CONWAY -- The University of Central Arkansas Bears want to start football games with a successful ground attack, and they have found an extra means to that end.
It was clear early last Saturday that the Southeastern Louisiana Lions were geared to stop runs between the tackles, but a simple adjustment helped lead UCA to a 38-6 victory at Estes Stadium in Conway.
In its first two games, UCA (2-1, 1-0 Southland) leaned on sophomore running back Carlos Blackman and runs up the middle. Blackman delivered with 40 carries for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Southeastern Louisiana responded with a defensive line packed inside, and Blackman was held to 29 yards on 11 carries. UCA answered with outside running and a screen game that featured redshirt freshman running back Kierre Crossley.
Crossley carried 18 times total for 57 yards in UCA's 55-19 loss at Kansas State and its 41-13 victory at Murray State. He did not score through the first two games, but he carried 10 times for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Lions. Junior Cedric Battle caught two screen passes for 59 yards. Senior Jarvis Cooper rushed 4 times for 12 yards and caught 1 pass for 17.
UCA Coach Steve Campbell said an inside-out running game complicates matters for opposing defenses.
"You want some big, strong guys, and then you want some fast guys who can be big or quick or whatever," Campbell said. "But you always want guys of all shapes and sizes who can pretty much run the same stuff, so that you can change the look without changing your offense. You're running the same stuff, but if you can give them different looks, it helps keep your offense diverse."
"We can't go wrong," senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand said. "We got Cedric, who has good hands and is real shifty. Kierre is smaller, but he's super explosive, and when he sees a gap, he hits it 100 percent, and then Carlos is the all-around running back. He's bigger, stronger. He'll run up the middle or go outside, and Jarvis Cooper gives us all of that, too."
Crossley redshirted last season, although Campbell said it was clear he had the talent to contribute.
"We seriously considered playing him last year," Campbell said. "We'd bring him up, dress him for a week, and we'd say, 'No. Let's hold off.' Then Carlos took off, and we were fortunate enough to stay healthy back there, so we were able to redshirt him."
Blackman led UCA with 616 rushing yards as a freshman in 2016. Campbell said a combination of Blackman's power and Crossley's speed is ideal for UCA's offense.
"It gives the defense problems," Campbell said. "With one guy, they know they have to hunker down, but with another guy, they hunker down, and he runs right by them. It adds something for the defense to have to prepare for."
Crossley said he was surprised by the opportunity last Saturday.
"I didn't have any idea," Crossley said. "I hadn't been getting a lot of carries, but I was glad to be able to contribute."
"He deserved that kind of game," Hildebrand said. "He's worked so hard. He's a good running back, and I knew that would happen for him eventually."
Sports on 09/23/2017