Atlanta,GA. Georgia State defeats Arkansas State 52-38 in front of their home crowd. Tra Barnett rushed for over 100 yards in a stellar performance.
This was an exciting game between two evenly matched teams, both full of offensive talent. The Panthers opened up their playbook early keeping the Red Wolves defense on their heels. Arkansas State would respond with their own offensive attack, late in the first half. Both teams would improve defensively in the second half.
GSU drove down the field on their first possession with a balanced attack of run and pass. Their first drive would result in a three-yard touchdown run by number five Tra Barnett. The Red Wolves were unable to immediately answer with a four and out on their first possession. Early in the game the Arkansas State defense could not control the GSU passing attack. GSU Quarterback Dan Ellington had plenty of time in the pocket to pick his receiver. With two minutes left on the first half Ellington finds number 15 Pinckney for a 33 yard pass which placed them on the Red Wolves 37 yard line. This resulted in a 47 yard touchdown by number 17 Destin Coates with occurred at 14:55 in the second quarter, which put the Panthers ahead 14-0.
The GSU aggressive defense kept quarterback Layne Hatcher scrambling in the pocket as he had very little time to find a receiver. Through the second quarter the Panthers continued to force Arkansas State to respect their run so they could then take advantage of their secondary through the air with the passing attack. At 8:56 in the second quarter number 28 Seth Paige punches it in from seven yards out for the score, advancing the GSU lead to 21-0. The GSU offense went 80 yards in three minutes preceding the touchdown. At 8:39 the Red Wolves offense would find some motivation as Layne Hatcher connects with number nine Jonathan Adams for a 42 yard pass completion. They would finally answer with a 24 yard pass for a touchdown from Hatcher to number 13 Kirk Merritt. Closing the lead gap and making the score 21-7.
With eight minutes left in the second quarter. Late in the second quarter, GSU would drive down the field and top off their efforts with a 43 yard field goal. Making the score 24-7. Arkansas State was pressed to respond immediately as Hatcher found number 7 Omar Bayless for the pass down field. It appeared that Arkansas found rhythm in their passing attack, which assisted in opening up the run. Number 34 Marcel Murray would break free all the way to the end zone 28 yards for the score. GSU was not comfortable with their as Ellington would the offense down the field and then connect with number 15 Sam Pinckney for the 11 yard touchdown pass. With 47 seconds left in the half, Hatcher would find Omar Bayless for a 32 yard touchdown pass. Both teams went into the half with the score 31-21.
Arkansas State received the ball at the beginning of the second half and they would go four and out. GSU would take advantage for their first possession with a score by way of a 10 yard touchdown run by number 13 Kirk Merritt. The Panthers show at the beginning of the half that they would not back down from the running game which had provided them success in passing. The first defensive turnover of the game came at 10:07 in the third quarter by number 6 T. Stephens-McQueen, making the score 38-21. Two consecutive pass interference calls work against the Panthers defensive as Arkansas State takes advantage by way of a Hatcher touchdown pass to number seven Omar Bayless. A third consecutive pass interference called, however it was declined. Both teams showed improvement defensive in the third quarter. The score at the end of the third quarter was 38-28.
With 11 minutes in the fourth quarter, Arkansas takes a risk on fourth down and converts in the red zone. The gamble paid off as evidenced by Hatcher again connecting with Bayless for another touchdown pass. Which had pulled them within 3 points. At 10:30 in the fourth quarter the game was up for grabs. GSU wasn’t backing down as the offense produced a scoring drive that resulted in a one yard run touchdown by number 17 Destin Coates. The Red Wolves would respond with a field goal closing the lead gap and making the score 45-38 with 4:27 left in the game. Georgia State would score one last touchdown with a run from Coates and the would hold on to win the game 52-38.
Georgia State will now go to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the Sunbelt Conference. They will travel to Carolina to face-off against Coastal next on October 12.
Written by Marcus Jones
