Tigers turn up the heat, take down Savage Storm

ARKADELPHIA — Not even high temperatures could keep Ouachita Baptist from continuing its dominant run Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers, ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II, were decisive in everything thing they did in blowing past Southeastern Oklahoma State 34-7 at Cliff Harris Stadium.

The outcome was never in doubt for OBU (5-0, 5-0 Great American Conference), which easily ran its league winning streak to 17 games.

“I thought we played a really, really good game,” OBU Coach Todd Knight said. “Everyone was playing at a high level. Special teams were playing at a high level. Our kicker and our punter were playing at a high level. Now, I do wish we’d had some of those picks we dropped on defense, though. We’ve got to be a little better there taking it away because good things can happen for our football team when we do that.

“But I still thought we did a good job in every facet because we knew it was going to be tough against [Southeastern Oklahoma State]. Bo Atterberry is a fantastic coach, and they always give us problems.”

Coincidentally, the Tigers’ 17-game run in GAC play started following a 35-21 home loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2021, but there’d be no such issues this time for OBU, especially in front of an energetic homecoming crowd.

Kendel Givens scored two times on the ground to move within three of breaking of the school’s all-time career rushing touchdown mark of 49 that was set by T.J. Cole. The junior running back finished with 81 yards on 23 carries for the Tigers, who swamped the Savage Storm (1-4, 1-4) every way imaginable, particularly during the first two quarters. OBU scored every time it had the ball in the first half and gave up just 39 yards of offense, including minus-3 yards rushing, and 3 first downs in that opening half.

Tigers quarterback Riley Harms completed 18 of 25 passes for 188 yards with 1 touchdown and 1 interception. And while OBU did tail off some offensively in the second half, its defense didn’t let up and consistently made things rough on Southeastern Oklahoma State quarterback Bryce Fields. He managed to finish with 133 yards on 15-of33 passing, but he was pressured nearly every time he dropped back and eventually exited the game early in the fourth quarter.

Kane Donovan came on in relief of Fields later and engineered the only scoring possession for the Savage Storm, which ended on a 2-yard touchdown run from Ryan Hirt with 43 seconds remaining in the game.

OBU used 16 plays to cover 75 yards on its initial drive, with Givens taking a direct snap and plunging in for a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:16 left in the first quarter.

That march chewed up almost eight minutes — a recurring theme throughout the half for the Tigers.

After a quick three and out by Southeastern Oklahoma State, OBU embarked on another eight-play possession that took up nearly five more minutes and closed with Givens darting in from 13 yards out with 1:03 showing.

The Savage Storm were able to get off a couple of plays before the quarter ended, but they had only five offensive plays in the quarter, compared to 24 for the Tigers.

“We got off to a really good start, and that was huge for us,” Knight said. “Southeastern’s tough and has given us fits since Bo’s been there. I thought the guys came out focused and did what they needed to do to set the tone early.”

It was more of the same in the second quarter for the Tigers. After a promising series by Southeastern Oklahoma State ended in a punt, OBU drove 88 yards in 11 plays and got a 7-yard touchdown pass from Harms to Connor Flannigan with 4:13 left in the half.

Gabe Goodman would later tack on a 26-yard field goal late to give the Tigers a 24-0 lead at halftime. He later nailed a 41 yarder with 2:55 to go in the third quarter, while Harms added a 7-yard touchdown pass to Bo Baker with less than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter to provide OBU with its only points of the second half.

“I’m pleased with the way we played for sure,” Knight said. “Defensively, we were really engaged. We’re very fortunate to have some depth over there, and we played a lot of guys on that D-line. We had to, especially in this heat.

“It was 93 [degrees] at noon and probably 120 on this turf, but those guys continued to get after it, and that’s the kind of effort you want throughout.”

EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) 35, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 28

A fourth-quarter rally came up short for Arkansas-Monticello (2-3, 2-3 Great American Conference) at Willis Leslie Cotton Bowl Stadium in Monticello.

UAM trailed 20-7 at halftime and was behind by 14 points with less than four minutes left in the game. The Boll Weevils got a 1-yard touchdown run from Jovonnie Gibson with six seconds showing, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by East Central (2-3, 2-3), which was then able to run out the clock to preserve the win.

Jaiave Magalei finished 11 of 20 for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Tigers, who never trailed. Dior Scott caught 7 passes for 125 yards with 1 touchdown, and C.J. Moore had 4 catches for 90 yards and 2 scores.

Miles Davis added a pair of rushing touchdowns as well, including a 1-yarder that capped a 69-yard drive in the first quarter that gave East Central a 7-0 lead.

