OUACHITA BAPTIST 40, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 37, 4OT
ARKADELPHIA -- Southern Arkansas ran a staggering 104 offensive plays against Ouachita Baptist.
But the biggest plays -- ultimately -- belonged to the injury-riddled Tigers.
Sophomore place-kicker Cole Antley's 36-yard field goal in the fourth overtime lifted Ouachita to a 40-37 Great American Conference homecoming victory over SAU before an announced crowd of 5,388 on a warm Saturday afternoon at Cliff Harris Stadium.
Antley's 49-yard field goal on the final play of regulation sent the game into overtime, 27-27.
Antley finally shut the door in the fourth overtime after a 35-yard field-goal attempt by junior place-kicker Bradford Grems hit the right upright on SAU's possession.
The Tigers, already without approximately 10 starters because of injuries sustained earlier in the season, including junior quarterback Austin Warford (walking boot), lost standout sophomore tailback Kris Oliver midway through the third quarter with a lower leg problem.
By the time Ouachita reached the fourth overtime, fifth-string tailback Shun'cee Thomas was one of at least two freshmen who had their redshirts pulled during the three-hour, 15-minute contest.
"I've never been through anything like this," Tigers Coach Todd Knight said. "These guys rose to the occasion. I still say everything is about attitude and self-talk. I think we learned a lot about ourselves this week."
Ouachita (4-3) led only once in regulation -- senior Kendrick Henderson returned a blocked field-goal attempt 74 yards for a touchdown to make it 7-3 with 3:30 remaining in the first quarter -- and was outgained 500-311 in total yardage.
SAU (5-2) led 24-17 at halftime and 27-24 with 1:30 remaining in regulation after Grems' 27-yard field goal capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive.
But junior quarterback Lucas Reed directed an eight-play, 46-yard drive to set up Antley's game-tying field goal.
Reed, on third and 12 from the Ouachita 20, scrambled 12 yards for a first down and completed a 16-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver La'Darius McElroy to the SAU 32 with 2.8 seconds remaining in regulation.
After Ouachita used its final timeout, Antley's booming kick, with the wind, cleared the crossbar by maybe 10 yards.
"I felt like we were very much in control when we kicked the field goal at the end of the game to go up," Muleriders Coach Bill Keopple said. "And then we really played good defense. It gets down to 2.8 and they catch a ball at 2.8 and the guy's got to line up and kick a 49-yard field goal. You're still feeling good. Shoot, they don't make those very often at any level. That's part of it, though."
The teams matched touchdowns in the first overtime.
Antley had a chance to win the game in the second overtime, but his 21-yard field-goal attempt was wide left.
Antley kicked a 34-yard field goal in the third overtime. Grems followed with a 33-yard field goal to send the game into the fourth overtime.
"It's a satisfying victory for the kids, because they are so beat up," Knight said. "Your self-talk and attitude, that was what was so important to me. We didn't throw in the towel and say, 'Hey, it can't be done.' Attitude and self-talk is what we talked about all week."
Ouachita, which ran just 67 plays, finished with 371 total yards.
Oliver rushed 17 times for 143 yards and 1 touchdown, a 56-yard burst with 5:12 remaining in the first half.
Thomas ran 14 times for 44 yards and 1 touchdown (10 yards in the first overtime).
Reed completed 12-of-24 passes for 146 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown to true freshman wide receiver Allie Freeman IV to tie the score, 24-24, with 5:49 remaining in regulation.
The Muleriders totaled 553 yards.
Sophomore quarterback Barrett Renner completed 34-of-48 passes for 344 yards and 2 touchdowns. Junior tailback Mike Nunnery ran 22 times for 121 yards.
"I don't know that it ever gets easier," Keopple said of a gut-wrenching setback. "If it gets to the point where it becomes easy to take losses, you need to get out of coaching."
Sports on 10/16/2016