OBU passes test with high marks

GREAT AMERICAN CONF. OUACHITA BAPTIST 42, SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 7

ARKADELPHIA —Sophomore quarterback Grant Allen passed for a season-high 130 yards in Ouachita Baptist’s 42-7 victory over Southern Arkansas on Saturday in front of 3,028 at Cliff Harris Stadium.

That may not sound like much in a conference where the top passers are averaging close to 300 per game, but the Tigers have a run-first mentality and the NCAA Division II’s third-ranked rushing game to show for it..

“You do what you have to do,” OBU Coach Todd Knight said of his team, which remained tied atop the Great American Conference. “I thought he [Allen] was really good. I thought he played a really good game. We were at a point in the second half where we didn’t think we had to throw it a whole lot.”

OBU (7-1, 7-1 GAC) passed for all but 19 of its yards in the first half, and the Tigers went into halftime with a 28-7 advantage.

Allen was 9 of 12 in the first half, and he was able to to keep the Tigers’ drives on track when the Muleriders stacked the defensive line to stop the running game.

“They loaded up the box to stop the run, so I had to throw it a little more,” Allen said. “We really executed at a high level. I feel like we’re on a good track right now. We’re getting better each and every week. Our coaches are putting us in a position to be successful. And the guys around me are really helping me out.”

The guys around Allen include two running backs — TJ Cole (21-119 rushing, 3 TDs) and Kendel Givens (11-73, 3) — who sometimes take handoffs from Allen, and sometimes take direct snaps behind a powerful and experienced offensive line led by left guard Peyton Stafford..

“We were a little outmanned on the O-line and D-line at times,” SAU Coach Mike McCarty said. “I thought the defense played well enough to win, occasionally, and then we would have those lapses where we looked like we weren’t playing as hard.”

McCarty was asked about OBU’s continued success when running out of the Wildcat formation.

“They’re well coached,” he said. “They do a good job technically. If you’re not sound or athletic enough, it can be tough.”

OBU ended up with 278 yards on the ground, just below its season average of 294.7 yards per game.

SAU (3-5, 3-5) forced OBU into three-and-out situations on two of its first three possessions, but the Tigers capitalized on a muffed punt early in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead on the second of Cole’s three touchdown runs.

OBU was inside Mulerider territory on its next possession when SAU’s Rayvon Ingram broke on an Allen pass attempt over the middle, caught it in stride and returned the ball to the OBU 26.

SAU picked up 6 yards on first down, then quarterback Hayden Mallory (14-28 passing, 123 yards, 1 INT.) threw a pass in the direction of wide receiver Micah Small.

OBU safety Hayden Lassiter intercepted, the Tigers drove 80 yards to make it 21-0 on Cole’s third touchdown, and SAU was in too deep of a hole to recover.

“We had opportunities on offense to make that an interesting game,” McCarty said, lamenting Mallory’s decision on that interception. “That was really bad. I was so heartbroken. “We didn’t need hero ship there. We needed execution. We got lost a little bit. He bounced back, but it wasn’t very fun.”

Lassiter said the intended receiver tried to change his route.

“They wanted to come out there right after the turnover and make something happen, but it was something we were prepared for,” Lassiter said. “The guy tried to run an out route, and he tried to convert it into an out and up. I just kinda ran his route for him, and the quarterback under threw it a little bit.

“Just happened to be there to make the play.”

OBU scored twice before halftime after the interception and led 28-0 when Givens scored the first of his three touchdowns with 2:58 remaining in the half.

SAU scored its only touchdown with 10.5 seconds left before halftime, on a 6-yard pass from Mallory to Matthew Whitten to complete a 15-play, 88-yard drive to trim the deficit to 28-7.

“They scored on us, and that motivated us in the second half,” Lassiter said.

SAU received the second half kickoff but had to punt, something it would do two more times as OBU added two more touchdowns by Givens to put the game away.

OBU, ranked seventh in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll, will likely be ranked behind Harding (7-1, 7-1) when the first NCAA Division II Regional rankings are released Monday.

Harding defeated OBU 3821 four weeks ago.

Lassiter said the Tigers know what they have to do, with a road game coming up Saturday at East Central (Okla.) (5-3, 5-3).

Home games with Southeastern Oklahoma State and Henderson State (7-1, 7-1) follow after ECU.

“We’re climbing that mountain, and we’ve been getting better every day the past two weeks,” Lassiter said. “We have everything we want in front of us, and we’re prepared to take it.”

HENDERSON STATE 41, ARKNASAS TECH 38, OT

Adam Morse threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to L’Liott Curry in overtime Saturday to give Henderson State University a victory over Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.

Neither team had more than a seven-point lead at any point. The Reddies (7-1, 7-1 GAC) got a 34-yard field goal from David Heaton and a 2-yard touchdown run from Darius Austin in the first quarter, while the Wonder Boys (2-6, 2-6) got a 12-yard run from Ron Thompson. Jack Lindsey found Joyrion Chase for a 29-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter as the Wonder Boys took a 14-10 lead, but Heaton added a 21-yard field goal to cut the lead to 14-13 at halftime.

Duce Sproles had two short touchdown runs for Henderson State in the second half, and Morse found Xavier Malone for a 54-yard score in the fourth quarter to take a 35-28 lead with 3:24 left in the game. Tyler Polk then threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Edington with five seconds left to force overtime.

The Wonder Boys got the first possession in overtime, going 18 yards in 5 plays before Jesus Zizumbo hit a 24yard field goal. Morse’s touchdown pass to Curry came on the Reddies’ second play of their overtime possession.

Henderson State racked up 634 yards of total offense, with 522 of them in the passing game. Morse finished 28-of41 passing with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. He was also sacked three times. Malone had 9 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown, while Curry finished with 11 catches for 193 yards and a touchdown.

Arkansas Tech had 437 yards of total offense (248 passing, 189 rushing). Lindsey went 20-of-31 passing with 2 touchdowns, while Thompson ran 20 times for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.

HARDING 64, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 7

Harding University (7-1, 7-1 GAC) had 340 yards of total offense Saturday, all on the ground, as the Bisons defeated the University of Arkansas-Monticello (4-4, 4-4) at First Security Stadium in Searcy.

Harding built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a Cole Chancey touchdown run and a punt return for a score by Orlando Henley. UAM’s Demilon Brown then hit C.J. Parham for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 4:51 left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 14-7, but that’s as close as the Boll Weevils would get.

Chancey added another touchdown run in the second quarter, and the Bisons also got touchdown runs from Taylor Bissell and Preston Paden, as well as a safety with 9:40 left in the first half to build a 37-7 halftime lead.

Blake Delacruz and Will Fitzhugh had touchdown runs in the third quarter for Harding. Clark Colby added a scoring run in the fourth quarter, and Cooper Carroll returned an interception 100 yards for the Bisons’ final touchdown with 2:38 remaining.

Harding had 14 rushers gain positive yards, with Chancey’s 58 yards on 14 carries leading the way.

Brown was UAM’s leading rusher with 26 yards on five carries. He also went 17-of-29 passing for 186 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. Parham was the Boll Weevils’ leading receiver with 8 catches for 105 yards and 1 touchdown.