Davis later scored from 17 yards out with 3:59 to go in the game after the Tigers’ Ameer Muhammad came up with an interception to stop a potential game-tying drive for UAM.

Arlie Lee scored two touchdowns, and both Kristian Gammage and Gibson supplied one each for the Boll Weevils, who played without starting quarterback Demilon Brown.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 28, SOUTHERN NAZARENE 21

A stifling defensive effort in the second half allowed Southern Arkansas (4-1, 4-1 Great American Conference) to escape SNF Football Stadium in Bethany, Okla., with a victory.

O.B. Jones completed 12 of 20 passes for 153 yards with 4 touchdowns and 2 interceptions to go with his 134 yards rushing for SAU, which trailed 21-14 at halftime but didn’t allow a point in the third and fourth quarters. The Muleriders gave up just 122 yards in the second half after watching the Crimson Storm pile up 216 yards in the first 30 minutes of play.

Seth Johnson, Deangelo Wagner, Matthew Whitten and D’evin McDonald all had touchdown catches for SAU. It was McDonald’s 3-yard scoring grab with 9:45 remaining in the game that snapped a 21-21 tie and gave the Muleriders the lead for good. Jariq Scales also ran for 121 yards and 16 carries for SAU.

Gage Porter threw for 187 yards with three first-half touchdowns for Southern Nazarene. His 16-yard score to Jarrell Farr put the Crimson Storm on the board first, and his 16yard touchdown to Asa Robertson with 35 ticks left in the second quarter gave them their seven-point lead at intermission.

But Southern Nazarene wasn’t able to generate any sustained drives after intermission. Of their six second-half possessions, five resulted in punts while the other ended in a Porter interception.

HARDING 64, SW OKLAHOMA STATE 0

Suffocating play on offense and defense led to a runaway victory for Harding (5-0, 5-0 Great American Conference) at First Security Stadium in Searcy.

Andrew Miller ran 7 times for 134 yards with 2 touchdowns for the Bisons, who had 462 yards rushing and 587 yards total. Twelve Harding players ran for at least 13 yards apiece. Omar Sinclair, Blake Delacruz and Malik Young all had rushing scores, and Cole Keylon completed 5 of 6 passes for 125 yards with touchdowns to Will White and Roland Wallace.

The Bisons also held Southwestern Oklahoma State (0-5, 0-5) to 79 yards, recorded 4 sacks and intercepted 2 passes that Kekoa Carroll and Darion Dunlap-Johnson returned for touchdowns.

Harding led 7-0 after one quarter but dashed off behind second-quarter touchdowns from Delacruz, Sinclair and White to lead 28-0 at halftime. The Bisons continued to pile it on in the third quarter, with Young jumpstarting their 36-point half with a 9-yard score at 9:57 mark of the third quarter.

ARKANSAS TECH 44, NW OKLAHOMA STATE 21

A near perfect night from quarterback Taye Gatewood highlighted a big victory for Arkansas Tech (1-4, 1-4 Great American Conference) at Thone Stadium in Russellville.

Gatewood went 19 of 20 for 266 yards and 4 touchdowns — all in the first half — as the Wonder Boys built a 30-7 halftime lead. Stran Smith also threw a touchdown pass for Arkansas Tech, which had a season-high 544 yards offensively, and Jordan Edington scored on an 8-yard run in the third quarter.

Caleb Tanis caught 9 passes for 127 yards and scored 2 times for the Wonder Boys.

Jashaun Foster had 69 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the Rangers (0-5, 0-5), who’ve lost 21 of their past 24 games.

HENDERSON STATE 27, OKLAHOMA BAPTIST 14

Andrew Edwards fueled Henderson State (4-1, 4-1 Great American Conference) in the first half while the Reddies’ defense took over in the second at Crain Family Stadium in Shawnee, Okla.

Edwards had only 108 yards passing in the game, but it was his two touchdown passes in the first quarter that forced Oklahoma Baptist (3-2, 3-2) to play from behind. Cayden Davis’ 7-yard touchdown catch gave Henderson State a 7-0 lead. The Bison answered with a touchdown pass from Aidan Thompson to Charles Whitebear, but Edwards threw an 8-yard TD to Chris Hatzis a little over two minutes to put the Reddies ahead to stay.

Jeremiah Davis ran 10 times for 68 yards with a touchdown for Henderson State, which led 24-7 at halftime.

Oklahoma Baptist struggled throughout, especially in the second half. The Bison punted on their first three drives before turning it over on downs at the Reddies’ 8 in their fourth series.

Oklahoma Baptist didn’t score again until 1:04 remained in the game when Whitebear caught a 15yard touchdown.

“I thought we played a really, really good game. Everyone was playing at a high level.” Ouachita Baptist Coach Todd Knight