A-State Opens Jones Era With 40-21 Rout Over UCA

JONESBORO, Ark. (9/4/21) – It was a tale of two halves in the inaugural game of the Butch Jones era, the Arkansas State football team overcame a halftime deficit to rout Central Arkansas 40-21 Saturday night at Centennial Bank Stadium.

Layne Hatcher led that second-half charge, completing all 12 of his passes on the night for 150 yards and four touchdowns. A-State (1-0) outscored UCA (0-1) 34-14 in the last 30 minutes of play to win its season opener for the first time since 2018. The win also made Jones the third consecutive A-State head coach to win his first game at the helm.

"I liked the way they responded, but didn't like the way we started," Jones said. "I think we experienced…