CONWAY -- Tough luck and the Central Arkansas Bears were too much for the Lamar Cardinals.
Lamar, already playing without its star running back who was injured last week, lost its starting quarterback on the second series Saturday night and UCA took full advantage, dominating defensively on its way to a 22-12 victory at Estes Stadium.
UCA's defense held Lamar to 220 total yards and to 15 on the ground.
Appropriately, UCA (6-1, 5-0 Southland) recorded a third-quarter safety that ended any chance Lamar had to win.
A quick-kick punt by UCA junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand four minutes into the second half pinned Lamar (3-4, 3-2) at its 1. On next play from scrimmage, freshman running back Austin Krautz was stopped 2 yards deep in the end zone by senior linebacker Garrett Sharp for a safety, and UCA led 12-6 with 10:29 left in the second quarter.
Sharp said film study showed Krautz's attempted sweep was a common play for Lamar, but he was surprised to see it run so close to the end zone.
"They'd been running toward the outside zone, and we worked on that all week in practice," Sharp said. "I knew they were going to run that play, but not then. I saw him going to the outside zone and I squeezed through the tackle and the tight end and just made the play."
UCA, tied for 18th FCS coaches poll, scored right after Lamar's ensuing free kick on a 20-yard pass from Hildebrand to senior running back Kelton Warren to take a 19-6 lead.
"That safety wound up being a key play in the game," UCA Coach Steve Campbell said. "It was huge. We needed every point we could get tonight."
Sophomore Matt Cummins' 38-yard field goal put UCA's lead at 22-6 with 9:51 left in the game.
Backup freshman quarterback Andrew Allen scored on a 2-yard run to put Lamar within 22-12 with 5:28 left.
Allen replaced senior Carson Earp during the game's second series. Earp suffered a shoulder injury that will likely end his season, Lamar Coach Ray Woodward said.
"We'd like to play a game of this magnitude with all of our weapons, but everybody is fighting that right now," Woodward said. "We all have the same scholarship limitations. We're all fighting with injuries and depth."
"You feel bad for the guys, but we have our own guys that are limping around," Campbell said. "You hate that for anybody. You hate it for the guys, but that's part of football."
Lamar reached the UCA 8 on its opening drive, but the Cardinals were held to a 31-yard field goal by Juan Carranco.
Earp was injured on first play of Lamar's next possession, and yards were hard to come by from that point forward for the Cardinals.
Earp passed for 412 yards and four touchdowns in Lamar's 32-31 victory last week over Northwestern State, a game during which senior All-Southland Conference running back Kade Harrington suffered a broken foot.
Tre Smith's 65-yard punt return early in the second quarter put the ball at the Lamar 19, and UCA took a 7-3 lead three plays later with a 7-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Keyshawn Ledet.
"I was really disappointed in our special teams," Woodward said.
UCA took over at its 45 after Lamar went three and out for a second consecutive time.
Hildebrand's 36-yard pass to Smith got UCA to the Lamar 19, but the Bears' drive stalled at 4th-and-goal from the 1, and Matt Cummins' 19-yard field goal built UCA's lead to 10-3.
Lamar managed a first down under Allen on its next possession. It punted before it could get another, but this time Smith muffed his return attempt and senior Brendan Langley recovered for Lamar at the UCA 34.
Lamar gained 2 yards on three plays, but went for it on fourth down. Allen passed to freshman receiver Kendrick King near the goal line. The catch bounced off King, but an interference call against senior defensive back Devin Spurlock gave Lamar a first down at the UCA 17. The call eventually led to a 26-yard field goal by Carranco that cut UCA's lead to 10-6 with 1:41 left in the first half.
Sports on 10/23/2016