HUNTSVILLE, Texas - The University of Central Arkansas Bears have made two trips to Sam Houston State's Bowers Stadium in as many years and come away with victories both times.
But Saturday night's 35-14 victory over the 19th-ranked Bearkats meant even more than last year's 38-30 victory. The Bears (2-3, 1-1 Southland Conference) got to .500 in conference play and earned their first road victory of the season.
Led by junior quarterback Nathan Brown, UCA rolled up 476 yards of total offense and held the high-powered Sam Houston offense to two touchdowns. The Bearkats came into the game with the top offense in the conference, averaging 435.3 yards per game. But UCA's young defense, with only two returning starters, forced three turnovers and shut the Bearkats down when it counted in the second half.
"Certainly we had two weeks to prepare, and we think that helped us, getting people back healthy," UCA Coach Clint Conque said. "We challenged the defense each and every day and they responded. We kind of just kept it going on offense but it all goes back to the defense. The defense played extremely well. We created turnovers, created field position. Those guys won this game for us."
The Bears were sharp offensively from the start. Brown completed 28 of 37 passes for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns, and was 20 of 24 in the first half. Junior transfer tight end Marquez Branson made several key catches among his five receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
The touchdown was a 16-yarder with 12:22 left that gave the Bears a 28-14 lead and effectively put the game away after Sam Houston had closed to within a touchdown after trailing 21-7 at halftime.
Freshman running back Spencer Hebert, seeing his first significant playing time of the year, scored on two short touchdown runs and also caught the first two passes of his career. Brown hit fullback Charles Twilley with a 4-yard touchdown pass, Twilley's first touchdown catch of the year, and completed passes to a schoolrecord 14 receivers. Sophomore tailback Brent Grimes carried the load on the ground with 69 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
"We certainly feel like we left a score or two out on the field tonight," Conque said, "but for the most part we were pretty solid offensively. And that was a good football team we beat tonight, a really good offensive team."
The Bears, leading 21-7 at halftime, saw that lead quickly cut to seven points when the Bearkats drove 68 yards in seven plays to open the second half. Rhett Bomar, a transfer from the University of Oklahoma and the toprated passer in the Southland, threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Trey Payne with 11:39 left in the third period.
Bomar finished 22 of 38 for 241 yards, with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.
Over the next 10 minutes, the Bears missed a 19-yard field goal, had a 69-yard interception return by senior Tristan Jackson nullified by a penalty and had a 36-yard touchdown pass from Brown to freshman Darrius Mc-Neal brought back for the same reason. But the defense continued to bail out the Bears, with a key fourth-down sack of Bomar by sophomore Taylor Scott and freshman Markell Carter and an interception by redshirt freshman linebacker Tok Opeloye.
The Bears' offense was clicking from the start, driving deep into Sam Houston State territory before a fumble stopped its opening drive. The Bearkats took advantage of that early miscue, scoring in just three plays when running back Chris Poullard went in from the 6. Taylor Wilkins added the point after with 13:21 left in the first quarter.
But UCA scored the next 21 points, starting with a 12-play, 65-yard drive that was capped by an 8-yard touchdown run by Grimes. Senior James Paul tied it at 7-7 with the kick at the 8:10 mark of the first quarter.
Bomar led the Bearkats down the field on their next possession, but Jackson spoiled the drive, intercepting Bomar's pass intended for Justin Wells in the end zone. Jackson returned it out to the UCA 32 and the Bears took control again. After completions to Brandon Kennemer and Hebert, Brown kept for 8 yards and a key first down at midfield. A 12-yard pass over the middle to Branson set the Bears up at the 2.
Three consecutive dives over the top by Grimes netted only a yard. The Bears called timeout and then came back with Hebert, a true freshman from Lafayette, La., at the tailback spot. The 6-foot, 225-pounder pounded his way into the end zone to cap a 14-play, 65-yard drive that took 6:45 off the clock.
Sports, Pages 38 on 10/07/2007