As the final seconds ticked off the clock

in Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta, a scuffle

broke out between the Georgia State

Panthers (4-6; 3-3) and ULM Warhawks (4-

6; 3-3). The Panthers were visibly frustrated

following ULM’s 31-28 victory—and for good

reason. They just lost to a team who hadn’t

won on the road in 1,129 days.

The Warhawks went into Atlanta fresh off a

31-30 nail-biting win vs Texas State, which

kept their dreams of a bowl game alive.

But just like last week, ULM started the

game off on the wrong foot as the defense

allowed two first quarter touchdowns on the

Panthers first two offensive drives. Calum

Sutherland drilled a 44-yard field goal

between the two Georgia State touchdowns.

In response to the early deficit, linebacker

Quae Drake decided to have the game of his

life.

After a defensive stop, Nick Torres blocked

the ensuing punt, and Drake found himself

in the end zone with the football, giving

ULM its first touchdown of the game.

“I knew once I had it, I was going to make a

play and score,” Drake said.

Georgia State recovered with a touchdown

to put the score at 21-10. ULM answered

with a Sutherland field goal.

The Warhawks scored their first and only

offensive touchdown of the game with a

4-yard Andrew Henry rushing touchdown,

which brought them within one point as

they entered the locker room trailing 21-20.

“Defensively, we started to shut them

down, and offensively, we made some

plays,” coach Terry Bowden said at halftime.

“The blocked punt for the score was a big

difference maker.”

The defense allowed only seven points

for the rest of the game. Those points came

late in the third quarter as Georgia State

extended their lead to eight.

At the 14:13 mark, Calum Sutherland

boomed a career long 54-yard field goal to

make it a five-point game. Sutherland made

all three of his field goal attempts.

Facing a third down, Panthers quarterback

Darren Grainger attempted to throw a

checkdown. Drake read the route perfectly

and took the interception to the house to

give the Warhawks their first lead of the

contest.

“Coach Vic (Koenning) called a great

play and I saw the ball come out of the

quarterback’s hands,” Drake said. “I knew I

had it and the rest is history.”

Drake’s final stat line included four total

tackles with an interception and two

touchdowns scored.

ULM converted the two-point conversion

after the pick-six to extend the lead to a field

goal margin.

The Warhawks got a key fourth down stop

on the next drive to retain possession with

less than four minutes to go, but they went

three and out.

Georgia State failed to convert a fourth

down with a completion that was just short

of the line to gain, and ULM won its first

road game since Oct. 10, 2019.

“Two good wins in a row and we won our

first game on the road,” Bowden said. “We’ll

enjoy this game tonight and then we’ll get

on to Troy tomorrow.”

Quarterback Chandler Rogers threw for

225 yards passing with no touchdowns and

one interception. He also converted the twopoint

play with a pass to Jevin Frett. Wide

receiver Tyrone Howell caught four passes

for 70 yards. Malik Jackson ran for 38 yards

on 13 carries.

The Warhawks look to keep their winning

streak going with a road trip to Troy to take

on the West Division leader Trojans. The

game takes place on Nov. 19 at 2:30 p.m.