Ragin' Cajuns push past Red Wolves

The Red Wolves got off to a shaky start Saturday against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns and couldn't seem to bounce back for the rest of the half.

ASU's first drive went three and out when a bad snap resulted in a loss of about 25 yards on third down.

ULL answered with a 10 play drive for 56 yards, resulting in a rushing touchdown by freshman quarterback Blaine Gautier.

ASU's second drive looked promising at first ,with a 26 yard kickoff return by Brandon Thompkins, but a false start penalty against the Red Wolves on a third down made it hard for them to convert, resulting in a punt.

Fortunately for the Red Wolves, ULL made the same third down mistake on their next drive and ASU received the ball with about two minutes remaining in the first quarter. Once again unable to gain a first down the Red Wolves ended the quarter 0-3 on third down conversions.

Bryan Hall, junior defensive tackle, forced a fumble in the second quarter to regain possession for the Red Wolves, but a successful ASU drive was again prevented by penalties, as they were flagged for holding on the first down of that possession.

ULL scored a second touchdown with about three minutes remaining in the half, when quarterback Chris Masson, a sophomore, ran the ball into the end zone. ASU drove down the field to answer with a 36-yard field goal by senior Josh Arauco, leaving it 14-3 at the half.

A fumble recovery early in the third quarter gave the Red Wolves possession, but Corey Leonard, senior quarterback, threw an interception to end that drive only three plays in. A fumble by Leonard around the 20 yard line on the next Red Wolf drive resulted in a ULL touchdown with about five minutes to go in the third quarter. Masson again rushed for the Ragin' Cajun touchdown, bringing the score to 21-3.

The fourth quarter brought some excitement for ASU as freshman quarterback Ryan Aplin came into the game and made a significant difference.

"We were just looking for some sort of a spark," said head coach Steve Roberts on making a quarterback change.

Senior running back Reggie Arnold rushed for a touchdown to make it 21-10 with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter, gaining a little bit of momentum for Arkansas State.

With a little over 10 minutes left in the game, Aplin threw a 64-yard completion to freshman wide receiver Taylor Stockemer, and in the very next play Arnold rushed for another touchdown. Aplin then rushed for a two point conversion, closing the point margin to 21-18.

With 2:52 left in the game, a pass thrown by Aplin was intercepted by sophomore safety Lance Kelley, and the Red Wolves were unable to regain possession.

Although he didn't quite lead his team to victory, Aplin did seem to create that spark that the Red Wolves were looking for.

His performance leaves many wondering who will start at the quarterback position in next week's game against Florida Atlantic.

"It's too early to tell," said Roberts. "There are some decisions to be made this week."

The final score was 21-18, leaving ASU with a record of 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Red Wolves will travel to FAU next weekend, kicking off at 3 p.m. in Boca Raton.