The Ouachita Baptist University football team will look to make it three straight as the Tigers travel for their final nonconference game of the season Saturday at Southwest Baptist.
Ouachita (4-3) enters the game having won its last two games, while Southwest Baptist (4-4) comes into the contest having dropped two out of its last three.
The Tigers, who have scored 30 points in each of the past two contests, broke a 14-14 tie in the third quarter against Southern Arkansas when Julius Pruitt caught a short pass from Lance Parker and turned it into a 78-yard touchdown, which proved to be the game-winning score.
Ouachita got a safety and added Jeremy Young was on the receiving end of an 18-yard touchdown pass from Parker to give the Tigers a 30-14 homecoming victory.
Two weeks ago against Harding it was the ground game that carried the bulk of the offense and last week against Southern Arkansas, it was the air attack.
Parker was 12 of 20 passing for 230 yards and he accounted for four touchdowns – three passing and one rushing.
Parker is eighth in the Gulf South Conference in passing. He is 116-of-203 for 1,377 yards and 12 touchdowns. He is also seventh in pass efficiency with 128.7.
KJ Johnson is second in the conference in rushing behind Arkansas-Monticello’s Scott Buisson. Johnson has touched the ball 118 times for 629 yards and seven touchdowns, while averaging 90 yards a game.
Pruitt is third in the GSC in receptions with 46 for 584 yards and five touchdowns, while sixth in receiving yards. Young is third in the conference in all-purpose yards with 1,008, averaging 144 a contest. He also is third in kickoff returns, averaging 24.1 yards. Nico Hobbs is sixth in punt returns with an average of 10.5 yards.
Defensively, Terrence Garrett is among the top five players in the Gulf South Conference. Garrett is fourth in tackles with 62, averaging 8.9 a game. Mikhail Lindsay and Blake Burkett are 23rd and 27th, respectively, with 39 and 38 tackles.
Jerry McNeil, who continues to be impressive each week, is third in sacks with five for a loss of 34 yards. Only West Alabama’s Jeremy May and Harding’s Sevohn Greer are ahead of the junior defensive end from Greensboro, N.C. McNeil is fourth in tackles for loss, averaging 1.29 a game. He is also third in forced fumbles and ninth in fumble recoveries.
Southwest Baptist, meanwhile, had a very tough time against Northeastern Oklahoma State last weekend. The Bearcats fell behind 21-0 and couldn’t recover in a 45-20 loss.
Jeff Finnell paces the Southwest Baptist ground game with 133 carries for 568 yards. Steven Gachette has 110 touches for 316 yards and D. Brown has 281 yards on 42 carries.
The Bearcats, who average 328 yards through the air, are led by Gachette. He is 215-of-353 for 2,408 and 21 touchdowns.
Sixteen different receivers have caught passes for Southwest Baptist. Johnnie King leads the talented group with 56 catches for 709 yards and five touchdowns. Jonathan Alvardo has 517 yards on 41 receptions and three scores. Reuben Hartzler has added two touchdowns and 393 yards on 36 catches. John Austin and Thaddeus Sanders have combined for 43 catches for 550 yards and seven touchdowns.
Tyrin Holt leads the Bearcat defense with 78 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss of 11 yards with one sack and four pass breakups. Jarred Schumpert has 69 tackles, including 8.5 for a loss of 22 yards, half a sack, one interception for 16 yards and two pass breakups. Jarod Bankhead has added 54 tackles, including five for a loss of 18 yards, one sack for nine yards, a pass breakup, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery for 55 yards.
The last time these two teams met was in 1999 during Tigers head coach Todd Knight’s first season. Ouachita won the contest 28-21.
The Tigers will travel 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 to Bolivar, Mo., to take on Southwest Baptist in the final nonconference contest of the season. 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/
