LITTLE ROCK — CONWAY - There has to be an easier way than this.
A week after scoring the winning touchdown with 29 seconds remaining, Central Arkansas scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to come from behind before beating Football Championship Subdivision No. 18 Nicholls State 49-42 in overtime.
"I guess we're living right," said Central Arkansas Coach Clint Conque, whose record in overtime games improved to 4-1.
Central Arkansas got the ball first in overtime and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Brent Grimes.
The Bears had to recover a bobbled pitch by Nicholls State running back Cal Jones to seal the homecoming victory. Jones' fumble was recovered by Central Arkansas defensive end Josh Fayto end the game.
"They really hadn't put the ball on the ground before that," Conque said. "We got fortunate that Josh Fay was in a position to make a play."
Adding to the difficulties forthe Colonels (5-3, 2-2 Southland Conference) was the fact that starting quarterback Vincent Montgomery was out on that play. Montgomery aggravated an injury to his throwing hand, causing the Colonels to go with backup quarterback Zack Chauvin.
"It wasn't the pitch, though," Nicholls State Coach Jay Thomas said. "But having a new guy in there probably added to the confusion."
Montgomery finished with 140 yards (66 rushing, 74 passing) total offense and one passing touchdown, but wasn't the star of the show for Nicholls State. Colonels running back Broderick Cole rushed for a career-high 196 yardsand four touchdowns.
Down 35-21, the Bears (5-3, 4-1) scored three consecutive fourthquarter touchdowns to take the lead for the first time since early in the second quarter.
Grimes started the comeback with a 16-yard touchdown run that brought the Bears within 35-28 with 9:31 left in the fourth quarter. Grimes finished with 117 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
Eric Ware caught a 40-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nathan Brown on the Bears' next scoring drive. Ware's catch capped a five-play, 59-yard drive that took just 2:06.
"After we got down by two scores, the offense just went out there and took care of business," Conque said. "We were really in a bad place, but they just went out there and got it done."
The Bears went ahead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brown to fullback Nick Cowger. Brown was 28 of 44 passing for 338 yards and 4 touchdowns and now owns the school record for total offensewith 6,884 yards.
Nicholls State responded quickly. Montgomery completed his first pass of the game and went 5 of 8 on the drive, including throwing just his fourth touchdown passof the season, a 22-yarder to Michael Okoronkwo with 34 seconds left in regulation.
It took just three plays for the Colonels to drive 84 yards on their first possession. After going 8 yards up the middle, Nicholls State fullback Cole went to the same gap for a 67-yard gain. Fullback Joseph Tobias capped the drive with a 9-yard run up the middle to put the Colonels up 7-0 with 11:22 left to play in the first quarter.
The Bears responded with a very uncharacteristic drive.
Central Arkansas used shovel passes and draw plays on a 14-play drive that spanned 7:54. It tied a 14-play drive at Stephen F. Austin for the Bears' longest possession of the season. Fullback Spencer Hebert capped the 77-yard drive with his third rushing touchdown of the season, scoring from 1 yard out to make it 7-7 after James Paul's kick.
The Bears' next touchdown came in more typical Central Arkansas fashion.
Brown hit Preston Echols on a fade route to the back left corner of the end zone to cap a six-play, 78-yard drive that took 2:10. Paul's kick made it 14-7 with 14:04 left in the first half.
The Colonels tied it with a 3-yard touchdown run from Cole after a 13-play, 72-yard drive that took 5:55. Alex Romero's kick made it 14-14 with 8:04 left in the second quarter.
Nicholls State went ahead with Cole's second touchdown. Cole scored on a 5-yard run up the middle, and Romero's kick made it 21-14 with 2:58 left in the second.
The Bears went to the air to tie the game at 21-21. Brown hit tight end Marquez Branson for a 16-yard touchdown pass with 28 seconds left in the half.
The Colonels scored the first two touchdowns of the second half to jump out to a 14-point lead. Cole scored both touchdowns for Nicholls State.
With 9:09 left in the third quarter, Cole scored on a 5-yard run to cap a three-play, 47-yard drive. Romero's kick was no good, but he got a chance to atone after the Colonels' next score.
Cole scored on a 2-yard run with 11:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. On the two-point attempt, the ball was pitched to Romero, who reached the corner of the end zone to put Nicholls State up 35-21.
Sports, Pages 41 on 10/28/2007