JONESBORO, Ark. (AP)—Corey Leonard scored on a 10-yard run with 2:07 left to lift Arkansas State to a 10-6 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.
Arkansas State (3-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) has won seven straight at home.
Louisiana-Monroe, which shared the Sun Belt title with ASU and Louisiana-Lafayette last year, was trying to rally against the Indians for the second straight season. Louisiana-Monroe has now lost four of its last five meetings with ASU—its only victory came in last year’s 31-27 last-minute stunner.
Saturday’s game had most of its excitement in the final two minutes. After Leonard’s touchdown, Louisiana-Monroe (1-4, 0-2) drove to the Arkansas State 29 before running out of downs with 20 seconds left.
Chance Payne’s final pass in the end zone was broken up by Arkansas State’s Khayyam Burns and Montis Harrison.
The Indians dominated the statistics, but turned the ball over five times in Louisiana-Monroe territory, including two interceptions in the end zone. Arkansas State won the yardage battle 372-223.
Leonard, a redshirt freshman from Covington, La., rushed for 48 yards and completed 13-of-26 passes for 130 yards, both career highs. Louisiana-Monroe ended Arkansas State’s streak of not allowing a touchdown at Indian Stadium at 13 quarters when the Warhawks scored on the first play of the second quarter.
Louisiana-Monroe’s Calvin Dawson capped a 61-yard drive with an 8-yard TD run. Wilson Cole’s extra point kick, however, was wide, leaving it 6-3. Arkansas State had grabbed the lead at 3-0 on Josh Arauco’s 24-yard field goal at the 5:20 mark of the first quarter.
Head to Head - Week 6
| Team | Total Yds | Pass Yds | Rush Yds | First Downs | 3rdD% | Pen./Yds | Turnovers | Time of Poss. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana-Monroe | 223 | 93 | 130 | 13 | 25.0% | 5/41 | 2 | 27:18 |
| Arkansas State | 372 | 200 | 172 | 21 | 56.3% | 5/44 | 5 | 32:42 |
