MONROE, La. - It was truly a reversal of fortune.
Louisana-Monroe rallied from a 13-0 deficit to beat Arkansas State 30-13 at Malone Stadium on Saturday, taking its first victory of the year and stunning the Indians in their Sun Belt Conference opener before 12,088 fans.
Arkansas State entered 2-2 after almost beating then-No. 4 Texas in the opener, taking a convincing victory over SMU and rallying from a 31-6 deficit to beat Memphis in its last game.
But Louisiana-Monroe, 0-4 with a Sun Belt loss to Troy, proved just how unpredictable the league is in sending Arkansas State to an 0-1 start and ending the Indians' run of six consecutive, conferenceopening victories. A loss to Tulsa, designated a conference game in 2003, was later ruled to be a nonconference game.
"We played Texas, Tennessee, SMU and Memphis," Indians Coach Steve Roberts said. "Our league is a good league. You can't say there's going to be a drop-off after playing those opponents coming into a Sun Belt schedule because anybody can beat anybody in our league.
"It's been proven every year of the league, and we've got to accept that and step up to the challenge and make some plays."
There were mishaps and big plays on both sides, but the game seemed to hinge on a pair of reverses.
Arkansas State led 13-3 in the first half when a receiver reverse went for minus-3 yards as the drive stalled and ended in a missed field goal. From that point, Louisiana-Monroe scored the next 27 points and used a reverse on a fake punt to preserve a drive that led to the field goal that made it 20-13.
Louisiana-Monroe dealt the fatal blow when Kinsmon Lancaster completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Darrell McNealwith 9:32 to go. Cole Wilson added a 20-yard field goal with 3:04 left.
Arkansas State's efforts to rally in the second half were undermined by Josh Arauco's missed 43-yard field goal, penalties like the holding call that erased Reggie Arnold's 26-yard run in the third quarter and a dropped touchdown pass by Chris Miller, who scored the Indians' only touchdown in the first half. Levi Dejohnette also dropped a ball in the end zone in the first half.
"It wasn't a single play tonight, it was the overall performance of their football team combined with the lack of making plays on our football team," Roberts said. "We had dropped balls in the end zone. We had people running open that we didn't hit. We had runs we didn't make. We had blocks we didn't stay on. We had defensive linemen staying on blocks. We had linebackers not getting in their gaps. We had DBs not getting great coverage. We had kickers not making field goals.
"You can't say it was just because we dropped two touchdown passes. It was a total team deal."
Trailing 17-13 at halftime, the Indians got a break when Warhawks punter Scott Love dropped the snap and was swarmed under to give Arkansas State possession at the Louisiana-Monroe 26 with 10:39 left in the third quarter.
But Miller dropped Corey Leonard's 26-yard, third-down pass in the end zone, and Arauco had his second missed field goal after kicking two in the first half.
The Warhawks had a bit more success the next time they set up to punt. Cornerback Darrius Battles lined up at gunner and came across on the reverse to pick up 11 yards for a first down at the Indians' 45.
The Warhawks padded theirlead with Wilson's 20-yard field goal that made it 20-13 with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
"That was a big play. That was a good play by them," Roberts said of the fake punt. "We went down and stopped them I believe, and they only got three points out of it. It's a 20-13 ballgame at that point and there's tons of time left on the clock."
Roberts said Louisiana-Monroe turned the tide as much with its defense as its offense.
"There were several turning points," he said. "I thought in the second quarter when we didn't get scores and were settling for three points in the first quarter and then in the second quarter. That gave them a lot of life, knowing that they stopped us down there when we had good drives going."
Indians quarterback Corey Leonard was 14 of 35 for 206 yards and 1 touchdown with 2 interceptions. He finished as the leading rusher with 90 yards as Arnold, plagued by an ankle injury sustained Sept. 27 againstMemphis, was in and out and gained 52 yards.
"I think we made a mistake in probably every aspect of our team tonight," Leonard said. "Offensively, we killed ourselves. Too many times I missed wideopen receivers, not communicating stuff well, and I've got to play better for this team to win and the offense to be productive."
Warhawks tailback Calvin Dawson, who was No. 5 in the nation with a 139-yard average, finished with 114 yards and 1 touchdown. Lancaster was 15 of 22 for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"I think they were prepared," linebacker Ben Owens said. "They came out and executed."
Speaking for the Indians, Owens said the failure was in not delivering the decisive blow, offensively or defensively, when the Warhawks were down in the first half.
Arkansas State gained 290yards in the first half and scored on its first three possessions, but managed only 13 points. The Indians settled for Arauco field goals of 33 and 29 yards. They got their touchdown on a 21-yard pass from Leonard to Miller to take a 13-0 lead with 13:02 left in the half.
The Indians now face six consecutive Sun Belt opponents with a conference loss already to their credit. Roberts pointed out the Indians had two losses in 2005, when they won the title but also won their opener that year.
"We can still win out and have an opportunity to win a conference championship," Roberts said. "We're in the same situation we were in 2005, and I'm really curious to see how this football team bounces back and controls that just like we did in 2005."
Sports, Pages 38 on 10/07/2007