, Centarius Donald powered into the end zone to tie the game with 13:56 left until intermission.
After a punt return that put the home team deep in ULM territory, Tra Carson scrambled for a five-yard touchdown with 5:05 remaining in the half.
Later in the quarter, Allen completed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Speedy Noil before Justin Manton drilled a last second, career-long tying 51-yard field goal to cut Texas A&M's lead to 21-10 at the break.
Thomas-to-Jackson proved to be a dangerous combo once again as a 12-yard completion on fourth-and-five gave the Warhawks a fresh set of downs. The drive resulted in a 23-yard field goal by Manton, leaving the Aggies with a 21-13 lead early in the fourth quarter.
On the ensuing Texas A&M drive, Cody Robinson was sacked by Allen, popping the ball out and allowing Kissinger to jump on it for the recovery. The Warhawks second forced turnover led to a 22-yard field goal by Manton for a final score of 21-16.
ULM returns to Sun Belt play next weekend as they travel to Boone, North Carolina next Saturday to take on Appalachian State at 2:30 CT on ESPN3.
First Quarter
10:44: TAMU – One yard run by Brandon Williams, (Lambo, J. XP), 13-75-4:16, TAMU 7-0
Second Quarter
13:56: ULM – One-yard run by Centarius Donald, (Manton, J. XP), 8-90-3:35, Tied 7-7
05:05: TAMU – 5-yard run by Trey Carson, (Lambo, J. XP), 3-12-00:51, TAMU 14-7
01:05: TAMU – 29-yard pass from Kyle Allen to Speedy Noil, (Lambo, J. XP), 8-58-2:33, TAMU 21-7
00:01: ULM – 51-yard field goal by Justin Manton, 6-29-1:04, TAMU 21-10
Third Quarter
No scoring plays
Fourth Quarter
14:58: ULM – 23-yard field goal by Justin Manton, 17-76-6:23, TAMU 21-13
10:26: ULM – 22-yard field goal by Justin Manton, 11-33-4:17, TAMU 21-16
