The Ouachita Baptist University football team looks to make it back-to-back homecoming victories as the Tigers play host 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 against Southern Arkansas in a Gulf South Conference game at A.U. Williams Field.
NOTE: Click here to listen to the game
Ouachita (3-3 overall, 2-3 GSC) is coming off a thrilling 30-27 road victory at Harding, while Southern Arkansas (1-5, 1-3) enters the contest after having won its last game, beating Arkansas Tech, 45-42.
The Tigers rolled up 323 rushing yards last weekend against Harding as KJ Johnson, who has 533 yards on 92 touches this season, paced Ouachita with 27 carries for 142 yards with a pair of touchdowns. John Johnson carried the ball 14 times for 91 yards and Jeremy Young, used primarily as a receiver, had 60 yards on two touches.
Lance Parker, who on the season is 104-of-182 for 1,147 and nine touchdowns, recovered from a tough outing the previous week to throw for 121 yards on 12 of 16 passing.
Defensively, Mikhail Lindsay led the Tigers with 11 tackles and picked off Bisons quarterback David Knighton on Harding’s final drive with 2:18 remaining at the Ouachita 15. Jerry McNeil also had a huge game. He finished with nine tackles, three sacks for a loss of 25 yards, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Julius Pruitt continues to lead all Tiger receivers with 41 catches for 471 yards and four scores. Young has 32 catches for 372 yards and Jarred Nutt has 209 yards on 16 receptions.
Terrence Garrett paces the Ouachita defense with 54 tackles. Lindsay has 33 tackles, while McNeil, who has a team-high four sacks, and Blake Burkett each have 30. McNeil and Bryan Church both have 11 quarterback hurries to lead the team.
Through six games, the Tigers have outscored their opponents on an average, 29-27 and hold a 188-113 advantage on the ground.
Southern Arkansas broke a five-game skid last weekend by holding off Arkansas Tech, 45-42. The Muleriders grabbed their largest lead of the game, 45-14 with 12:26 remaining, but the Wonder Boys scored four straight touchdowns before eventually falling to Southern Arkansas.
Mark Johnson and Quintin Porter pace the ground game for the Muleriders. Johnson has touched the ball 80 times for 393 yards, while Porter has carried it 73 times for 332 yards.
Southern Arkansas has used the two-quarterback system this season as Ryan McCombie and Porter have shared time. McCombie is 66 of 147 passing for 822 yards and four touchdowns, but he has also been intercepted eight times. Porter has thrown for 158 yards on 14 of 33 passing with four interceptions.
Isaac Marrufo leads the Muleriders in receptions with 21 for 259 yards. Raphyael Tyson and Chris Metcalf have 19 and 13 catches, respectively, for 243 and 169 yards.
Defensively, Clarence Wright has 40 tackles and six pass breakups. Simeon Oston and Steven Dauenhaur have 29 and 28 tackles.
The Muleriders, through six games, have been outscored on an average 39-24 and have been out-gained through the air 268-163.
Last season, the Tigers and Muleriders met for Ouachita’s homecoming and after a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers took a 3-0 lead into the half. Ouachita extended the advantage to 17-3 entering the fourth, before winning the contest 38-17.
The Tigers, who trail in the series, 31-29-1, play host 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 in the Homecoming game against Southern Arkansas in a Gulf South Conference contest 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/
