Big guys, speedy CB fierce for Bears

JONESBORO -- A handful of big men and a very fast cornerback spearheaded the Central Arkansas Bears' 28-23 victory over the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Centennial Bank Stadium on Saturday night.

It was UCA's second victory over a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent. The first came in a 28-7 victory over Western Kentucky in 2009.

"The defensive line played a great game," UCA Coach Steve Campbell said. "Our special teams were great, and we moved the ball on offense. I think we played well in all three phases."

A rotation of linemen led a UCA defensive effort that held ASU to 45 rushing yards overall and just 2 in the first half. UCA gave up a season-high 169 rushing yards in its 24-10 victory over Northwestern (La.) State last weekend.

"That hurt real bad," senior defensive lineman Jordan Toliver said about last week's performance. "Nobody should do that on us. We definitely worked on that all week long. We did our job tonight, but this was a great game for our entire team."

Two first-half ASU punts returned by junior cornerback and return specialist Tremain Smith for a 47-yard touchdown and another for 30 yards, setting UCA up at the ASU 18, led to 10 points. Smith's 32-yard interception return late in the first half set up a 43-yard field goal at the the halftime horn, cutting ASU's lead to 16-13.

"Man, with our defensive line, it makes my job easy in the defensive backfield," Smith said. "You know those guys are going to be all over their quarterback. All I have to do is just keep their guys in front of me."

Smith was listed as a preseason Football Championship Series All-American.

"Tre Smith showed why he's an All-American," Campbell said. "His punt returns were huge for us. He made a big difference in this game. He's a great defensive player. He played really, really well."

"This was big for me, and I knew it was a very important game for us," Smith said.

UCA's defensive line helped force turnovers to keep the Bears close when ASU seemed ready to pull away early. Two more turnovers in the second half put UCA in control.

With two minutes left in the third quarter, ASU led 23-16 and had the ball at the UCA 30 when senior defensive lineman Chris Terrell forced the ball out of junior receiver Sterling Stowers' hands on a reverse attempt. Terrell recovered at the 50. The turnover led to a touchdown that put UCA within 23-22 with 13:12 left in the fourth quarter after a missed extra point.

On its next possession, ASU drove to the UCA 12. On second and 7, Toliver forced a fumble by junior running back Johnston White, which was recovered by junior defensive back Jaylon Lofton at the 14.

Junior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand's 18-yard touchdown pass to junior receiver Brandon Cox completed the subsequent 86-yard drive to give UCA the game's final points with 6:26 left in the game.

The victory was complete when Smith tipped away a pass in the UCA end zone on the final play.

"Our defensive line played very, very well," Campbell said. "We've got a lot of depth on our line, and they've played well all year."

"We knew if we could stop the run and make them one dimensional, we would have a chance to win the game," senior defensive lineman Dawson Hadnot said. "I've been here five years, and I've been waiting to win a game like this the whole five years. Words can't describe it. To finally get one, it feels like everything's been worth it."

Sports on 09/25/2016

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