ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist University lost the coin toss Saturday afternoon at Cliff Harris Stadium, then Ferris State won the football game.
There was more to the end result than guessing heads instead of tails, but Ferris State's 37-14 victory over OBU was a byproduct of a 20-mph wind it had at its back to start the game. Both coaches acknowledged as much.
"We really wanted to win the toss," OBU Coach Todd Knight said. "We thought that was huge."
Ferris State Coach Tony Annese said he took notice of the wind as soon as the Bulldogs took the field for pregame warmups. He made several determinations, including a decision not to utilize a return man when OBU was kicking into the wind.
"The wind, wow," Annese said. "That was a huge factor."
Ferris State kicked off with the wind at its back, took a first-quarter lead it never relinquished and dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, running 90 plays and rushing for 357 yards while holding OBU to a season-low 86 yards rushing.
Ferris State (14-0) advances to the NCAA Division II semifinals against an opponent that will be determined today.
OBU (12-1) made errors in many of the facets it had excelled at all season -- punting, kicking field goals, running the ball, stopping the run and not turning the ball over.
"Hey, it just wasn't our day," Knight said. "We weren't as good in all three phases as we have been. It started with the toss, and it trickled down from there."
Ferris State scored first on Derrick Portis' 14-yard run with 2:19 left in the first quarter, taking possession at its 21 after OBU all-GAC kicker Cole Antley missed on a 38-yard, line-drive attempt into the wind.
The game took a huge swing a few moments later after OBU regained possession after the kickoff at its 25.
Knight said he and offensive coordinator Jay Derby thought it was imperative for the Tigers to get at least one first down. That would have allowed the quarter to run out, and punter Jake Ford would have had the wind at his back.
Instead, OBU faced fourth and 2 after two runs and a short pass netted 8 yards, but there was still 12 seconds left on the clock.
Annese said he and his coaching staff had decided in warmups to forgo the use of a return man when OBU was kicking into the wind.
"I heard our fans yelling, 'You don't have a returner back,' " Annese said.
It paid off when the 11th man, Issa Khalil, busted past OBU's three-man shield and got a hand on Ford's punt. Ferris State took over at the OBU 27.
The Bulldogs scored on their fourth play of the drive, a 6-yard run by Robert Thomas, and it was 14-0 with 14:32 to play in the half.
Wind continued to play havoc in the second quarter, even when it was at the Tigers' back.
Ford got off a 63-yard punt after OBU failed to pick up a first down after the kickoff, and Ferris State faced a punting situation from its 26.
Annese said he saw no reason to punt the ball and called for a fake punt, a pass from Evan Cummins that fell incomplete. OBU had the ball at the 26 with 10:32 to play.
"The wind was so strong, the most we were going to get, I decided, was 20 yards. That's why we faked the punt," Annese said.
OBU lost 3 yards on three plays, and Antley's 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
The Bulldogs drove 71 yards in 15 plays, scoring on Marvin Campbell's 2-yard touchdown run with 2:20 to play before halftime to make it 20-0 Ferris State.
A fourth OBU miscue, Sam Heyboer's interception of a Brayden Brazeal pass near midfield, gave Ferris State just enough time to score its fourth touchdown of the half on a 2-yard pass from Jayru Campbell to Sy Barnett.
Knight said there was no question that Ferris State was the better team, but he said it might have been different if the Tigers had won the coin toss.
"I would have loved to have won the toss and have the wind in the first quarter," Knight said, "and just make a play or two we didn't make."
OBU, which came into the game as the nation's No. 1 team in scoring defense (9.4), yielded more points in the first half (27) than it had in any of its previous 12 games.
Ferris State, rolling behind an offensive line that averaged more than 300 yards per man, totaled 509 yards of offense.
"I feel like we were dominant," Ferris State offensive lineman Tyler Allison said. "We knew we were going to pound the ball down their throats, and that's what we did."
Harding University, which rushed for 277 yards in a 7-3 OBU victory on Oct. 6, was the only other opponent with success running on the Tigers, who were yielding 118 yards per game before Saturday.
It was also OBU's least productive rushing performance, gaining 86 yards after coming into the game with an average of 277.2 per game, No. 7 in the nation.
Annese said he was well prepared for OBU after seeing it on film twice in the past three weeks -- when preparing for Ferris State's opening round game with Harding and then again this week.
"Credit both those schools," Annese said. "They've kind of sprung on the national scene. They're legit. Both of those programs are legit. It's not an easy thing to play the GAC teams."
