Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
UCA’s runners cut through wind
CONWAY — With wind gusts occasionally surpassing 50 miles per hour and limiting passing opportunities Saturday at Estes Stadium, the University of Central Arkansas used its highly ranked rushing offense and stout defense to down Abilene Christian 34-0.
UCA rushed for 319 yards and held Abilene Christian to 25 rushing yards to dominate its final game of the regular season.
“Everyone was locked in and focused,” said sophomore defensive lineman Chris Terrell, who had 5 tackles and 2 for losses totaling 12 yards. “Everybody just did their job tonight.”
UCA (10-1, 9-0 Southland), which locked up its first conference championship since 2012, is ranked third in the NCAA FCS coaches and STATS polls and will learn its seed in the FCS playoffs today.
“I’ve been very pleased with what this team has been able to accomplish,” UCA Coach Steve Campbell said. “I’m very proud of them, and we need to keep it going.”
First-year Abilene Christian Coach Adam Dorrel coached Northwest Missouri State to three Division II national championships in six seasons, including titles in 2015 and 2016. He said UCA looks like a legitimate contender.
“I’m not an expert, but I’ve been fortunate enough to be around some championship teams, and to me, championship teams have to be able to run the football and stop the run,” Dorrel said. “They can do that. They have to have great quarterback play, and they have that, and they seem to have depth. We’re hoping they do well in the playoffs, and we think they will.”
Abilene Christian (2-9, 2-7) was forced to go with senior backup Kade Munden after freshman quarterback Luke Anthony injured his right shoulder in a 44-35 loss to Sam Houston State last week. Anthony threw 67 passes for 297 yards and 5 touchdowns against Sam Houston State.
Munden, in his first start at quarterback this season, passed 27 times against UCA, completing 12 for 147 yards. He primarily has played at tight end this season.
“That was hard for us,” Dorrel said. “It was hard for us to get him ready in a week. He did everything in his power to get ready, but it’s just hard.”
Up 20-0 at halftime, UCA stuck to its running game, although a 17-yard pass from senior quarterback Hayden Hildebrand to senior tight end Chandler Dexter put UCA at the Abilene Christian 2 midway through the third quarter. Junior running back Cedric Battle ran in for the score on the next play to give UCA a 27-0 lead.
Sophomore running back Carlos Blackman’s 8- yard touchdown run completed the scoring with 10:28 left in the fourth quarter.
UCA veered from its workmanlike approach early in the game. On the second play from scrimmage on second and 13 from the UCA 22, Hildebrand faked a handoff to freshman Kierre Crossley and watched senior slot receiver Brandon Cox run clear of junior safety Brandon Richmond. Hildebrand’s upwind pass hit Cox in full stride 40 yards downfield, and Cox maintained his 5-yard gap on Richmond to the end zone. The 78-yard play gave UCA a 7-0 lead less than a minute into the game.
“I don’t think they really expected us to take a deep shot into the wind that quick,” Hildebrand said. “It caught them off guard, and luckily I threw it just far enough for Brandon to get it.”
Hildebrand and UCA offensive coordinator Nathan Brown said they noticed Abilene Christian’s safeties were set near the line of scrimmage, which limited their coverage to one on one.
“Richmond was rolled down, and their other guys were low to stop the run,” Brown said. “When they’re playing Cox one on one, I’ll go to him every day of the week.”
Hildebrand completed 9 of 17 passes for 161 yards. A