Quae Drake INT return for TD vs. Georgia State 2022
Ty Hundley / ULM Football Creative
31
Winner ULM ULM 4-6 , 3-3
28
Georgia St. GSU 4-6 , 3-3
Winner
ULM ULM
4-6 , 3-3
31
Final
28
Georgia St. GSU
4-6 , 3-3
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ULM ULM 3 17 0 11 31
GSU Georgia St. 14 7 7 0 28

Game Recap: Football |

Special Delivery: Drake's TD Returns Lead ULM to Elusive Road Win at Georgia State

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

ATLANTA – ULM celebrated a happy return trip from Georgia State on Saturday, thanks to a pair of monumental returns by linebacker Quae Drake.

Drake scored two touchdowns off a blocked punt and an interception, and ULM earned its first road win since 2019 with a 31-28 victory over the Panthers at Center Parc Stadium.

"Not too many times does a defensive player get two touchdowns in a game," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "But he plays hard every snap. If you play hard, you're going to be around the ball, and if you're around the ball you're going to make plays. Quae has done that all year."

Said Drake: "I want to thank my coaches for putting me in a position to make plays. It's amazing just to be here and I'm forever thankful."

The Warhawks (4-6, 3-3 Sun Belt) were all thankful after claiming their first road win since beating Texas State, 24-14, on Oct. 10, 2019. ULM had lost 19 consecutive road games and was 0-11 away from Monroe under Bowden.

"Two good wins in a row and we won our first game on the road," Bowden said. "We go back on the road next week against a very good Troy team that's probably playing for a chance to be in the conference championship. We'll enjoy this game tonight and then we'll get on to Troy tomorrow."

The stat sheet favored Georgia State (4-6, 3-3), but ULM's pivotal plays tilted the ledger in favor of the Warhawks. The Panthers outgained ULM with 535 yards to 300 and collected 29 first downs compared to 17 by the Warhawks.

Ultimately, ULM's win was truly a team effort.

Calum Sutherland boomed three field goals, including a career-long 54-yarder in the fourth quarter. Linebacker Michael Batton paced the defense with 16 tackles, including 15 solos, one pass break-up and a forced fumble. Quarterback Chandler Rogers completed 15-of-29 passes for 225 yards, Tyrone Howell caught four balls for 70 yards and Andrew Henry added a rushing touchdown.

"It was amazing," Bowden said. "It was a little bit like last week, but the difference was special teams. We worked so hard to correct some special teams' problems we had against people like Texas and Alabama. We worked hard and felt coming into this game we had to win the turnover battle and win special teams. We won both of those and because of that, we won the game."

Similar to ULM's win over Texas State a week ago, the Warhawks needed a comeback. ULM, which fell behind 21-0 in its previous game, slipped into a 14-3 hole in the first quarter against the Panthers.

Georgia State claimed a 7-0 lead with 9:46 to go in the opening quarter after moving 68 yards in 12 plays on its first offensive series. Quarterback Darren Grainger, who gained chunks with a 21-yard pass play and a 15-yard pass interference penalty, finished the march with a 4-yard touchdown run.

ULM answered with a 44-yard field goal by Sutherland to narrow the deficit to 7-3. ULM drove 48 yards in eight plays to score with 6:35 showing in the first quarter.

The Panthers extended their lead to 14-3 on Tucker Gregg's 3-yard touchdown run to wrap a seven-play, 75-yard drive at the 3:38 mark.

ULM outscored GSU, 17-7, in the second quarter, starting with the monster play on special teams as Drake returned the blocked punt for a touchdown. Nick Torres made the block and Drake's 23-yard return with 14:16 remaining in the second quarter cut GSU's lead to 14-10.

"Thank you to Nick for making the effort to block the punt," Drake said. "I just saw the ball in the air and I was waiting on it to come down. I knew once it came down, I was going to make a play and score."

The Panthers kept coming offensively though, as Gregg's 9-yard touchdown run extended GSU's advantage to 21-10 to wrap a nine-play, 75-yard march with 11:20 left before the half.

The Warhawks added a 36-yard field goal from Sutherland with 5:58 left in the second quarter. Howell's two catches for 35 yards during the 11-play, 56-yard drive set up the kick that cut the lead to 21-13.

ULM pulled within 21-20 with 2:27 remaining before halftime on Henry's 4-yard touchdown run. The pivotal play in a four-play, 60-yard drive came when Rogers connected with Boogie Knight on a diving 37-yard reception to help create the opportunity.

