Josh Johnson second TD run vs Georgia State 2019
Miles Jordan
31
GEORGIA STATE GSU 6-3 , 3-2
45
Winner ULM ULM 4-5 , 3-2
GEORGIA STATE GSU
6-3 , 3-2
31
Final
45
ULM ULM
4-5 , 3-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
GSU GEORGIA STATE 10 14 7 0 31
ULM ULM 14 10 7 14 45

Game Recap: Football |

ULM Rushes Past Georgia State as Johnson Tops 1,000-Yard Plateau

By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

MONROE, La. – ULM was in a rush to turn the page when the team hit the field on Saturday.

Running back Josh Johnson ran 20 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns as the Warhawks knocked off Georgia State 45-31 at Malone Stadium.

"I was proud of the players," ULM coach Matt Viator said. "I was proud of the energy that we came out with."

Johnson recorded his fifth 100-yard game of the season while becoming ULM's first 1,000-yard rusher since Frank Goodin (219 rushes for 1,126 yards and 13 TDs) in 2009.

"I understand that Josh Johnson hit a milestone too," Viator said. "I'm really excited for that young man, as hard as he's worked to get back on the field and have the kind of production he's had."

ULM quarterback Caleb Evans added 110 rushing yards and a score and passed for 291 yards and three touchdowns for a balanced ULM attack that delivered 590 yards of total offense.

"We're normally at our best when we have some balance," Viator said. "It doesn't get much better than 299 rushing and 291 passing."

The Warhawks (4-5, 3-2) had lost two straight Sun Belt games, including a disappointing 48-41 home decision to Arkansas State last week, but their chances to reach bowl eligibility were still there. Further, ULM hadn't forgotten a stinging loss at Georgia State last year.

"We know as a team, we've still got a lot to play for," said Johnson, who has rushed for 1,017 yards and nine TDs on 157 carries. "It's still a three-game season now. We still have a lot to play for and we still have a lot to accomplish. We have our goals ahead of us."

ULM needed all the firepower it could muster to outlast Georgia State (6-3, 3-2), which rushed for 414 yards as two runners also exceeded 100 yards. Tra Barnett dazzled with 190 yards and two TDs  and Destin Coates added 119 yards and one score.

Star quarterback Dan Ellington, who left the game with an apparent right knee injury in the second quarter, rushed for 91 yards on nine carries.

"I was really disappointed to see such a great player as Dan Ellington go out of the game and be injured," Viator said. 

The contest swung back and forth all afternoon as the teams traded scores. Overall, there were eight lead changes and two ties in the Sun Belt shootout. However, GSU's last four possessions resulted in a punt, a lost fumble and two turnovers on downs.

"The biggest key was the fact that we had some stops on defense in the second half," Viator said. "The fumble was big and we had a couple of other stops and forced them to punt. And obviously, we stopped them on the two fourth downs." 

ULM went ahead for good at 38-31 when Evans flipped a 1-yard touchdown pass to Markis McCray with 7:40 left in the game to cap an 11-play, 65-yard drive.

"We knew eventually our defense was going to get a stop," Johnson said. "I hated that happened to the quarterback but that kind of changed the game. I just knew our defense was going to get a stop for us."

The first half featured more go than stops for the two potent offenses.

Georgia State scored on its first series with a 39-yard field goal by Brandon Wright. The Panthers churned out 45 yards on 12 plays to take the 3-0 lead. 

Evans ran in a 16-yard touchdown with 5:59 left in the first quarter to put ULM ahead 7-3. A 30-yard catch by a wide-open Jonathan Hodoh was instrumental on the nine-play, 77-yard drive.

Coates split ULM's defense on a 37-yard touchdown run as Georgia State answered with 3:25 showing in the first to go up 10-7. 

Tight end Josh Pederson's seventh touchdown catch of the year covered a career-long 43 yards from Evans as ULM regained the lead 14-10. ULM needed just five plays for the 94-yard drive that also featured a 36-yard run by Johnson. The touchdown pass was No. 50 in Evans' career and also moved him past Steven Jyles and into second place for career total yardage at ULM.

Trading big plays, Georgia State picked off Evans and converted the takeaway into points three plays later as Ellington scampered 40 yards for a touchdown. The successful three-play, 59-yard drive put the Panthers ahead 17-14 with 12:54 left in the half.

ULM's offense responded again, answering with Johnson's 10-yard touchdown run to conclude a nine-play, 75-yard movement. Evans scrambled for 7 yards on third-and-6 from the GSU 21 to keep the drive moving as ULM jumped ahead 21-17 with 9:28 to play.

The scoring frenzy continued as Georgia State reclaimed the lead on Barnett's 1-yard touchdown run. The Panthers led 24-21 after their 12-play, 75-yard drive.

ULM tied the game at 24-24 right before the half. Jared Porter's 31-yard field goal with 43 seconds remaining came at the end of an 11-play, 61-yard march.

Georgia State's dynamic quarterback Ellington went down with a leg injury with 32 seconds left in the half and needed assistance to leave the field.

In the first half, ULM rang up 332 yards total offense, with 170 passing and 162 rushing. Johnson posted 93 yards rushing while Evans ran for 64 and threw for 170.

"Good game, back and forth," Viator said at halftime. "Offensively, we're playing good, except for the one interception. Now, we've got to play good together."

With red-shirt freshman Cornelious Brown into the game at quarterback for the second half, Georgia State still moved the ball but ULM's Larance Shaw blocked a field-goal attempt on the opening series.

"Me and Donald Louis just played great technique," Shaw said. "We just double-teamed the guard, Donald gave me a little push and I came in free and put my hand up and blocked it."

After recovering at their 18, the Warhawks quickly flipped the field with a 46-yard pass from Evans to Zach Jackson. Johnson then raced 30 yards for his second touchdown to give ULM the 31-24 advantage.

Barnett's 7-yard touchdown run tied the game at 31-31 with 8:24 remaining in the third. The Panthers ran on all eight plays of a 75-yard drive, including a 41-yard jaunt by Coates.

After the McCray touchdown, the defense delivered a takeaway when Chase Day forced a Barnett fumble recovered by Traveion Webster at the ULM 36. Although, the offense went three and out and couldn't make it count, it was one of the key plays for a defense that did its part late in the game.

McCray's second touchdown catch of the game came with 2:46 remaining and sealed ULM's win. The senior used his speed to reach the end zone on a 14-yard reception from Evans.

"They're a tough team to beat," Viator said. "I see why they're in the position they are. They run the football, and they're physical on both sides of the ball."

Up next: ULM visits Georgia Southern for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 16.

Tail feathers: Evans passed former ULM quarterback John Holman for fourth place with his 52nd touchdown pass and extended his school record for rushing touchdowns to 33. …ULM game-day captains were QB JT Jackson, OG Brandon Jones, RB Austin Vaughn and RB Kayin White. … Offensive tackle Eastwood Thomas made his team-leading 39th consecutive start. Evans and center Bobby Reynolds started their 31st consecutive contests. … Johnson's 36-yard run was his ninth of more than 20 yards this year. … Sophomore WR Perry Carter's 37-yard reception in the second quarter was a career-long. 
 
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