Wolves, ’Hawks ready for battle

— Ryan Aplin balled his nicked-up fingers into a knot and pumped his fist for a split second.

Arkansas State’s quarterback had just finished his injury treatments when he arrived for postgame interviews Sept. 8 following a 33-28 victory against Memphis.

Louisiana-Monroe had rallied from a three-touchdown deficit to take then-No. 8 Arkansas into overtime when Aplin went in for treatment. By the time he came out, Louisiana-Monroe quarterback Kolton Browning had darted 16 yards fora touchdown on a broken play on fourth-and-1 for a 34-31 victory at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

“Did they get it done?” Aplin asked reporters.

Yes, he was told, and a small smile crossed Aplin’s face.

Since that night, the Red Wolves (6-3, 4-1) and Warhawks (6-3, 4-1) have been on a collision course in the Sun Belt Conference. The teams finally meet at 6 tonight at Liberty Bank Stadium in a game that will be televised nationally by ESPNU.

The Warhawks also put a scare into SEC member Auburn before losing 31-28 in overtime, and lost a 47-42 shootout at home to Big 12 Conference member Baylor before rolling up a 4-0 start in Sun Belt play.

Arkansas State’s path was more turbulent, suffering routs at Oregon and Nebraska and turning in sputtering performances against Memphis and Alcorn State.

The Red Wolves, picked to finish second in the conference during the preseason, squandered a 13-0 halftime lead during a 26-13 loss to Western Kentucky on Sept. 29 for a 2-3 start entering a game against Florida International.

A month later, though, it’s Arkansas State that is hitting its stride. The Red Wolves have won four in a row and have a chance tonight to grab a firm hold on first place in the Sun Belt.

“We’ve been locked in on the last month,” ASU senior linebacker Nathan Herrold said. “We knew we couldn’t afford another loss in the conference, then we had that short week going into FIU, and it started right there.”

The battered and tattered Warhawks come into tonight’s matchup without Browning, who went down with a broken left foot Saturday in a 40-24 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette, and six other starters have been lost to injuries.

The Red Wolves’ offense has been clicking during its winning streak, putting up an average of 434.3 yards and 39.2 points per game. The production has paralleledthe increasing comfort level of Aplin, who is averaging 270 yards total offense per game.

“You’re greedy, and you want to be earlier,” Arkansas State Coach Gus Malzahn said. “It didn’t happen earlier. Our guys understand our strengths. They understand what we can and can’t do.”

Louisiana-Monroe’s recent rash of injuries hasn’t taken any of the luster off tonight’s game, either.

“The good thing is I don’t have to give them a pep rally,” Malzahn said of the Red Wolves. “You can really sense the urgency, not just the players, but the coaches and everyone understand this is a big game.”

Louisiana-Monroe Coach Todd Berry acknowledged that losing seven “pretty significant” starters has left some holes in the Warhawks and makes tonight’s matchup more difficult.

First, starting linebacker Cameron Blakes was lost for the year against Baylor, and defensive end Kendarius Caldwell went down with a knee injury when a helmet smacked into his left knee against Middle Tennessee.

The next week, running back Centarius McDonald sustained a knee injury against Florida Atlantic, followed a week later by a knee injury to Jyruss Edwards, who had a team-leading 438 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

Finally there was Browning, the Sun Belt’s leader in total offense at 301.6 yards per game who sustained a foot injury that forced Berry to turn over the offense to senior backup Cody Wells.

Making matters even more difficult, Louisiana-Monroe had only five days to prepare for the conference’s secondbest offense (460.1 yards per game) and third-leading defense (287.1 ypg).

“If we had some more mature guys out there that had seen some things, it would make it easier,” Berry said. “But when you get down in numbers [of guys] who have had those experiences against a similar look, getting them ready to go on a short week is difficult.”

Today’s game ARKANSAS STATE VS. LOUISIANA-MONROE WHEN 6 p.m. today WHERE Liberty Bank Stadium, Jonesboro RECORDS ASU 6-3, 4-1 Sun Belt Conference; Louisiana-Monroe 6-3, 4-1 COACHES ASU: Gus Malzahn (6-3 in first season); Louisiana-Monroe: Todd Berry (15-18 in third season and 44-77 overall) RADIO KFIN-FM, 107.9, in Jonesboro;

KKSP-FM, 93.3, in Bryant/Little Rock TV ESPNU INTERNET astateredwolves.com;

ulmathletics.com

Sports, Pages 25 on 11/08/2012

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