ARKANSAS TECH 34, SOUTHERN NAZARENE 14
RUSSELLVILLE -- Arkansas Tech leaned on defense and special teams to beat Southern (Okla.) Nazarene 34-14 in a Great American Conference game Saturday night at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field.
Arkansas Tech (2-1, 2-1 GAC) never trailed in handing Southern Nazarene (0-3, 0-3) -- in its first season in NCAA Division II after moving up from NAIA -- another lopsided loss to an Arkansas opponent.
Southern Nazarene was beaten 72-7 by Henderson State in its opener and 28-7 by Ouachita Baptist last week.
The Wonder Boys quickly extended a 14-7 halftime lead when Michael Perry, a freshman safety from nearby Pottsville, returned the second-half kickoff 94 yards for his first collegiate touchdown.
Perry, a four-year starter at quarterback for Pottsville, also returned a punt 19 yards to set up a first-half touchdown.
Linebacker Logan Genz, a junior from West Fork, helped put the game out of reach with a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter to make it 27-7.
Arkansas Tech led 34-7 after three quarters, limiting Southern Nazarene to 84 total yards on 49 plays.
The Crimson Storm finished with 144 total yards on 66 plays. The Wonder Boys intercepted 5, passes, recovered 2 fumbles and had 4 sacks.
The Wonder Boys were sluggish offensively, but junior quarterback Dennis Robertson completed 17 of 29 passes for 169 yards and 2 touchdowns (21 and 23 yards).
Robertson's 23-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Devin Patterson gave Arkansas Tech a 34-7 lead with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The Wonder Boys finished with 255 total yards on 67 plays.
Arkansas Tech emerged from a defensive struggle with a 14-7 halftime lead.
Senior free safety Shai Kobayashi staked the Wonder Boys to an early 7-0 lead with an interception at the Crimson Storm 22 on the game's third play from scrimmage.
Freshman tailback Justin Oliphant capped a four-play, 15-yard drive with a 3-yard run. Sophomore place-kicker Randy Velazquez of Dardanelle added the extra point with 11:37 remaining in the first quarter.
Limited to 8 total yards in the first quarter, Southern Nazarene broke through on its fifth offensive possession.
The Crimson Storm covered 63 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 28-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback James Mauro to senior wide receiver Austin Williams with 9:22 remaining in the first half.
Perry set up Arkansas Tech's go-ahead score with a 19-yard punt return to the Southern Nazarene 48.
Robertson completed a 28-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Tony Adams on first down, then, two plays later, a 21-yard touchdown pass to Adams on a crossing pattern.
Velazquez added the extra point with 4:55 remaining in the first half.
Arkansas Tech outgained Southern Nazarene 129-60 in total yardage in the first half.
Robertson was sacked four times in the first half. Mauro was sacked twice.
NW OKLAHOMA ST. 34,
UA-MONTICELLO 28
Arkansas-Monticello lost for the third consecutive week in the game’s final seconds Saturday afternoon as the Boll Weevils fell to Northwestern Oklahoma State at Ranger Field in Alva, Okla.
Northwestern’s Jarion Tudman capped a 6-play, 75-yard drive with a 5-yard touchdown run with 32 seconds left in the game to leave the Boll Weevils (0-3, 0-3 Great American Conference) winless. Tudman’s score came after UAM went ahead 28-27 on Hunter Leppert’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Cody Bordelon with 1:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Rangers (1-2, 1-2) led 27-14 heading into the fourth, but Leppert capped a four-play, 95 yard drive with a 14-yard touchdown run to get the Boll Weevils to within 27-21 with 5:32 left. Northwestern went three-and-out as the Boll Weevils took over at their 28.
Leppert found Deadrien Terry for a 37-yard completion on the first play of the drive to get the Boll Weevils to the Northwestern 25. Leppert found Bordelon on fourth and 8 for the 10-yard score to tie the score 27-27 as Jamie McGee’s extra point gave the Boll Weevils their one-point lead.
Leppert was 23 of 38 for 300 yards and 2 touchdown passes to go with his touchdown run.
The Rangers outrushed the Boll Weevils 203-99 with Tudman’s 81 yards on 15 carries leading the way.
OUACHITA BAPTIST 41,
EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) 20
Senior running back Steven Kehner ran for four short touchdowns and senior defensive back Zack Mitchell had three interceptions to lift Ouachita Baptist (2-0, 2-0 GAC) over East Central (2-1, 2-1) at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia.
Kehner had two 1-yard touchdowns in the first quarter, a 4-yard score in the second and a 2-yard touchdown in the third and finished with 160 yards on 38 rushes.
OBU answered every ECU score and led by 10 or more points throughout the second half.
Kehner’s initial scores gave OBU a 14-0 advantage before ECU responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Bond to David Moore to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 5:38 left in the first quarter.
Bond’s second touchdown pass to Moore, this one from 40 yards, offset Kehner’s third touchdown in the second quarter before Matthew Ehasz’s 33-yard field goal gave OBU a 24-14 halftime advantage.
Kehner gave the Tigers a 17-point advantage when he capped a 16-play, 93-yard drive with his 2-yard run with 5:43 left in the third quarter.
Bond and Moore connected from 34 yards for their third touchdown late in the third quarter, but OBU put the game out of reach in the fourth on Brandon Marks’ 9-yard run and Ehasz’s 27-yard field goal.
Senior quarterback Kiehl Frazier completed 11 of 19 passes for 165 yards and rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries. OBU intercepted five ECU passes with Mitchell’s three leading the way. Freshman AJ Burton and senior Jeremy Small each had one.
SW OKLAHOMA STATE 27,
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 24
Matt Farris scored from the 1 with 4:09 left in the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs (2-1, 2-1 GAC) connected on the subsequent two-point conversion to defeat the Muleriders (1-2, 1-2) at Fast Lane Field in Weatherford, Okla.
SAU had one final chance, but Si Blackshire’s pass to Aaron Johnson from the Bulldogs’ 38 fell incomplete on the last play of the game.
The Muleriders led 24-13 after Vincent Steward returned an interception for a 5-yard touchdown with 13:49 left in the fourth quarter, but Steven Townsley returned a fumble 49 yards to the SAU 3 midway through the period. Karl Hodge’s score on the Bulldogs’ first play after the turnover pulled them to within 24-19.
SAU went three and out on its next possession, then punted only 20 yards as the Bulldogs took over at the Muleriders 40 with 6:40 to begin its winning drive. They only needed eight plays in 2 minutes, 31 seconds as Farris went over from the 1. Tim Morovick’s two-point conversion pass to Teverick Boyd was the difference.
The Muleriders had a 392-252 advantage in total offense, including a 162-70 edge in rushing. SAU also had 23 first downs to Southwestern’s 13.
Sports on 09/21/2014