UL Monroe Warhawks vs Arkansas State Red Wolves Match Player Stats On Nov 08, 2012

Arkansas State 45, Louisiana-Monroe 23: Ryan Aplin threw two touchdowns and ran for another as host Arkansas State claimed sole possession of first place the Sun Belt Conference with a decisive victory over short-handed Louisiana-Monroe.

David Oku ran for 131 yards and three scores for Arkansas State (7-3, 5-1), which has won five straight. The Red Wolves scored 21 straight points in the third quarter and moved one game ahead of the Warhawks (6-4, 4-2) and a half game ahead of Middle Tennessee State (6-3, 4-1).

Louisiania-Monroe suffered a second straight loss despite hanging around early behind senior quarterback Cody Wells, who started for Kolton Browning (ankle) - the conference's leading passer. The Warhawks struggled to stop the Red Wolves from running up and down the field in the third quarter.

Arkansas State broke open a close game with 21 points in just under nine minutes. A mere 17 seconds after Wells' game-tying 37-yard touchdown pass to Rashon Ceaser, Aplin hit Taylor Stockemer for a 70-yard score, which gave the Red Wolves a 24-17 advantage with 12:43 left in the third.

Oku's second touchdown, a 6-yard score which came nearly four minutes after his first, made it 38-17 with 3:48 to play in the third. His third touchdown, a 4-yard run with 2:35 left in the fourth, capped the scoring.

Aplin finished 26-of-34 for 334 yards with an interception, while Wells was 37-of-53 of 357 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.