ARKADELPHIA -- Keandre Evans said he knew what he had to do late in the fourth quarter of Ouachita Baptist's 24-7 victory Saturday over Arkansas Tech.
Tech faced third and goal at the OBU 5 with a chance to cut a 17-7 deficit to 17-14 with 3:36 to play in front of 5,498 at Cliff Harris Stadium.
It didn't matter to Evans that he was lined up against the Wonder Boys' top receiver, Terrez Hampton, who caught a 67-yard pass earlier in the quarter.
"We knew we needed a stop, and I knew their best receiver was going to be lined up against me," Evans said. "I needed to step up to the plate."
Evans, a 5-11, 185-pound junior cornerback from Junction City, faced off against Hampton, who ran to the right corner of the end zone.
Arkansas Tech University redshirt freshman quarterback Carter Burcham threw it in the direction of Hampton (7-130 receiving), but Evans cut in front of Hampton to intercept the pass about 5 yards deep in the Ouachita Baptist University end zone.
Evans said he saw nothing but green grass in front of him as he headed down the left sideline, cutting inside a diving Tech running back Bryan Allen and Burcham at the OBU 40. From there, he raced untouched with a long string of tape dangling from his arm like a tiny flag for a 100-yard interception return touchdown.
"When I saw the goal line, I knew I had to get there," Evans said.
It was a moment of redemption for Evans, who gave up inside leverage to Hampton on the 67-yard play a few minutes earlier, then was called for pass interference at the OBU goal line to set up the Wonder Boys' only score, a 2-yard run by Tanner Gaines with 9:16 to play in the game to make the score OBU 10-7.
"You've got to have amnesia to play out here, coach," said Evans, who led the Tigers with 10 tackles, 8 unassisted, and broke up 2 passes.
Evans' play finally distanced the seventh-ranked Tigers (5-0) from their longtime rivals from Russellville in a game that was filled with penalty flags and booming punts in the first half, and bruising hits that left players from both sides being helped off the field in the fourth quarter.
"Those guys played their pants off," Ouachita Baptist Coach Todd Knight said of the Wonder Boys (2-3). "We made the plays when we needed to make the plays."
Knight identified Evans' interception return, his second interception of the game, as the deciding point.
"He made the play," Knight said of Evans, "and he made a good play."
Arkansas Tech Coach Raymond Monica praised the Wonder Boys for persevering despite being outgained 247-127 and outscored 10-0 in a first half dominated by penalties (12-110 yards) and three punts by OBU's Jake Ford downed inside the Tech 20.
The Wonder Boys went to an uptempo attack to start the third quarter after possessing the ball for 10:10 of the first 30 minutes. Arkansas Tech ran 60 offensive plays in the second half, outgaining OBU 310-108 in the final 30 minutes and 432-357 for the game.
But two second-half interceptions thrown by Burcham (22-of-47 passing, 325 yards, 3 INTs) after Tech cut the lead to 10-7 early in the fourth quarter led to 14 points for OBU.
There was an interception by Hayden Lassiter to set up Brockton Brown's 8-yard touchdown run with 7:02 to play in the fourth quarter that made it 17-7 Tigers.
Evans finished off the Wonder Boys with his 100-yard interception return less than four minutes later.
"You gotta score," Monica said. "We had our opportunities. They made the plays when they needed to."
The biggest of which was made by Evans.
SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 55, OKLAHOMA BAPTIST 45
SHAWNEE, Okla. — Barrett Renner and Jared Lancaster connected for three second-half touchdowns as the Muleriders outlasted the Bison at Crain Family Stadium.
Barrett, a senior, was 26 of 33 for 387 yards. Lancaster, a junior, caught nine passes for 156 yards. Their scoring plays went for 17, 25 and 25 yards.
SAU (5-0, 5-0 GAC) trailed 31-27 with 8:13 left in the third quarter but out-scored the Bison 28-14 in the game’s final 19 minutes.
Oklahoma Baptist (2-3, 2-3) junior quarterback Preston Haire completed 39 of 60 passes for 476 yards and 5 TDs. But the Bison were limited to 78 rushing yards.
