RUSSELLVILLE -- Behind a wall of blockers, Arkansas Tech University cruised from start to finish in its 48-10 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State at Thone Stadium on Saturday.
Led by senior Braden Stringer's career-high 230 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns, the Wonder Boys rushed for 390 yards and had 535 yards of total offense.
"I'm the kind of guy who likes to kick off and play defense, but here lately, our offense has been doing a tremendous job," Arkansas Tech Coach Raymond Monica said. "We thought this was a good time to start on offense."
Junior Bryan Allen, who finished with 106 yards on the ground, led Arkansas Tech's game-opening, 8-play, 72-yard drive with 34 yards. The drive was completed with a play-action fake to Allen, followed by a 3-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ty Reasnor to junior halfback Chris Eastburn, a seemingly ideal punctuation for such a tone-setting drive.
"Everybody thinks you're going to run down at the goal line, so we faked it, boot-legged it out, and Eastburn was wide open," Reasnor said. "Pounding the rock set that play up."
Arkansas Tech (8-2, 8-2 Great American Conference) turned to Stringer on its second possession, and he responded with a 44-yard scoring run to complete an 87-yard drive that gave the Wonder Boys a 14-0 lead with 7:05 left in the first quarter.
Arkasas Tech sophomore D.J. Williams recovered a fumble at the Southeastern 30 on the following kickoff. Tech lost ground on three plays but scored on a 45-yard field goal by junior Eric Perez to take a 17-0 lead.
Stringer, who completed the first half with 132 yards, got 82 of it on his third carry that put Arkansas Tech's lead at 24-0 with 13:21 left in the second quarter.
"The thing that doesn't surprise me is if Bryan Allen has a big game or Braden Stringer has a big game," Monica said. "They all do something special."
Both of Stringer's long runs went to the right side, behind freshman guard Sam Williams (6-3, 317 pounds) and sophomore tackle Cole Fritschen (6-6, 322). Tech was held to 137 rushing yards in its 38-10 victory at East Central (Okla.) last weekend, and Williams said they prepared throughout the week for an upgrade.
"We knew we messed up last week, so we knew we had to step it up," Williams said. "We just came out here thinking we had to dominate. We worked hard all week."
"I didn't see this game coming, but the offensive line played great today opening up holes," Stringer said. "It just seemed like another game when we walked out here, but after that second long one I had an idea it was going to be something special."
Arkansas Tech's string of success continued with its next possession when Allen's 10-yard touchdown run completed a 12-play 73-yard drive that gave the Wonder Boys a 31-0 lead with 5:46 left in the first half.
Though it would not endure for long, momentum shifted to Southeastern Oklahoma (6-4) to end the half on sophomore Austin Skinner's 9-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Skye Lowe cut Arkansas Tech's lead to 31-7 with 11 seconds left in the second quarter.
A 30-yard field goal by junior Joel Carlos completed the Savage Storm's scoring early in the third quarter.
Southeastern Oklahoma, which had lost four starters on offense since the start of the season, lost Skinner to a knee injury on its next possession.
"It's hard to keep any kind of consistency when you just continue to move pieces around," Southeastern Oklahoma Coach Bo Atterberry said. "You hope for better, but whether it be lack of experience or lack of reps, your probably not going to see it."
Stringer scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards and Perez added a 36-yard field goal as Tech continued to pull away in the second half.
OUACHITA BAPTIST 45,
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 42
Ouachita Baptist University (8-2, 8-2 GAC) scored the game-winning touchdown in the final minute of its victory over Southern Arkansas University (6-4, 6-4) at Memorial Stadium in El Dorado. OBU freshman quarterback Lucas Reed threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Allie Freeman with 33 seconds left in the game, and sophomore defensive back Keandre Evans batted down SAU’s final pass attempt as time expired.
SAU redshirt junior quarterback Barrett Renner set his school’s single-game record with 533 passing yards. Renner was 37 of 59 with 5 touchdowns.
OBU remains tied with Arkansas Tech for first place in the Great American Conference with one week remaining in the regular season. A victory over Henderson State next week would clinch OBU’s third conference title, and its first since 2014.
HARDING 44,
EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) 13
Harding University (7-3, 7-3 GAC) scored three consecutive touchdowns to run away with its victory over East Central (Okla.) (2-8, 2-8) at First Security Stadium in Searcy.
Harding led 23-13 until junior quarterback Terrence Dingle rushed for a 7-yard touchdown run with 4:46 left in the third quarter for a 30-13 advantage.
East Central was tied with Harding 7-7 during the second quarter, but the Bisons scored 16 consecutive points to go ahead 23-7 with 11:18 left in the third quarter.
Freshman Cole Chancey led the Bisons with 188 rushing yards on 12 carries, and his 828 yards on the season breaks the 47-year-old freshman record of 822 yards set by Harding Hall of Famer Alan Dixon in 1970.
Harding has scored 40 points or more in three consecutive games and has held its opponents to 16 points combined in the last four games.
Alone at second place in the Great American Conference standings, Harding will play Arkansas Tech University, which is tied for first along with Ouachita Baptist University, next week with a shot at its second consecutive conference title.
HENDERSON STATE 28,
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 21
Henderson State University (6-4, 6-4 GAC) scored two consecutive touchdowns at the end of its come-from-behind victory over the University of Arkansas at Monticello (5-5, 5-5) at Cotton Boll Stadium in Monticello.
UAM held a 21-14 lead with 14:13 left in the game after sophomore running back Deountario Brown rushed for a 73-yard touchdown. Then, Henderson State junior defensive back Malcom Scott returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 21-21 with 9:59 left.
The Reddies earned the go-ahead lead with 5:51 left in the game, when senior quarterback Evan Lassiter threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Ben Johnson.
Henderson State redshirt freshman running back Blake Faulk led all rushers with 132 yards on 18 carries.
SAA
HENDRIX 70, RHODES 42
Hendrix (7-2, 5-2 SAA) scored five consecutive touchdowns after trailing during the first quarter in its victory over Rhodes (3-6, 2-6) at Young-Wise Memorial Stadium in Conway.
It was a record-breaking night for the Warriors, as sophomore quarterback Miles Thompson set single-game school records for total passing yards (457), total offensive yards (522) and touchdowns passes (7). Senior wide receiver Nate Hodapp tied the single-game school record with three touchdown receptions, helping Hendrix reach a school record for points scored in a game.
Hendrix trailed 21-20 with 4:22 left in the first quarter after Rhodes junior quarterback PJ Settles threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Josh Lucas.
Hendrix’s Thompson followed the score with a 7-yard rushing touchdown with 36 seconds left in the first quarter, and the Warriors never trailed again.
CSFL
LYON 34, BACONE 14
Lyon (4-6, 2-5 CSFL) earned its most season victories in program history with a victory over Bacone (2-8, 2-5) at Pioneer Stadium in Batesville.
The Scots opened the game with a 13-0 lead on a 25-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Josh Sierra to junior wide receiver Shaka Robinson, and a 35-yard run by freshman running back Josh Abel.
Lyon never trailed again, while its offense outgained Bacone 401-225 in total offensive yards.
The Scots surrendered just one offensive touchdown, as Bacone’s John Jackson returned a kickoff for a touchdown with 11:31 left in the second quarter, which made the score 13-7.
Sports on 11/05/2017