DIVISION II PLAYOFFS
FERRIS STATE 24, OUACHITA BAPTIST 19
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- Ouachita Baptist University enjoyed a quick start Saturday in the first round of NCAA Division II playoffs at Ferris State University's Top Taggart Field. But Ferris State made the key plays in the second half and earned a 24-19 victory.
The season ended for OBU (9-3), while Ferris State (10-1) moves on to the second round at Fort Hays State on Saturday.
"We have guys who will fight to the end," OBU Coach Todd Knight said. "I knew we would play like that. We came to win, not to try not to lose. We had our chances to win. We just didn't make it happen at the end. We had a few too many mistakes at the end."
The No. 25 Tigers bolted out to an early 13-0 lead against the No. 10 Bulldogs. But Ferris came back and led 17-13 midway in the third quarter on Jaleel Canty's 31-yard touchdown return on a fumble.
The Tigers cut it to 17-16 after driving to inside the Ferris 10 and netting a 22-yard field goal by Cole Antley. He added a 33-yarder with 10:33 to play for a 19-17 Tiger advantage.
But Ferris responded with a 75-yard, 11-play touchdown drive, which ended on Travis Russell's 1-yard sneak for a 24-19 lead with 6:07 left.
Ouachita Baptist had one shot left, starting from its own 5-yard line with 1:20 to play and no time outs. The Tigers converted on two fourth downs but ran out of time.
"We wanted to get it downfield and get it in some open space and something would happen," quarterback Austin Warford said.
It was 13-7 at halftime.
Ouachita Baptist stunned the home crowd with a 71-yard touchdown pass from Warford to a wide-open Kris Oliver over the middle on the third play from scrimmage.
Antley booted a 22-yard field goal late in the quarter and connected from 30 yards away at 6:53 of the second for a 13-0 lead.
"We were trying to play to win and trying to fight through it, and be as good as we can be," Knight said.
The Bulldogs, who lost three first-half fumbles, finally got going with a 1-yard touchdown run by Jahaan Brown with 4:43 left in the half. Quarterback Reggie Bell had a 57-yard run to set up the touchdown.
The Tiger defense held early in the second half after Ferris' Danny Collins recovered Allie Freeman's fumble inside the Ferris 10. But the Bulldogs were forced to kicked a 20-yard Wyatt Ford field goal and it was 13-10.
Both teams endured temperatures around 40 degrees with a light steady drizzle. It turned to light snow later in the second half.
Warford was 17-of-40 for 219 yards. The Tigers had 100 rushing yards, led by Oliver with 62. OBU had four fumbles and lost two. Ferris had seven and lost three.
"By far, Ferris had the best defensive line we've faced all year," Warford said. "We knew that coming in. In the second half, we got a push on the ball and it gave us more confidence. I don't think the conditions were that bad in throwing the ball. I wish we did better in the red zone. That's the way it ended up."
Ferris State had 291 yards rushing, led by Russell with 103 and Bell with 96. Luke Holt's 10 tackles led the Tiger defense.
The Bulldogs had a 344-319 edge in total yards.
"We had to fight back after some early losses," Knight said. "We were confident coming to Ferris."
Sports on 11/19/2017