TROY, Ala. (AP) — Jaylen Raynor completed 21 of 29 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns to lead Arkansas State to a 23-10 victory over Troy on Saturday night in a matchup between two of the Sun Belt Conference’s top teams.
With the win, Arkansas State (5-4, 4-1) moved into a second-place tie with Troy (6-3, 4-1) in the conference’s West Division, just one game behind idle Southern Miss.
The Red Wolves’ defense was dominant, recording 12 tackles for loss, including nine sacks. Demarcus Hendricks led the pass rush with two sacks, while Ethan Hassler added 1½ sacks. Nigel Nelson, Simeon Mitchell, Chris Boti, Cody Sigler, and Marcus Bradley each contributed one sack apiece.
Raynor opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Fortenberry about five and a half minutes into the game. On the very next play from scrimmage, the Trojans fumbled the snap, and Bryan Whitehead recovered the ball. Arkansas State capitalized quickly, as Raynor connected on a 19-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Summers, capping a three-play, 29-yard drive.
Clune Van Andel added a 30-yard field goal with 2:58 left in the first quarter to make it 17-0.
For Troy, quarterback Tucker Kilcrease completed 19 of 34 passes for 166 yards with one interception and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Scott Taylor Renfroe also made a 43-yard field goal for the Trojans just before halftime.
Arkansas State’s balanced offensive attack and aggressive defense proved too much for Troy, giving the Red Wolves an important conference win as the season continues.
___
For more AP college football coverage, visit [AP News](https://apnews.com/hub/college-football).
https://mymotherlode.com/sports/college-sports-game-stories/10133946/raynors-2-td-passes-arkansas-states-9-sacks-help-red-wolves-beat-troy-23-10.html