CONWAY -- The Central Arkansas Bears overcame 45 minutes of lackluster play with a 15-minute burst of big plays.
UCA turned a 17-7 deficit into a 31-24 victory over Illinois State in the first round of the FCS playoffs at Estes Stadium on Saturday.
"I think our guys saw that it was now or never," UCA Coach Steve Campbell said.
Junior George Odum's blocked punt and Jakari Dillard's subsequent 4-yard scoop-and-score touchdown with 14:06 left put UCA within a field goal to jump-start UCA's comeback.
"That was the big turning point in the game," Campbell said of the blocked punt. "It definitely gave us a great jolt of adrenalin. It was a huge momentum shift for us."
UCA (10-2) held Illinois State (6-6) to three plays and a punt after Dilliard's touchdown, then went 83 yards on 8 plays, the final a 2-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand to senior Desmond Smith that gave UCA its first lead at 21-17.
A 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call against Illinois State after Smith's touchdown let UCA kickoff from midfield, and Campbell opted for an onside-kick attempt by sophomore kicker Matt Cummins. Junior Roy Sutton recovered, and UCA had the ball at the Illinois State 36.
Campbell discussed his inclination to go for an onside kick with the kicking team before making the decision.
"He asked us, and I said, 'Yeah coach, let it ride,' '' Odum said.
"Matt Cummins executed it beautifully," Campbell said.
Hildebrand's 20-yard keeper put the Bears at the 16, but the next three plays netted 5 yards and advanced UCA to the 11, but a 28-yard field goal by Cummins gave UCA a 24-17 lead with 8:04 left.
Illinois State scored on the third play of its next drive, a 55-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Jake Kolbe to senior receiver Anthony Warrum that tied the score at 24-24 with 6:22 left.
UCA was stopped after four plays on its next possession, but a 41-yard punt by junior Patrick Ponder was downed by Odum at the Illinois State 1.
Illinois State was forced to punt from its 3, and senior Reece Attard's punt from the end zone put UCA within 43 yards of a go-ahead score.
Hildebrand and senior running back Antwon Wells combined for a 39-yard pass play to start the drive and Wells' 4-yard touchdown run on the next play gave UCA the game-winner with 1:28 left.
"We let a very good team hang around, and you just can't do that," Illinois State Coach Brock Spack said.
Illinois State turned its final possession over on downs and UCA advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs in a victory formation.
UCA will play at Eastern Washington in Cheney, Wash., on Dec. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. Central.
UCA's final quarter of play stood in contrast to its start, when the Bears were held to three plays and a shanked punt that gave Illinois State possession at its 44.
Three plays later, freshman running back DeMarco Corbin sliced through UCA's FCS-leading rush defense with a 39-yard run that gave Illinois State a 7-0 lead with 11:35 left in the first quarter
An interception by junior defensive back Davontae Harris set Illinois State's second possession at its 45. Junior Sean Slattery's 43-yard field goal gave Illinois State a 10-0 lead.
UCA made it a 10-7 game with 9:51 left in the first half.
A 30-yard pass from Hildebrand to senior receiver Jacquez McMillian set up Hildebrand's 1-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Desmond Smith.
Illinois State freshman James Robinson responded with a 52-yard kickoff return to the UCA 48.
Runs of 24 and 12 yards by senior running back Jamal Towns led up to Kolbe's 4-yard touchdown pass to Warrum that left Illinois State with a 17-7 halftime lead.
A scoreless third quarter framed the improbability of UCA's fourth-quarter response.
"Our guys knew that the season was on the line," Campbell said. "When it comes to that, it's not about plays, it's about players. No matter what plays we call, it gets down to players. It gets down to George Odum. It gets down to Antwon Wells, Desmond Smith, Hayden Hildebrand. It gets down to players, those guys leaving their hearts out there."
