Lance Parker and KJ Johnson carried the Ouachita Baptist University football team Saturday afternoon as the Tigers, who trailed by as many as 13 in the first half, rallied to win their third straight game, outlasting Southwest Baptist, 47-45, at Plaster Stadium in a nonconference game.
“I have been worried about this thing all week,” Tigers head coach Todd Knight said. “The main thing is we got the win. We did some great things offensively and got some key turnovers, defensively.”
Parker, who went 15-of-16 in the air in the first half, finished with 335 passing yards on 36 of 40 passing and three touchdowns. KJ Johnson, who came into the contest second in the Gulf South Conference in rushing, had 154 yards on 28 carries.
Southwest Baptist had a chance to take the lead in the final four minutes, but Terrence Garrett came up with a fumble recovery with 2:29 left inside the Tigers’ 10 and the offense held on to the ball until the final three seconds, where Parker took a safety as the game ended.
The Tigers (5-5), who started the season with a pair of wins, has now won three straight and have won five games for the first time since 2003. It was the third-highest combined score in school history. Only the 2002 four-overtime game against Southern Arkansas (97 points) and the 1919 contest against Arkansas College (109) were more.
After failing to make a first down on the opening possession, the Tigers were forced to punt the football. Southwest Baptist’s fast-paced offense went 86 yards in 10 plays as Thaddeus Everson scored on a 14-yard run with 11:45 left in the first quarter to give the Bearcats a 7-0 lead.
Ouachita tied the game at 7 with 2:34 remaining in the first as Parker, who had three key passes early in the drive for 25 yards, connected with Julius Pruitt on third-and-goal from the Bearcat 5, completing an 11-play, 87-yard drive.
Southwest Baptist (4-5), who went 71 yards in 10 plays, responded to the Tigers’ score by executing a fake punt on fourth down and capitalized off the trick play. Clint Carroz scored on a 1-yard run with 14:11 left in the first half, giving the Bearcats a 14-7 advantage.
After converting a fourth-and-1 at its own 42, Southwest Baptist’s Jordan Jackson scooped up a KJ Johnson fumble and went 46 yards to give the Bearcats a 20-7 lead with 11:58 remaining in the second quarter.
Ouachita regrouped and had great field position after the Bearcats were penalized for a personal foul after the touchdown. Jeremy Young got the ball on the ensuing kickoff and moved it into Southwest Baptist territory. From there, the Tigers’ offense went to work and Parker connected with Young for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 9:10 left in the first half to cut the margin to 20-14.
After forcing the Bearcats to punt the ball, Ouachita used eight plays and came away with three points as Zach Wright booted a 27-yard field goal with 4:10 remaining in the second quarter to trim the deficit to 20-17.
However, Southwest Baptist responded as Steven Gachette connected with Rueben Hartzler for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:12 left in the half, completing a 60-yard drive, to give the Bearcats a 27-17 lead.
After forcing a stop at the beginning of the second half, Ouachita went 49 yards in five plays, helped by a pass interference penalty, as KJ Johnson scores on a 9-yard run, cutting the deficit to 27-24 with 10:15 left in the third quarter.
The Tiger defense again forced another Bearcat punt and Ouachita continued to move the football. For the second straight drive, the Tigers benefited from a pass interference penalty and KJ Johnson scored on a 3-yard run to give Ouachita its first lead of the day, 31-27 with 6:37 remaining in the third.
Back came Southwest Baptist as the Bearcats drove 80 yards as Jeff Finnell scored on a 1-yard run to grab a 34-31 advantage with 4:22 left in the quarter.
After an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Ouachita got the ball on the ensuing kickoff in good field position and were able to drive the ball to the Bearcats’ 39. Southwest Baptist’s defense stopped Ouachita’s offense and forced the Tigers to kick a field goal. Wright booted a career-long 46-yard field goal with 2:55 remaining in the third to tie the contest at 34.
It didn’t take long for the Bearcats to break the 34-all tie as Gachette connected with Johnnie King, who had 12 receptions for 150 yards, for a 35-yard touchdown with 1:42 left in the quarter. The PAT failed as Southwest Baptist grabbed a 40-34 lead.
Mistakes continued to plague the Southwest Baptist defense. An offsides penalty, along with a personal foul penalty helped Ouachita get into the red zone and the Tigers capitalized by scoring a touchdown as Parker connected with Young on a 14-yard slant to give Ouachita a 41-40 advantage with 14:18 remaining.
Gachette, who was 31-of-46 in the air for 338 yards, put the Bearcats on his shoulders with three straight carries and got the ball deep into Ouachita territory. After an incomplete pass, Gachette, who added 17 carries for 128 yards on the ground, picked up a first down inside the red zone and Southwest Baptist grabbed a 43-41 advantage on a 39-yard field goal by Brock Jolly with 12:10 left.
Ouachita took advantage of a Southwest Baptist fumble as KJ Johnson scored on a 32-yard run with 9:08 remaining as the Tigers went back on top, 47-43 after the 2-point conversion failed.
After being forced to punt the ball, Southwest Baptist began a drive at its own 17 and Gachette continued to be a thorn in the Tigers’ side, picking up much of the yards on the drive on the ground. However, Ouachita’s defense came up with a huge turnover as Garrett recovered a fumble at the Tigers’ 8 with 2:29 remaining.
Young and Pruitt caught the majority of Parker’s passes. Young had a season-high 14 receptions for 158 yards and a pair of scores, while Pruitt caught 11 passes for 102 yards and one score.
The Tigers, who can win six games for the first time since 1985, conclude the home portion of the schedule with Senior Day 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 1 against West Alabama as Ouachita will also honor five former athletes, who will be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame, 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/.
