ADA, Okla.- The No. 20 Ouachita Tigers (6-2, 4-2 GAC) took to the road on Saturday afternoon, where they faced off with the Tigers of East Central University (4-5, 2-4 GAC). A great performance from the Ouachita receivers wasn’t enough to thwart the East Central offense, which seemed to be rolling all afternoon. ECU took the lead early and seemed to never look back, only trailing once, when Ouachita held a 7-6 lead in the first quarter. East Central’s defense was the difference though, as they forced four turnovers en route to a 37-27 victory over No. 20 Ouachita.
East Central took an early 6-0 lead in the game, when Tyler McGrew pulled in a four yard touchdown pass from Tyler McGrew. The extra point attempt was blocked by Ouachita’s Johnathan Frink though, holding ECU to six points rather than seven. The touchdown pass capped off a nine play, 96 yard drive with 8:28 left in the first quarter.
Ty Towers put the first points on the board for Ouachita’s Tigers at the 2:18 mark of the game, as he ran two yards into the end zone to cap off a 12 play, 75 yard drive. Following a converted PAT by Jason Fowler, Ouachita took a 7-6 lead.
The first quarter came and went, with Ouachita holding a 7-6 lead, but East Central scored again with 12:13 remaining in the first half. A 42 yard pass completion from Spencer Bond to Marquis Jackson gave ECU a 12-7 lead. They followed the touchdown with a two-point conversion and made the score 14-7.
A fumble by Ouachita resulted in another drive for East Central. They took the ball eight plays and 41 yards before kicker Brian Gonzalez connected on a 39 yard field goal and gave ECU a 17-7 lead with 6:12 left in the second quarter.
Ouachita took over possession, but this time would turn it over on an interception, giving East Central the ball at the OBU 14 yard line after the return. East Central would capitalize on the field position, when Bond scored on a two yard run. Brian Gonzalez made the score 24-7 with 4:29 remaining on a converted PAT.
Ouachita got their second score of the day with just 1:32 remaining in the half, when Steven Kehner capped off a seven play, 58 yard drive with a three yard touchdown run. The Tigers were unable to convert on the PAT though, and trailed 24-13, where it would stand until halftime.
The second half was slow early on, but East Central knocked through the first points of the half at the 6:19 mark of the third quarter. Gonzalez notched his second field goal make of the day, this time connecting from 40 yards out, giving ECU a 27-13 lead.
Ouachita continued to cut into the lead though, as Benson Jordan connected with Brett Reece on a 68 yard touchdown pass with 3:36 left in the third quarter, cutting the ECU lead to 27-20 and finishing off a nine play, 97 yard drive.
East Central stretched their lead back to 10 early in the fourth quarter, when Gonzalez converted his third field goal of the afternoon, this time from 47 yards out. That score made the lead 30-20 in favor of East Central with 14:55 left in the game.
Ouachita had another chance to drive but failed on a fourth down attempt, resulting in another East Central offensive drive and a score. East central scored when Titus Mobley darted 37 yards into the end zone, giving the opposing Tigers a 37-20 lead with 5:31 remaining in the game.
Ouachita wasn’t going down without a fight though, as Benson Jordan led the Tigers on a seven play, 82 yard drive shortly after for a score. Jordan connected with Brett Reece for their second touchdown connection of the day with 3:49 remaining and made the score 37-27.
East Central took over possession on the next kickoff and never relented, running the clock out and closing out a 37-27 victory in Ada.
Ouachita’s Benson Jordan handled the majority of the quarterbacking duties, racking up 330 yards and two touchdowns while completing 27 of his 32 pass attempts. Unfortunately, two of those five incompletions resulted in interceptions. Chris Rycraw led the Ouachita ground attack with 80 yards on 20 carries in the game. Brett Reece was fantastic at receiver, recording six receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while Jalen Jones notched 11 receptions for 11 yards.
For East Central, Spencer Bond orchestrated the offense, completing 11 of 20 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. Bond also recorded 90 yards and a touchdown on the ground on 12 carries. Titus Mobley was the workhorse in the ground game, taking 15 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown.
Von Cousins and Johnathan Frink led the Tiger defense, recording 10 tackles on the day. Frink also added a tackle for a loss, while Ricky Brown recorded seven tackles in the contest.
East Central’s defensive unit was led by Tyler Mcgrew, who picked up 12 tackles in the contest, also adding an interception. Dustin LaSell added 10 tackles for the Tigers out of Ada.
Ouachita will return home for Senior Day next Saturday, when they host Southern Arkansas at A.U. Williams Field in Arkadelphia. That game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