FCS PLAYOFFS
New Hampshire rolls
DURHAM, N.H. — Dalton Crossan rushed 24 times for 184 yards and scored 3 total touchdowns, and New Hampshire jumped out to a 36-7 lead to blow past Lehigh 64-21 on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
Crossan had 15 carries in the first half for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. He put New Hampshire (8-4) ahead 15-0 in the first half after a 5-yard score and a 9-yard touchdown reception.
Adam Riese made it 22-0 after connecting with Neil O’Connor on a 35-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter.
After Lehigh (9-3) scored with 7:19 left in the second quarter on Dominick Bragalone’s 35-yard touchdown run, New Hampshire scored two more touchdowns for a 36-7 lead.
In other FSC first-round playoff games, Dejon Brissett returned a punt 92 yards for a touchdown and Griffin Trau kicked four field goals to lead Richmond (9-3) past North Carolina A&T (9-3) 39-10 at Richmond, Va. Brissett’s return, the longest touchdown of the season by the Spiders, put Richmond up 14-7 in the first quarter. Trau kicked three field goals in the second quarter, giving him a single-season record of 20 and pushing the lead to 23-7. North Carolina A&T had four turnovers and just 226 yards of total offense. … Devin Watson had two interceptions in the fourth quarter, Tyler Vaughn had a safety just before halftime and Wofford (9-3) held off Charleston Southern (7-4) 15-14 at Spartanburg, S.C. Charleston Southern started its final drive with 3:03 remaining, but freshman quarterback Shane Bucenell threw his second interception of the game and Devin Watson returned it to the Buccaneers’ 24 to seal it. Lorenzo Long carried 27 times for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns for Wofford. … Zach Bednarczyk threw for 254 yards and had three first-half touchdowns as Villanova (9-3) took a 31-21 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.) (7-5) at Philadelphia. Bednarczyk had two touchdown passes to Ryan Bell and one to Jarrett McClenton in the first half for Villanova. Bell’s 2-yard reception put the Wildcats up 31-7 at the half. … Alejandro Bennifield threw for two touchdowns to Alphonso Stewart and rushed for another while Derrick Craine ran for 160 yards and a score to pace Tennessee-Chattanooga (9-3) past Weber State (7-5) 45-14 at Chattanooga. Jadrian Clark threw for 210 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions for Weber State, which had just 69 yards rushing . … Jonah Hodges had 208 yards from scrimmage and three touchdown runs to help San Diego advance past Cal Poly 35-21 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Hodges carried 35 times for 171 yards and caught 7 passes for 37 yards for San Diego (10-1), which avenged an earlier loss to Cal Poly (7-5). … Jody Webb ran for 174 yards and two touchdowns to lead Youngstown State to a 38-24 victory over Samford in Youngstown, Ohio. Shane Kuhn, Tevin McCaster and Martin Ruiz each punched in 1-yard touchdown runs for Youngstown State (9-3), which held Samford (7-5) to just 24 yards on the ground.
At a glance
FIRST ROUND
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Villanova 31, Saint Francis (Pa.) 21 Chattanooga 45, Weber State 14 New Hampshire 64, Lehigh 21 Wofford 15, Charleston Southern 14 Richmond 39, N.C. A&T 10
Central Arkansas 31, Illinois State 24
Youngstown St. 38, Samford 24 San Diego 35, Cal Poly 21
SECOND ROUND
SATURDAY, DEC. 3 All times Central
New Hampshire (8-4) at James Madison (10-1), 1 p.m. Youngstown State (9-3) at Jacksonville State (10-1), 2 p.m. Villanova (9-3) at South Dakota State (8-3), 2 p.m. Chattanooga (9-3) at Sam Houston State (11-0), 2 p.m. San Diego (10-1) at North Dakota State (10-1), 2:30 p.m.
Central Arkansas (10-2) at Eastern Washington (10-1), 3 p.m.
Wofford (9-3) at The Citadel (10-1), 5 p.m. Richmond (9-3) at North Dakota (9-2), 5 p.m.
Sports on 11/27/2016