The first quarter proved to be a defensive masterpiece, with Jordon Maloney picking off Mathew Caldwell in the end zone, and Charles Wilekes forcing a fumble (acquired by Marvin Ham), enabling the Red Wolves to put up a 13-0 lead on the strength of two chip-shot field goals from Clune Van Andel and a 99-yard drive that ended with a short Zac Wallace end zone run.

To open the second half Troy came to the realization that you can run on the Red Wolves defense, pounding the ball up the middle with the tandem of Gerald Green and Damien Taylor, putting them in the Red Wolves red zone. Arkansas State was saved by a botched snap to Caldwell that resulted in a 27 yard loss, and Troy settled for a field goal.

Red Wolves made Troy pay for scoring those three points by launching a bruising touchdown campaign highlighted by a 26 yard reception from Corey Rucker and a 32 yard yard from Jaylen Raynor that put A-State on the Trojan 3. Wallace would clean up the remaining yards with his second short punch in to bring the score to 20-3.

A second Troy interception in the half – this time from Websley Etienne – gave the Red Wolves an opportunity to expand the lead. Clune Van Andel punched in his third field goal of the half to close out the second quarter with a 23-3 lead. The turnover was Troy’s third of the half.

Troy opened the second half with possession, and they applied renewed vigor to their work. Troy worked down the field and punctured the end zone on a one yard TD run from Damien Taylor. Red Wolves responded with a quick three and out and a 36 yard punt that put Troy on the 50.

After a converting a fourth down controversial completion to Davante Ross, the Red Wolves defense allowed a wide open receiver to walk into the end zone, bringing the score to 23-17 and forcing Red Wolves fans to reach for the Tums. The indigestion deepened on the Red Wolves possession, when Miller McCrumby was stripped off the ball deep in A-State territory. Troy would convert the opportunity into another seven points, taking the lead 24-23 and erasing a 20 point deficit in less than a quarter’s time.

“I feel like we had a good mindset coming out for the third quarter,” said senior linebacker Justin Parks. “Just missed opportunities on our part.”

Red Wolves reclaimed the lead on a 46-yard Van Andel field goal with less than minute left in the quarter.

After a series of defensive stops, it appeared that the Red Wolves had victory in its grasp deep in the fourth quarter, with Raynor leading Arkansas State to within a couple yards of the Troy end zone. Raynor fumbled at the goal line leading to a touchback. With five minutes on the clock, Troy marched down the field for the score, leaving A-State with just 1:43 to save themselves.

Raynor went to work, connecting with Corey Rucker and Reagan Ealy for yards. A crossing route to Rucker brought the Red Wolves to the Troy nine yard line with :46 on the clock. A penalty on Troy inched it to the two. Another penalty put the ball on the one. Zak Wallace ran it in for his third TD of the game, and Rucker made the nice catch for the two point conversion.

Up 34-31 with :33 left in the game, Troy assumed possession at the 25. 23 seconds later, Troy was on the Red Wolves thirty, within range of their field goal kicker. Troy opted for the kill. Crawford stepped back to throw, and Trevian Thomas collected the third A-State pick of the night, sealing the victory.

“Creating the turnovers is what keeping us in these games,” said Parks, remarking on the team’s four turnovers.

“Our kids didn’t blink,” said Coach Butch Jones.

Jalen Raynor was tallied 420 yards, Zak Wallace had three touchdowns, the defense forced four turnovers, and Corey Rucker had 193 game saving yards (103 yards came after the catch). The win was Butch Jones’ 100th as a head coach, and the Red Wolves end the evening one game from bowl eligibility.

Photos: A mix of mine and Justin Manning