JONESBORO — Arkansas State wide receiver Taylor Stockemer’s returned to the field two weeks ago for the Red Wolves offense, but he didn’t immediately make his presence felt as the Red Wolves’ best deep threat.
On Saturday, he did.
Locked in a scrap with South Alabama, Stockemer caught a 9-yard touchdown pass in the back corner of the end zone with roughly 12 minutes left for a two-score lead in a 36-29 victory at Liberty Bank Stadium.
“This was the first game I felt I was a 100 percent back,” said Stockemer, who hadn’t caught a touchdown pass since the GoDaddy.com Bowl in January. “It took me a little while to knock the rust off.”
Stockemer’s re-emergence came on cue in a game during which the Red Wolves (4-3, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) overcame three first-half turnovers and an inability to get its defense off the field to put away the Jaguars (1-5, 0-2), who are in their first season as an FBS member.
“We’re tickled to death to have the win but did a lot of things to shoot ourselves in the foot,” ASU Coach Gus Malzahn said. “We didn’t do a good job protecting the football, and we had trouble getting off the field. Bottom line is, we won.”
The return of Stockemer, who had battled a leg injury and missed three games after a loss to Oregon, was the right balm for a Red Wolves offense that was out gained in total yardage 373-312.
There was no doubt ASU needed him after South Alabama quarterback Ross Metheny threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jereme Jones to pull within 21-19 with 6:50 to go in the third quarter.
First, Stockemer made a 20-yard grab on a deep crossing route at the Red Wolves’ 45, and added 28 more on the next play down the left hash marks to the Jaguars 28.
“We started to get in a bit of a rhythm,” said Aplin, who threw for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns on 17 of 22 passing. “Guys were just getting open, getting good separation, which makes my job easier.”
Three plays later, Aplin turned to senior Josh Jarboe, who snared a 10-yard throw at the 5, wheeled on his heels, turned up field and dived into the end zone from the 1 for his first score in five games with 4:42 left in the third quarter.
“They’re able to make plays in space,” Aplin said. “You saw tonight, even when it’s not a good ball, when you have two guys with experience it’s nice.”
It was Stockemer’s turn to score on a double-move with 11:55 left in the fourth quarter after South Alabama drew to 28-22 on a 42-yard field goal by Michel Chapuseaux with 14:55 remaining in the game.
“I’d been out for a couple week, and this is a new a offense, a new system,” said Stockemer, who finished with 65 yards on four catches. “It took me awhile, but I felt I had the hang of it. It felt wonderful.”
Even in defeat it was a productive effort from the Jaguars offense, which entered as the eighth-worst in the FBS but posted 373 yards - more than 70 above its average.
“We hadn’t played to our potential until this point,” South Alabama Coach Joey Jones said. “This game we had some great consistency on offense, and that is going to help us win some ballgames down the road.”
Metheny, who was named the starter during the Jaguars’ bye week, completed 24 of 38 passes for 241 yards and 3 touchdowns along with 1 interception.
Metheny relied on check downs underneath and quick throws to the flat to efficiently pilot the offense.
“He managed the game well,” Jones said. “Everything can’t be drawn up perfectly, and he did a great job improvising when things weren’t perfect.” Running back Terrence Timmons had 56 of South Alabama’s 132 yards rushing, and receiver Corey Besteda added 45 yards on 5 catches.
“They had a very good scheme against us,” ASU defensive coordinator John Thompson said. “They showed us some brand new plays. ... It was different. We had to do a lot of drawing on the sidelines.”
The Red Wolves couldn’t get off the field, allowing the Jaguars to convert of 9 of 20 third-down plays and 4 of 6 fourth-down calls. Two fourth-down conversions came on the drive when they pulled within 21-19.
“Our third-down defense is atrocious right now,” Thompson said. “We’ve got to get it fixed.”
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 34, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 30
MIAMI - Reggie Whatley scored on a 7-yard run with 36 seconds left as Middle Tennessee rallied to defeat Florida International.
Jake Medlock had just thrown a 30-yard touchdown pass to Willis Wright to put the Golden Panthers up 30-27 with 1:00 left when the Blue Raiders (4-2, 2-1) answered 24 seconds later on Watley’s score.
Whatley helped set up his own game winning score after Florida International (1-6, 0-3) had taken the lead, returning the ensuing kickoff 43 yards to set up Middle Tennessee at the Golden Panthers’ 40 in the game’s final minute.
Benny Cunningham scored two touchdowns and rushed for a career-high 232 yards on 36 carries for the Blue Raiders, while Logan Kilgore threw for 267 yards and a touchdown.
Medlock completed 24 of 38 passes for 380 yards with 2 touchdowns to lead the Golden Panthers.
LOUISIANA-MONROE 35, FLORIDA ATLANTIC 14
MONROE, La. - Kolton Browning threw two touchdown passes and Monterrell Washington ran for two more, as Louisiana-Monroe rolled to a victory over Florida Atlantic.
The Warhawks (4-2, 2-0) jumped on the board first when Browning completed a 3-yard scoring pass to Brent Leonard. Washington followed that up with a 36-yard touchdown run, and then Mitchell Bailey scooped up a muffed punt attempt in the end zone to stretch the advantage to 21-0.
Browning later added a 9-yard touchdown pass to Harley Scioneaux, and Washington added a 3-yard rushing score.
Louisiana-Monroe held Florida Atlantic (1-5, 0-3) to 1.2 yards per carry and out gained the Owls 195 yards to 46 on the ground with no runner accounting for more than 60 yards.
The victory makes Louisiana-Monroe one of three remaining undefeated teams in the Sun Belt.
Sports, Pages 21 on 10/14/2012