Despite the efforts of Hurricane Gustav and the remnants left behind, the Ouachita Baptist football team will open the season noon, Saturday, Sept. 6 at A.U. Williams Field against Fort Lewis College.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools as Ouachita Baptist, which inked the largest signing class in recent memory, will make the return trip next season to Durango, Colo.
The Tigers graduated 12 seniors last season, none bigger than All-Gulf South Conference leading rusher Willie Hopson. However, Ouachita Baptist returns several components off last season’s 4-6 team.
Lance Parker returns to the helm at quarterback in his senior season. The native of Bryant, Ark., played in all 10 games and finished with a passing efficiency of 112.32. He was 177-of-326 for 1,908 yards and 13 touchdowns.
One of the biggest targets in the air for Parker was Julius Pruitt, who also returns for his senior season. Pruitt, a native of Newport, Ark., was hampered by an injury at the tail end of last season. He caught 51 passes for 723 yards, while reaching pay dirt seven times.
With the loss of Hopson, the Tigers will turn to a trio of backs, led by K.J. Johnson. Johnson saw action in all 10 games for Ouachita Baptist last season. He rushed the ball 102 times for 424 yards, while scoring twice. Behind Johnson will be senior Division I transfer John Johnson. Johnson, a native of El Dorado, Ark., transferred in the offseason from Oklahoma State. Terrell Alex will also see action the backfield. Alex rushed for 93 yards on 28 carries with a touchdown last season.
The Tigers defense will again be solid this season.
Returning on the defensive line is Bryan Church and Jerry McNeil. Church, a native of Warren, Ark., had 36 tackles and 4 sacks for a loss of 33 yards as a freshman. Meanwhile, McNeil, a junior from Greensboro, N.C., finished last season with 39 tackles and five sacks for a loss of 39 yards.
The secondary will be pretty stacked with Antwon Thompson leading the way. Thompson, a senior defensive back from Tallahassee, Fla., finished with 24 tackles and a team-high nine pass breakups. Chris McAlpine, a senior from Hot Springs, Ark., recorded 24 tackles, while Blake Burkett, a sophomore native of Katy, Texas, finished with 52 tackles and three pass breakups.
Zach Wright returns as the top kicker on field goals and extra points for the Tigers. Wright was 8-of-13 on field goals, including booting a game-winning and season-long 38-yarder as time expired to give Ouachita Baptist a 29-27 victory to begin last season against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Fort Lewis enters Saturday’s game with a 1-0 record after beating Oklahoma Panhandle State, 21-0, last weekend.
Joel Johnson paced the Skyhawks offense by carrying the ball 31 times for 131 yards. Dave Nieman was 19-of-39 passing for 190 yards and three scores as he completed passes to six different receivers. Phillip Dodd, who had two touchdowns, finished with 40 yards on three receptions, while Tim Haiges caught the other touchdown pass from Neiman.
Mark Meng led the defense with 12 tackles with a forced fumble, while Justin Cutbirth had nine tackles.
Kickoff is 12 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 6 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/
