Cards defeat Arkansas State 21-13

Louisville, KY - It wasn’t quite a thriller, but the Louisville football team held on to outlast Arkansas State 21-13 Saturday at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The Cards built an early lead on 408 yards of total offense and then relied on some key defensive plays in the second half to hold on for the win. The victory improved Louisville to 3-5 on the season as the Cards wrapped up its non-conference schedule

Freshman quarterback Will Stein, a walk-on from Trinity High School, made his first collegiate start and completed 20-of-39 passes for 232 yards. Past starters Adam Froman and Justin Burke were injured in the Cards’ last game against Cincinnati and
both were unavailable.

“I knew I had it in me,” Stein said. “I always knew that I could play at any level. This year I’ve been doing well in practice. I did pretty well in the spring and the coaches had trust in me to go out there and get a win and I’m thankful for the opportunity,” he said.

Despite also missing starting running back Vic Anderson, the Cards fared well on the ground, rushing for 176 yards and two touchdowns. In his best game yet, freshman Darius Ashley ran for 77 yards and two touchdowns, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry.

Louisville was the first team to score, getting on the board on the team’s second drive. The Cards took command on their own 35-yard line and marched 65 yards in eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. The touchdown came on a 26-yard run from Ashley.

“It was great blocking first of all, especially by the offensive tackle Byron Stingily,” said Ashley about the touchdown run. “Joe Tronzo did a great job and Maurice Clark did a good job sealing the corner. After that it was pretty easy,” he said.

The Red Wolves answered on their opening drive in the second quarter. The Cards looked to have the ASU defense bottled up, but defensive end Rodney Gnat was called for a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty that gave the Red Wolves a first down and placed them in field goal position. Arkansas State capped the 12-play, 63-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal by Josh Arauco for a 7-3 score.

The Cards’ next offensive drive stalled, but the team received some help from its defense. ASU quarterback Corey Leonard’s pass was intercepted by Brandon Heath at the 25-yard line and returned for a touchdown. The pick six put Louisville ahead 14-3 at halftime.

Louisville’s defense forced Arkansas State into a three-and-out to begin the third quarter. Stein fared very well to start the second half, completing three-of-four passes in a 64-yard, 10-play drive. Two of the passes were completed to Trent Guy on crossing patterns and netted gains of 23 and 24 yards. Once inside the red zone, Ashley carried the load, rushing up the middle for a one-yard touchdown and 21-3 Louisville lead.

Leading by three scores with 8:23 left to play, the Cards looked to have control of the game. Arkansas State regrouped and scored 10 unanswered points to pull within one touchdown.

The comeback effort started when Stein was intercepted by Kelcie McCray at the ASU 49, setting up good field position for the Red Wolves. The team took advantage of the field position, driving 51 yards on six plays for a touchdown. Thompkins’ four-yard touchdown catch narrowed the margin to 21-10.

Louisville drove the field, but stalled on the 19-yard line. The Cards settled for a field goal attempt, but Payne missed from 36 yards out and the Louisville walked away empty handed.

Arkansas State took over from its 20-yard line and went immediately to the air. The Red Wolves passed for 61 yards to work their way to the Louisville 4-yard line. The Cards prevented the touchdown, but surrendered a 21-yard field goal to bring the margin to 21-13.

On the ensuing drive, the Cards again had a chance to put the game away, but failed. Trent Guy’s 31-yard kick off return started things rolling and Stein moved the Cards into the red zone. Louisville drove to the ASU 13 before facing a crucial fourth-and-one situation.

Coach Steve Kragthorpe opted to attempt the field goal, but Payne missed again. The 30-yard attempt missed wide right, giving Arkansas State the ball and a chance to tie the game with 3:18 remaining.

ASU’s drive didn’t last long as Chaz Thompson intercepted a deep pass at the Louisville 37. The Cards’ offense was unable to kill the clock though and were forced to punt after going three-and-out.

The Red Wolves regained the ball at their own 24 with 2:42 to play, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the game.

Arkansas State drove 62 yards into Louisville territory. Operating from the eight-yard line on first and goal, the Red Wolves couldn’t find the end zone. Leonard was sacked on second down and his next pass was incomplete.

On fourth and goal with the game on the line, Leonard slipped several Cardinal defenders and heaved a pass that sailed out of the end zone to seal the win for Louisville.

The win improved Louisville to 3-5 on the season as the Cards wrapped up their non-conference schedule. With Stein leading the Cards to victory, Louisville has now started a different quarterback in each of its three wins this season. Burke led the Cards to a win over Indiana State, while Froman beat Southern Miss.

“Obviously, it’s a good win,” said Kragthorpe. “They’ve got a pretty good football team and it was a little bit similar to the Iowa game. They took Iowa down to the wire 24-21 and had a chance to score at the end of the game and now Iowa is 9-0. Steve’s done a great job down there. He’s built a nice program there at Arkansas State and he’s doing a nice job. I’m proud of Will Stein and the way he played. I thought the performed well for us today. He did the things we asked him to do and managed the game well. So, again, its good to get the win,” Kragthorpe said.

Kragthorpe’s team will now have a week to prepare for West Virginia. The Cards face the Mountaineers in Morgantown next Saturday at 12:00 noon EDT.