STATESBORO – Chris Murray caught five passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, and Arkansas State scored three TDs in 3:38 of game time to run away from Georgia Southern, 43-25, in Sun Belt Conference football action Wednesday night at Paulson Stadium.

Shai Werts rushed for 112 yards as Georgia Southern (0-4, 0-1) gained a season-high 333 on the ground. Monteo Garrett ran for 77 yards and a 74-yard touchdown, and Wesley Fields churned out 72 yards on the ground with a score. L.A. Ramsby ran for 65 yards, and Werts threw for 160 yards and a score. Chris DeLaRosa, Monquavion Brinson, Kindle Vildor and Darrell Baker Jr. all picked off passes for the Eagles. 

Arkansas State's Justice Hanson threw for 316 yards and four touchdowns but tossed the four interceptions. Warren Wand ran for 61 yards and a pair of scores.

It was the first true home game of the season for the Eagles, who had to move their scheduled home opener against New Hampshire Sept. 9 to Birmingham, Alabama, because of Hurricane Irma. GS is the last FBS team to play a home game this season.

It was the 16th Sun Belt win in the last 17 contests for Arkansas State (2-2, 1-0).

The story
With Arkansas State trailing 17-15, Hansen hit Murray for his second long touchdown reception of the night, this time a 54-yard score, with 20 seconds left in the first half.

Arkansas State received the opening kickoff of the second half, drove right down the field and scored 45 seconds into the period when Blake Mack went up high over two defenders and caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Hansen.

Michael Johnson got the ball back for the Red Wolves as he picked off a Werts pass and returned it 30 yards into Eagle territory. Wand took it in from 12 yards out, and ASU opened a 36-17 advantage.

Werts connected with Obe Fortune for a 50-yard touchdown pass, and the freshman quarterback converted the two-point conversion on a keeper on the option play to trim the margin to 36-25 early in the fourth. The Eagles tried the onside kick to get the ball back but came up short.  

The Eagles picked off three Hansen passes in the first half, and the game saw four lead changes in the stanza. A 56-yard touchdown pass from Hansen to Murray broke a 3-3 tie with 10:10 left in the first half, but Sawyer Williams' PAT doinked squarely off the right upright, leaving the margin at 9-3.

GS took its first lead of the game when Garrett took the option pitch to the right, got a nice block, broke two tackles and ran 74 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. Tyler Bass added the extra point, and GS led 10-9.

Caleb Caston helped the Red Wolves get the ball back deep in Eagle territory when he strip-sacked Werts, and Hunter Moreton recovered it at the GS 25-yard line. Wand went the distance on the first play from scrimmage, but Williams missed another PAT, this time hooking it left and leaving the score at 15-10.

Brinson returned the favor by picking off Hansen and returning it to the ASU 20-yard line. Werts carried twice for 12 yards and then pitched to Fields on an option to the left, and Fields made a nice cut, split a pair of tacklers and ran eight yards for a score and a 17-15 lead with 1:03 to play in the first half.

Georgia Southern tallied a season-high 493 total yards but was 3-for-15 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down. The Eagles managed just seven points on five ASU turnovers, while the Red Wolves converted four GS turnovers into 14 points.

Quotables
Head Coach Tyson Summers
"We really thought tonight was going to be our breakthrough night. The team continues to work hard, and I thought they had a great week and a half of preparation. We didn't finish the way we wanted to, but I think you saw tonight that when we executed on both sides of the ball, we executed at a very high level, and that shows our improvement. We made a plot of big plays but gave up a lot of big plays, and we have to keep pounding the rock and keep working and that's what we'll continue to do."

On Arkansas State's three TDs
"We've tried to stress about momentum - that one big play can't lead to two big plays, and that will be a big part of what we look at on film and talk about tomorrow."

On the team
"We have a great group of young men, and as I said before, they had a tremendous last week and a half of preparation. I know how frustrated they are, but they know we are on the cusp of getting to that breakthrough point. There is a lot to be encouraged about."

Junior running back Monteo Garrett
On 74-yard touchdown run
"I just hit the edge and did what I do best, which is use my speed."

On the mood in the locker room
"We still have energy. We're going to keep fighting and keep pushing forward – 0-4 will not define us. We're going to look at tape and keep getting better."

Sophomore cornerback Monquavion Brinson
On start to the season
"We've started off slow, but the team we just played started off slow last year and won the conference so we can use them as inspiration. We have a chance to turn it around, and we will turn it around."

Next up
The Eagles play host to New Mexico State in Paulson Stadium Oct. 14. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., and the contest will be streamed live on ESPN3.

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