GSU led by one at the break, despite outgaining ULM, 312-164, over the first two quarters. Rogers was 9-of-19 for 129 yards passing for ULM while Grainger completed 15-of-21 attempts for 222 yards and rushed for 34 yards and one score.

"Defensively, we started to shut them down, and offensively, we made some plays," Bowden said at halftime. "The blocked punt for the score was a big difference maker."

Defense dominated the third quarter until the 4:11 mark, when GSU's Grainger tossed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Ja'Cyais Credle to finish a 14-play, 87-yard drive. The Panthers opened the period with a turnover on downs before forcing a ULM punt prior to the scoring march to go ahead 28-20.

With 14:13 remaining in the game, Sutherland boomed a career-long 54-yard field goal to draw within 28-23. ULM drove 39 yards in nine plays to collect its first second-half points.

"He said he could make it and we knew we had a little wind behind our back," Bowden said. "If it had been 55, I'm not sure it would have gotten there, but he knew he could do 54 and that's what we gave him a shot to do."

The Warhawks were driving again at the GSU 27 when Antavious Lane intercepted Rogers on a ball that bounced off tight end Zach Rasmussen's hands. But the tide turned quickly three plays later when Drake picked off Grainger and returned the interception for a 34-yard touchdown. With the 2-point conversion pass from Rogers to Jevin Frett, ULM led 31-28 with 6:23 remaining in the game.

"Coach Vic (Koenning) called a great play and I saw the ball come out of the quarterback's hands," Drake said. "I knew I had it and the rest is history."

The ULM defense did its part to close out the win, first by forcing a turnover on downs with 3:53 remaining in the contest. Zack Woodard halted a scrambling Grainger on fourth-and-2 at the GSU 48.

GSU's final drive saw the Panthers convert twice on fourth down, including a fourth-and-16 pass by Grainger that picked up 17 yards. Then on fourth-and-14 with 5 seconds to go at the ULM 49, Car'lin Vigers tackled Jamari Thrash after a 12-yard reception and the Warhawks were guaranteed their victory formation.

"The biggest thing I've seen is the ability of our defensive coaches and our players to make their adjustments at halftime," Bowden said. "We don't have the strongest personnel right now of all the people in our league. We get pushed around a little bit in the first quarter. But the way they keep playing and the way they finish in the second half, I'm just so proud."

Something special: Torres' blocked punt in the second quarter, returned by Drake for a 23-yard touchdown, was ULM's first since Ajalen Holley blocked a punt against UL Lafayette on Dec. 3, 2016.

The punt return for a score was the first for a Warhawk since Marcus Green's 71-yarder at Ole Miss on Oct. 6, 2018

Good play: The Warhawks registered their first takeaway in five games. After a 4-yard catch by Talique Williams, ULM's Batton forced a fumble and Fitzroy Gardner recovered at the GSU 44. ULM failed to take advantage with 1:17 left in the half, going three-and-out after the turnover.

ULM's last takeaway came on an interception by Vigers against UL Lafayette on Sept. 24.

Did you notice?: Linebacker Tristan Driggers (shoulder), who was leading ULM with 56 tackles, did not play after nine-straight starts. Ouachita Parish High School product Carl Glass Jr. made his first career start in place of Driggers and contributed a career-best eight tackles.

Milestone moment: With his 37-yard reception from Rogers late in the second quarter, Knight eclipsed 3,000 career all-purpose yards.

Enemy lines: Grainger completed 25-of-40 passes for 349 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Thrash caught nine passes for 164 yards while Marcus Carroll rushed for 100 yards on 28 attempts.

Up next: ULM plays at Troy on Nov. 19. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m.

Tail feathers: Sutherland's 54-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was his career long, besting a 53-yarder vs Liberty on Oct. 16, 2021. He also kicked a 44-yarder in the first quarter. His previous long in 2022 was 40 yards. Sutherland, who has made 8-of-9 field-goal attempts this season, has converted his last seven in a row. … ULM game captains were CB Duece Mayberry, WR/KR Alred Luke and OT Keydrell Lewis. … ULM wore its P-40 helmets with white jerseys and gold pants. … Formerly known as Turner Field, Center Parc Stadium was reconfigured for college football in 2017 after serving as the home of baseball's Atlanta Braves from 1997-2016.
 
Quae Drake blocked punt return for TD vs. Georgia State 2022

 
 
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