Bears, home at last, victorious

CONWAY – It wasn’t homecoming at Estes Stadium on Saturday night, but it sure felt that way for the Central Arkansas Bears.

UCA (2-2, 2-0 Southland) rolled to a 42-14 victory over visiting Abilene Christian Wildcats (2-2, 2-1) in front of an announced crowd of 9,427.

It was the latest home-opener for the Bears since 1965. The game also marked the first time that Abilene Christian Coach Ken Collums, who quarterbacked the Bears to the 1991 NAIA national championship, was on the visitors sideline.

The Bears looked at home from the start, scoring three times in the first quarter – two touchdowns and a 27-yard field goal – before tacking on two more touchdowns in the second quarter to jump out to a 32-0 lead.

Abilene Christian scored late in the second quarter to make it 32-7 at the half.

The Bears rushed on 30 of their 41 snaps in the first half and 56 of 71 for the game. But, they made the most of the 15 pass attempts.

UCA quarterback Hayden Hildebrand – replacing injured starter Taylor Reed – hit Jatavious Winston for a 53-yard touchdown with three seconds left in the first quarter and Justin Dickey for a 23-yard touchdown on the Bears’ first possession of the second quarter.

Hildebrand finished the game 9 of 15 passing for 210 yards and 2 touchdowns and a 221.6 passer efficiency rating.

“When you run the ball that well, it makes it easier to throw the ball downfield,” Hildebrand said.

More important than running the ball effectively for the Bears was not turning the ball over. In last year’s 52-35 loss at Abilene Christian, UCA turned the ball over seven times. The Bears had no turnovers against the Wildcats.

“If you turn the ball over that many times, you’re going to lose,” Hildebrand said.

Dominique Thomas started the scoring for the Bears, capping a 5-play, 59-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run on UCA’s game-opening drive. Hildebrand ran for a successful two-point conversion to put the Bears up 8-0 with 13:35 left in the opening quarter.

Thomas finished the game with 128 yards on 21 carries. The Bears carried the ball 56 times for 259 yards, the second consecutive week UCA rushed for 250 or more yards.

“When you run the ball as effectively as we did, it really opens things up in the pass game – and it allows your playmakers to make plays,” UCA Coach Steve Campbell said.

Jace Denkins’ 27-yard field goal put the Bears up 11-0 before Hildebrand’s long pass to Winston pushed the Bears ahead 18-0. Dickey’s reception gave the Bears a 25-0 lead. The Bears scored again on a 4-yard rush by Blake Veasley with 5:07 left before halftime.

Abilene Christian didn’t cross midfield until there was 4:09 left in the second quarter. It came on a drive when completions and positive-yard plays allowed them to pick up the pace. The result was a 10-yard TD pass from Parker McKenzie to Cody Ennis.

The Bears added one more score to start the fourth quarter. Wilson scored his second touchdown, this one on a jet sweep from 13 yards out. That put the Bears ahead 42-7 with 14:54 left in the game.

The Wildcats responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from McKenzie to Cedric Gilbert. That set the final score at 42-14 with 11:01 left in the fourth.

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