Kennedy scores late, Ga. Southern beats Arkansas St. 28-21

Sep 30, 2018, 07:24 am

STATESBORO, Ga. -- Wesley Kennedy III broke for a 47-yard scoring sprint in the waning seconds to give Georgia Southern a 28-21 victory over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams on Saturday night.

Justice Hansen had just marched Arkansas State 77 yards to tie the game when Hansen crashed across from the 4 with 5:07 remaining. Georgia Southern's ensuing drive had apparently stalled around midfield when Shai Werts flipped Kennedy the ball on a reverse that caught most of the Arkansas State team off guard. Kennedy crossed the goal line just before being knocked out of bounds with 19 seconds left.

Werts threw three passes all night, but on one he connected with Wesley Fields for a 61-yard scoring strike to take a 7-3 lead into the half. Werts rushed for 113 yards and Kennedy finished with 105 yards rushing for Georgia Southern (3-1, 1-0).

Hansen threw for 376 yards and a score. Kirk Merritt caught 11 passes for 92 yards for Arkansas State (3-2, 0-1).