The Bulldogs took the second-half kickoff and drove 67 yards in 17 plays, taking up 7:54 of the third quarter.
OBU scored its first touchdown on its next drive, a 42-yard pass from Brazeal to Allie Freeman (10-115, 1 TD) to make it 30-7 with 5:51 to play in the third quarter.
OBU got the ball back after Keandre Evans blocked a field goal, but OBU was stopped on downs on its ensuing drive.
CORSICANA BOWL
EMPORIA STATE 30,
ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 22
The University of Arkansas at Monticello (6-6) could not hold a one-point, third-quarter lead and fell to Emporia State (8-4) in the Corsicana Bowl in Corsicana, Texas.
After trailing 18-9 at halftime, the Boll Weevils got an 18-yard touchdown pass from Cole Sears to DeAndre Washington and a 35-yard field goal by Josh Marini to take a 19-18 lead with 5:56 left in the third quarter.
Emporia State came back on its ensuing drive to grab a 24-19 advantage on a 31-yard touchdown pass.
Marini added his third field goal (31 yards) to begin the fourth quarter, but the Hornets set the final margin on a 13-yard touchdown pass with 11:03 remaining.
The Boll Weevils outgained the Hornets 452-435 in total offense, but had to do it in 91 plays to Emporia State's 66. That led to a 34:33-25:27 edge in time of possession for UAM.
Sears was 22-of-51 passing for 320 yards and the lone touchdown pass to Washington.
UAM receiver C.J. Parham led all receivers with 6 catches for 159 yards, while teammate Devonte Dean had a game-high 71 yards rushing on 12 attempts.
LIVE UNITED BOWL
MISSOURI WESTERN 30,
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 25
Southern Arkansas University (8-4) fought back from a 20-0 halftime deficit to get within five points with 1:48 left in the game, but the Muleriders couldn't get over the hump and saw their season end to Missouri Western (7-5) in the Live United Bowl at Razorback Stadium in Texarkana.
Down 30-19, the Muleriders got a 19-yard touchdown pass from Barrett Renner to Jaidon Parrish to cap a 13-play, 91-yard drive that trimmed the deficit to 30-25 with 1:48 left in the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
The Griffons recovered the ensuing onside-kick attempt, but SAU held them to 3 yards on three plays and forced a punt attempt with 40 seconds remaining. Starting from its 13, SAU could only advance to the Muleriders' 40 where the game ended.
SAU outgained Missouri Western 441-327 in total offense with Renner leading the way with 328 yards passing and 2 touchdowns on 30 of 45 attempts.
SAU's Jared Lancaster led all receivers with 10 receptions for 129 yards and a score.
Dom Marino led the Griffons' offense, completing 13 of 23 passes for 211 yards and a touchdown.
NCAA Division II playoff glance
First Round
Nov. 17
Hillsdale 40, Kutztown 26
Slippery Rock 20, LIU Post 14
New Haven 35, West Chester 28
Wingate 41, West Georgia 31
Indianapolis 38, Fort Hays State 27
Ferris State 21, Harding 19
Northwest Missouri State 42, Grand Valley State 17
Bowie State 41, West Alabama 35
Lenoir-Rhyne 43, Florida Tech 21
Tarleton State 58, Azusa Pacific 0
Texas A&M-Commerce 33, Minnesota Duluth 17
Colorado State-Pueblo 37, Colorado Mines 17
Second Round
Nov. 24
Slippery Rock 59, New Haven 20
Notre Dame (Ohio) 19, Hillsdale 14
Valdosta State 66, Bowie State 16
Ferris State 27, Northwest Missouri State 21
Ouachita Baptist 35, Indianapolis 7
Lenoir-Rhyne 21, Wingate 17
Minnesota-Mankato 24, Colorado State-Pueblo 10
Tarleton State 34, Texas A&M-Commerce 28
Quarterfinals
Dec. 1
Notre Dame (Ohio) 21, Slippery Rock 17
Minnesota State-Mankato 13, Tarleton State 10
Valdosta State 61, Lenoir-Rhyne 21
Ferris State 37, Ouachita Baptist 14
Semifinals
Saturday’s Games
Notre Dame (Ohio) (13-0) vs. Ferris State (14-0), TBA
Minnesota State-Mankato (13-0) vs. Valdosta State (12-0), TBA
Championship
Saturday, Dec. 15
At McKinney, Texas
TBD, 3 p.m.
Sports on 12/02/2018