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Jonesboro, AR – Contributed – I have been saying for the last several weeks that the Kennesaw State game would be a key to the Red Wolf football team’ s season. They are a well coached team that won 10 games last year and won Conference USA’ s league title.
Well, the Red Wolves passed the test 17-14 last night in dramatic fashion. Arkansas State held on two fourth down conversion attempts by Kennesaw State. The Owls proved to be a great tune-up for what will be tougher games against Sunbelt conference teams upcoming in the schedule. I believe that they will do fairly well in their league and will win enough games to go to another bowl.
And something I did not know and probably you did not either. Kennesaw State has 51,000 students and is one of the largest public schools in the country. They are beginning to devote some serious cash to athletics and are getting rid of their 8,000 seat stadium and building a new one more appropriate for FBS competition. Last year when they beat us I didn’t have much respect for them. I have a whole lot more now.
This game may not have been so close if we hadn’t missed two field goals by our very reliable field goal kicker Clune Van Andel. However, in the fourth quarter he made a key field goal that put the Red Wolves up for good. Our sure-handed receiver, Chauncey Cobb, also dropped a pass that would have been a sure touched out. I know he would love to have that pass his hands again but he also made several catches that made a big difference.
And how about our quarterback Trey Owens was outstanding, making great throw after great throw. Our receivers were absolutely fantastic and were nearly perfect all night. Owens threw for a total of 244 yards on 24 completions out of 34 attempts. And you can’t help but get a little excited about the young running backs that the Red Wolves had to call into service due to the fact that our top two running backs were out with injuries. They are quick and make great decisions. Freshman Solomon Baggett did a great job with 13 carries for 63 yards to lead all rushers. James Lee rushed five times for 27 yards and quarterback Trey Owens rushed 5 times for 27 yards. As a whole, the team rushed for 103 yards
For Kennesaw State, Ricky Collins, a transfer from Syracuse was solid as well. He connected on 17 of 21 for 129 yards and also ran nine times for 52 yards. But Alan (Bookie) Woods III was a real problem for Arkansas State. He rushed 19 times for 101 yards. He was really a tough runner and every time he got the ball I held my breath. He had the ability to drag Red Wolves up and down the field. Coach Jerry Mack, our former player and alumni, is doing a great job at Kennesaw State. I am certain that he will soon pick up a much larger job with larger pay.
One thing that I found very interesting was that our coach, Butch Jones, said that Kennesaw State played grass basketball, meaning that they would throw passes the majority of the game. Anyone there would have to say that grass basketball is not played by a team only attempting 24 passes. Now we may have had something to do with that by our scheme to defend them. One other little note is that we never got to quarterback Collins for a sack. We harassed him several times and made him throw incompletetions but we never really got to him.
No doubt the key to this game was the two stops on fourth down attempts by the Arkansas state defense. One of those stops was late in the game that allowed Arkansas State to get the ball back and hold it until time ran out.
Watching the game and looking at the stats indicate that the Red Wolves and the Owls were very similar and very close in talent. Without question, our Red Wolves are going to have to get a lot better over the next week before they go to Lafayette, Louisiana to play the raging Cajuns. They beat Charlotte last night 34-7. We have not beat them at Lafayette since 2013.
But this win was a very good one. There are no bad wins and this is certainly not one to lament over. No doubt, the Red Wolves are going to need all of their arsenal in place to defeat the Ragin Cajuns.
About the Author: Bob Troutt is a lifelong Jonesboro resident, Arkansas State University journalism graduate and longtime member of one of Northeast Arkansas’ most prominent newspaper families. A veteran of The Jonesboro Sun and a lifelong A-State fan, Troutt has spent decades watching—and caring deeply about—Arkansas State football.