SAU outgained Oklahoma Baptist 611-554 and had two running backs gain at least 100 yards. Junior Sircharles Perkins ran 16 times for 125 yards, scoring on runs of 9, 10 and 26 yards. Sophomore Lorenzo Alexander had 24 rushes for 100 yards and scored on runs of 2 and 8 yards.
Senior Karonce Higgins caught 7 passes for 93 yards and senior Kile Pletcher had 6 catches for 88 yards for the Muleriders.
Josh Pettijohn led Oklahoma Baptist in receiving with six catches for 114 yards. He had touchdown receptions of 30 and 42 yards. Cagney Roberston caught a game-high 10 passes for 113 yards.
HARDING 47, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 21
MONTICELLO — Matt Fuller rushed for two touchdowns and Harding scored the game’s first 38 points on their way to a victory over Arkansas-Monticello at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.
Harding (4-1, 4-1 GAC) outgained UAM 406-291 and had five running backs compile 51 or more rushing yards. The Bisons are now 3-0 away from Searcy and have won eight consecutive road games.
The Bisons led 24-0 at the end of the first quarter and 40-7 at the half. Harding’s defense had three sacks, while sophomore cornerback V’Onte Williams intercepted a pass and senior defensive back Daylon Markham forced a fumble.
Harding linebacker Sam Blankenship had eight tackles, a sack, a pass break-up and a fumble recovery.
The Boll Weevils (1-4, 1-4) fumbled the opening kickoff and Harding scored two plays later when sophomore Cole Chancey ran in from the 5 at the 13:58 mark.
Harding sophomore quarterback Preston Paden and sophomore Jesse Honnas both scored on 1-yard runs lat-er in the second quarter. Junior Cameron Scott also added a 39-yard field goal to round out the first-quarter scoring.
Honnas led Harding on the ground with 75 yards on 16 carries. Fuller, a senior, ran 3 times for 54 yards, scoring on runs of 22 and 4 yards. Sophomore Tristan Tucker (7 carries, 51 yards) scored on a 19-yard run.
Paden ran 13 times for 55 yards. He also completed 2 of 4 passes for 49 yards.
UAM senior Cole Sears completed 12 of 27 passes for 171 yards, hitting junior Jeremy Hampton for a 33-yard TD pass with 4:53 left in the first half and junior tight end DeAndre Washington for a 33-yard score with 12:28 left in the third quarter.
Hampton also caught a 27-yard touchdown from freshman Caleb Canady in the fourth quarter.
UAM was held to 56 yards on the ground and converted 1 of 12 third-down attempts.
HENDERSON STATE 24, SOUTHERN NAZARENE 10
BETHANY, Okla. — Richard Stammetti threw for 212 yards and the Henderson State defense limited Southern Nazarene to 69 yards of total offense in the second half.
Henderson (2-3, 2-3 GAC) rallied from a 10-7 halftime deficit to snap a two-game losing streak. Southern Nazarene (1-4, 1-4) suffered its third consecutive loss.
Stammetti, a junior, was 16-of-33 passing. He tossed one touchdown and was intercepted once. Senior Ben Johnson led the Reddies with 76 yards receiving on four receptions. Junior Querale Hall ran for a team-high 85 yards on 15 carries.
Two second-half turnovers proved costly for the Crimson Storm. Hender-son took the lead for good with 1:27 left in the third quarter when Stammetti hit senior John Murray for an 8-yard TD and a 17-10 lead. That score came three plays after junior Kahill Mitchell forced a fumble that junior Mercardo Anderson recovered.
An interception by senior defensive back Bowen Sweeney, who returned the ball 13 yards to the 9, set up Henderson State’s final touchdown. Hall scored from the 1 with 13:37 to play.
Henderson State outgained Southern Nazarene 343-206 and held the Crimson Storm to 70 passing yards.
Henderson State drove 75 yards on 12 plays on its opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. Junior Kody Whitaker scored on a 1-yard run at the 9:54 mark and Temo Martinez added the extra point.
A 42-yard field goal by Carlos Angulano cut the Reddies’ lead to 7-3 with 1:26 left in the first quarter and the Crimson Storm took a 10-7 advantage when Gage Porter broke off a 52-yard TD run with 11:18 remaining in the half.
Martinez tied the game at 10-10 with a 33-yard field goal with 11:51 left in the third quarter.
Sports on 09/30/2018