CONWAY -- It wasn't redemption Central Arkansas senior kicker Eddie Carmona was looking for, it was a chance.
After missing a midrange field goal as time expired in the first half, Carmona wanted a shot after the Lamar Cardinals tied the game with 40 seconds left to play on a two-point conversion. The Bears moved the ball down to the Lamar 46 before the Bears tried unsuccessfully on a deep pass to Dezmin Lewis as time expired.
Carmona didn't get his shot there, but after the Bears recovered a fumble by Lamar running back Kade Harrington on the Cardinals' first possession in overtime, Carmona kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the Bears a 44-41 victory before 5,427 at Estes Stadium on Saturday night.
"I was telling Coach, 'Throw me a fade so I can go out with that,' " Lewis said. "But then I hear Eddie over my shoulder say, 'No, kick it.' "
Carmona said it wasn't the kick he wanted, but he would live with a game winner in overtime instead.
"I wanted that long one [at the end of regulation], but they decided to go to Dez," Carmona said. "But I knew I could kick it and go out with a victory on Senior Day."
The field goal by Carmona capped a crazy night in which the Cardinals (6-4, 3-3 Southland Conference) snapped the ball 106 times on offense and rolled up 672 yards of total offense. The Bears (6-5, 5-2) managed the victory due in no small part to miscues by Lamar's special teams. The Cardinals started drives inside their 20-yard line nine times and allowed the Bears to start at the Central Arkansas 40 or better four times. The Bears also got a kickoff return for a touchdown from Jatavious Wilson.
"Unfortunately for us, there's three phases in a football game and we just didn't play very well on special teams," Lamar Coach Ray Woodard said. "I thought we played well enough, especially on offense, to win the game, but we had some letdowns in other areas of the game."
Heading into the fourth quarter ahead 31-24 after a 38-yard field goal by Carmona, the Bears scored a touchdown and added another Carmona field goal. But the Cardinals scored a field goal and added a 3-yard touchdown run by Harrington. With 40 seconds to play, Lamar finished an eight-play, 83-yard drive with Caleb Berry's 5-yard touchdown pass to Jayce Nelson. Berry's two-point pass to Mark Roberts tied the score at 41-41 and sent the game into overtime.
The Bears got great field position to start their first drive of the game, taking over at the Cardinals' 32 after Lamar was forced to punt from its 1.
Central Arkansas cashed in five plays later when Howard hit Lewis for an 11-yard touchdown with 12:46 left in the first quarter.
Lamar didn't take long to respond, driving 75 yards down the field in 15 plays to score when Berry hit Reggie Begelton with a 3-yard touchdown pass with 7:15 left in the first quarter. On the drive, Berry converted two third downs and a fourth-and-15 from the Central Arkansas 26. That made it 7-7.
After the Bears failed to pick up a first down on the ensuing drive, Lamar took the first of two leads it would hold in the opening half.
The Cardinals drove 99 yards on six plays, helped by a 42-yard option run by Berry, followed by a 47-yard pass and catch from Berry to Roberts. Berry hit Nelson on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 4:40 left in the first quarter. That put the Cardinals ahead 14-7.
Wilson then erased that lead with a 91-yard return on the ensuing kickoff for the Bears. It was Wilson's fourth return for a touchdown this season, and it tied the score at 14-14 with 4:27 left in the first.
The Bears' attempt to keep the momentum going failed when the Cardinals recovered an onside kick at the Central Arkansas 45. Five plays later, Lamar kicker Juan Carranco gave the Cardinals their second lead of the half on a 36-yard field goal to make it 17-14 with 3:12 left in the first quarter.
SAM HOUSTON STATE 40,
INCARNATE WORD 19
SAN ANTONIO — Jared Johnson threw for 188 yards and three touchdowns to lead Sam Houston State (6-4, 5-1 Southland) over Incarnate Word (2-8, 2-5).
In other games involving Southland Conference teams on Saturday, Zach Conque (Little Rock Catholic) totaled four touchdowns as Stephen F. Austin (7-3, 4-2) beat McNeese State (6-3, 4-2) 31-16 in Lake Charles, La. ... Bryan Bennett threw two touchdown passes and Jordan Barnett tossed three more to lead Southeastern Louisiana (7-3, 5-1) over Houston Baptist (2-8, 1-6) in Hammond, La.
Sports on 11/09/2014