Bears fight back, defeat Lumberjacks

UNITED ATHLETIC CONF.

CENTRAL ARKANSAS 24, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 21

CONWAY — As Stephen F. Austin wide receiver Kylon Harris burst down the sideline at the end of a 64-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Preston Weeks in the fourth quarter Saturday, the University of Central Arkansas football team could have been fazed.

When the Bears faced a fourth down and goal with the game on the line, they could have fallen short.

Needing one last stop with less than 2 minutes left for the Lumberjacks, they could have buckled.

But for the third week in a row, those Bears found a way to avoid the upset and won — this time with a 24-21 victory over Stephen F. Austin at Estes Stadium when Myles Butler caught a 3-yard touchdown pass with 2:12 remaining.

“I’m very proud of our guys for sticking together and finding a way,” UCA Coach Nathan Brown said. “Our defense was on the field for the final play once again. That’s three straight weeks. You win championships with a really good defense ,and I think our defense has proven that over and over and over again.”

Since the end of last season, when UCA finished 5-6, Brown has emphasized how much experience the 2023 team would have. The Bears feature 18 starters from last year’s team and four other starters who saw game time.

That experience, mixed with its past two games being decided by seven total points, Brown said it means there are few things that can shake the confidence this team has late in games.

“I think when you have a veteran group or a group that’s at least been there and done that, it doesn’t necessarily matter about age, just experience, you never panic,” Brown said. “Even when they had that big play that [Harris] made down the field and went and scored, the offense just looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s go score. We know we can do it. We know our guys can make plays when it matters.’ That’s just poise. That’s just being relaxed in the moment.”

UCA (5-2, 2-0 United Athletic Conference) took a 10-7 lead into halftime as a ShunDerrick Powell 6-yard rushing score added to a Jake Gaster field goal. Jerrel Wimbley’s 2-yard score got Stephen F. Austin (3-4, 0-2) on the board with 42 seconds left in the half.

In the third quarter, UCA quarterback Will McElvain connected with Christian Richmond for a 3-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-7. UCA had a chance to add points with 7:03 remaining, but Stephen F. Austin’s Harmon blocked Gaster’s 35-yard field-goal attempt.

With that momentum, Weeks drove the Lumberjacks on back-to-back touchdown drives to take a 21-17 lead.

With 2:12 remaining, Butler took a pass from McElvain, shrugged off a defender and fought his way into the end zone near the left pylon for a 3-yard touchdown on fourth and goal to take a 24-21 lead.

“We knew we could go down and score,” McElvain said. “I think we were fortunate to sneak these last three [wins] out. We got to find a way to do what we’re doing late in the game, just in terms of executing and playing, throughout the entire game so we don’t get in these situations.”

McElvain completed 15 of 24 passes for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns. Christian Richmond and Kylin James led the Bears with 30 yards receiving each, while Powell and Darius Hale combined for 186 yards on the ground.

UCA was left with a similar situation a week ago against Southeast Missouri State, but Brown put faith in his defense to hold the lead.

“[Offensive coordinator Ken Collums] and I discussed it and we felt like, man, this is the game. Ultimately, this is the game,” Brown said. “We trust our defense. If we score here, they’re going to get them off the field.”

And that’s exactly what his defense did.

On Stephen F. Austin’s final four plays, UCA’s defense forced two incomplete passes, a rush for zero yards and a sack by linebacker Jake Golday to give the ball back to its offense for a kneel.

“You either have it or you don’t on the last drive on defense,” Brown said. “I just think the experience of some tough losses last year, maybe some opportunities to improve on those losses, has really boded well for us this year, and these guys are proving it week in and week out.”