Tigers roar past East Central
ARKADELPHIA — Brockton Brown scored three touchdowns en route to a 42-0 victory for Ouachita Baptist on Saturday night at Cliff Harris Stadium against the East Central Tigers.
Ouachita is now 4-0 in for the first time since the 2014 season. The win also gives Ouachita a sixth consecutive victory over East Central (1-3).
The 42-point win is the largest in series history between the two schools. It was Ouachita’s first shutout victory since the second week of the 2012 season.
Ouachita rushed for a season-high 343 yards on 60 attempts and outgained East Central, 68-66 yards, through the air. The Ouachita offense ran 70 plays for 411 total yards and dominated the time of
possession, holding the ball for 37 minutes.
In two games at home this season, Ouachita is averaging 41.5 points per game, 336 rushing yards and 422 yards of total offense.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brayden Brazeal completed 8 of his
10 passes for 68 yards. Brazeal also ran for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Senior running back Kris Oliver led the offense in both rushing and receiving yards. Oliver averaged
12.7 yards per carry carry for 76 total yards and he hauled in a reception for 33 yards.
Shun’cee Thomas, T.J. Cole and Brown each had more than 60 rushing yards in the game. All three players found the end zone as the Tigers scored six touchdowns on the ground.
The Ouachita defense set the tone early as middle linebacker Jon Johnson intercepted Rayjohn Austin Ramsey on the third play of the game. Ouachita took over with the ball on the East Central 39-yard line and later converted on fourth down from the East Central 24-yard line.
Brazeal scrambled 17 yards down to the East Central 7. Brown ran the ball in from six-yards out two plays later to give Ouachita the early lead.
The Tigers led, 7-0, at the end of the first quarter before opening up a significant lead by halftime. Ouachita started first drive of the second quarter at midfield.
Brazeal found Oliver down the seam of the field for a 33-yard gain. He ran into the end zone from
17-yards four plays later out to give the Tigers a 14-0 advantage.
The Tigers started on the East Central 38-yard line on their next drive. an errant snap sailed over Brown’s head on first-and-goal, but he was still able to rumble into the end zone two plays later.
Ouachita took over again up,
21-0, with 3:41 left in the first half. Oliver took a handoff and raced for
29 yards into East Central territory before the visiting Tigers called a timeout.
Thomas then ran for a 22-yard gain before he was brought down at the 1-yard line. He scored on the next play for his only touchdown of the night.
Defensive back Jonathan Harris capped off an aggressive opening half by the defense with an interception with eight seconds on the clock until the half.
A 37-yard return on the second half kickoff gave the Tigers great field position. Brown ran for his third touchdown of the game three plays later on a 35-yard play.
Ouachita found the end zone for the sixth time as Cole ran three times on a 53-yard drive. The score was the first career touchdown for Cole.
The Tigers will host their first in-state opponent on Saturday as they kick off homecoming festivities at noon at Cliff Harris Stadium against Arkansas Tech (2-2). The Wonder Boys won, 24-10, on Saturday at home against Southern Nazarene (1-3).