Lance Parker threw for 289 yards and Julius Pruitt had eight catches for 158 yards as the Ouachita Baptist football team had the fourth largest output in school history with a 58-7 victory over Fort Lewis College Saturday at A.U. Williams Field.
The largest output came in 1942 when Ouachita Baptist beat Peru, 64-0. It is the highest point total since the 1942 season when Ouachita Baptist beat Northeast Louisiana, 62-0.
“There were a lot of positives, but the one negative thing is that we need to hold on to the football more,” Tigers coach Todd Knight said. “We put the ball on the ground too often. I am really proud of the guys because we were up 27-7 at the half and they didn’t let up. We played for all four quarters and we were able to get some young guys in to get some action.”
Parker, who was 18-of-27, for 289 yards and four touchdowns rested for the final quarter and a half, giving way to Eli Cranor, who was 5-of-8 for 59 yards. He also ran the ball five times for 24 yards, including a 10-yard score in the fourth quarter.
Pruitt led all receivers with the eight catches, while scoring a pair of touchdowns. Jeremy Young finished with five receptions for 57 yards and a score.
KJ Johnson paced the Tiger ground game with 80 yards on 14 carries. Terrell Alex added 78 on 14 touches, while John Johnson finished with 10 carries for 48 yards.
Fort Lewis took advantage of a muffed putt and scored when Joel Johnson scored on a 32-yard touchdown run to give the Skyhawks a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
However, Ouachita Baptist responded with a 16-play drive as Zach Wright booted a 22-yard field goal to cut the margin to 7-3 with 3:34 left in the opening quarter. The Tigers took advantage of a Skyhawk fumble on the ensuing kickoff as K.J. Johnson scored on a 26-yard run off right tackle to give Ouachita Baptist a 10-7 lead.
The Tigers weren’t finished scoring in the opening quarter as Parker hit Pruitt for a 25-yard score with 2:11 remaining as Ouachita Baptist took a commanding 17-7 lead.
Wright added to the margin with a 21-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 20-7 advantage. Ouachita Baptist capitalized on an Fort Lewis interception by going 10 plays in just 3:36 as Pruitt found Bob Ruffing for a 9-yard score to give the Tigers a 27-7 lead with 34 seconds remaining in the first half.
The biggest quarter came in the third where Ouachita Baptist, which amassed 578 total yards of offense, scored 24 points.
The first score of the second half came when Nico Hobbs fumbled the ball on the Skyhawk 1-yard line and was recovered in the end zone by Young with 9:53 remaining in the third. On the next Tigers possession, Parker hit Pruitt for a 25-yard score down the left sideline to extend the lead to 41-7 with 7:19 left. Alex scored on a 9-yard run and Wright hit his third field goal, a 30-yarder, to cap the scoring in the third quarter.
Cranor rounded out the day with a 10-yard run with 9:51 remaining in the contest, which gave Ouachita Baptist a 58-7 lead.
Terrence Garrett led the Tiger defense with 10 tackles, including seven solos. Alden Loche finished with six tackles, one forced fumble and three quarterback hurries. Bryan Church led Ouachita Baptist in quarterback hurries with five.
The Tigers play host 7:00 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 13 against West Georgia at A.U. Williams Field. The game can be heard on the Ouachita Football Network through the following stations: Arkadelphia (KYXK-FM 106.9); Hot Springs (KBHS-AM 1420); Magnolia (KVMA-AM 630); El Dorado (KELD-FM 106.5); Nashville (KNAS-FM 105.5); Mena (KQOR-FM 105.3) or on the Web at: mms://rain.obu.edu/tigerathletics/
