ARKADELPHIA -- It was close, but the more solid team won.
A third-quarter touchdown pass gave Ouachita Baptist University a lead that would hold up. A 64-yard punt made Arkansas Tech's comeback bid unlikely. And finally a forced fumble sealed OBU's 14-9 victory over Arkansas Tech on Saturday afternoon at Harris Stadium.
Kiehl Fraizer passed for 173 yards and 2 touchdowns and had 58 yards rushing, Brandon Marks added 58 yards rushing, and senior safety Zack Mitchell had seven tackles to lead the Tigers defense.
"They're solid on defense. They're solid on offense, and they're solid with their kicking game," Arkansas Tech Coach Raymond Monica said. "You know what I'm saying? They're solid. You know, they're not one side is great or the other side is great. They're just a solid team."
He'll get no argument from OBU Coach Todd Knight.
"We're a blue-collar team," he said. "We know we have to be good in all three phases."
OBU (7-0, 7-0 GAC) led 7-3 at halftime and took a 14-3 lead with Frazier's 23-yard pass to senior receiver Drew White, who leaped junior defensive back Alonzo Joyner 1 yard deep in the end zone with 11:22 left in the third quarter.
"It was a good play," Knight said. "[White] has been doing that his whole career. He has great leaping ability."
"I just reached over his back shoulder and got it," White said. "Coach calls that a 'back-shoulder ball,' and we work it a lot in practice."
Defense reigned for most of the game, certainly for OBU until late in the fourth quarter when ATU pulled to within 14-9 after junior quarterback Dennis Robertson's 25-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Jermaine Merdock with 4:36 left.
On its next possession, OBU hoped to run out the clock and leave ATU (3-5, 3-4) with little time, but the Tigers were stopped on fourth and 2 at their 33 with 2:35 left. That's when freshman punter Shelton Wooley's 64-yard punt put ATU at its 2.
"You know what? You got the ball with a minute with a chance, that's what you want," Monica said.
ATU's first play on its final possession got the Wonder Boys out of immediate trouble when senior receiver Josh Simpson caught a 33-yard pass from Robertson. Incomplete passes on the next three plays set up fourth and 10 at ATU's 35 with a little more than one minute left.
As Robertson tried to settle in the pocket and find a receiver to keep ATU's hopes alive, OBU senior defensive end Kyle Lamothe broke free around the right edge with his eyes set on Robertson. Backfield blockers were set to Robertson's opposite side, and Lamothe ran unabated to his target and knocked the ball away as Robertson prepared to pass.
Junior defensive end Barley Legens recovered the ball, and OBU ran out the clock from there.
"I saw him pull back to throw, so I just stuck my hand out," Lamothe said. "It was a good feeling."
OBU began the scoring on its first possession when Frazier's pass into the end zone from 3 yards out found senior receiver Jalen Jones wide open. The touchdown concluded a 15-play, 63-yard drive that lasted nearly six minutes.
ATU, held without a first down in the opening quarter, began its first sustained drive to start the second. Highlighted by a 15-yard, fourth-down pass from Robertson to senior receiver DeRon Brown, it was nevertheless rendered null when Legens blocked senior Randy Velazquez's 36-yard field-goal attempt.
But eight plays after ATU junior linebacker Logan Genz intercepted Frazier, Velazquez got another chance and made a 47-yard field goal to pull ATU within 7-3 in the final minute of the second half.
"We're knocking on the door," Monica said. "Just like I tell the guys, we're going to keep knocking. As long we keep knocking and keep knocking, we're probably going to end up getting inside."
Sports on 10/26/2014