Bolden’s kickoff return sparks Arizona State to 38-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe

Arizona State routs Louisiana-Monroe 38-14

TEMPE, Ariz. — Omar Bolden returned the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and picked off a pass, and Arizona State routed Louisiana-Monroe 38-14 on Saturday night in a tuneup for its trip to Georgia.

Playing in a half-empty Sun Devil Stadium, Arizona State (2-0) turned in another strong defensive performance, with Travis Goethel also intercepting a pass. The Sun Devils have limited teams from the Big Sky and Sun Belt Conferences to a total of 17 points.

Trey Revell completed 10 of 23 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns but also threw two interceptions for the Warhawks (1-2).

Arizona State visits No. 23 Georgia next weekend, then opens Pac-10 play against Oregon State on Oct. 3.

Bolden’s TD return was the 14th in ASU history and its first since 2007, when Rudy Burgess took one back 98 yards against USC. It was the second time in three games that the Warhawks had given up a kickoff return for a score.

Six minutes after Bolden’s jaunt, the Sun Devils took a 14-0 lead on a 1-yard run by Dimitri Nance. The 14 first-quarter points tied for the most in coach Dennis Erickson’s 27 games at Arizona State; ASU scored a total of 22 points in the first quarter last year.

The Warhawks trimmed the lead to 14-7 on a 14-yard pass from Revell to Darrell McNeal midway through the second quarter.

Arizona State responded with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Danny Sullivan to Chris McGaha, and Bobby Wenzig hit a field goal to give the Sun Devils a 24-7 halftime lead.

After Louisiana-Monroe fumbled a punt, Nance scored again from a yard out early in the third quarter to stretch ASU’s lead to 31-7.

Sullivan, making his second college start, completed 19 of 31 passes for 220 yards and a touchdown, and he scored on a 1-yard sneak.

Nance rushed 17 times for 82 yards, and Kyle Williams caught eight passes for 129 yards.