Ouachita Baptist Tigers vs. East Central
Cliff Harris Stadium- Sept. 20, 2014
The Ouachita Tigers defeated the East Central Tigers 41-20 Saturday Night.
The Ouachita Tigers won the opening toss and Etauj Allen took the ball out the 20-yard line. Kiehl Frazier began the plays from scrimmage with a 10-yard pass to Ke’Vonte Pope for a Tiger first down. After a fumbled shotgun snap, which Frazier got two yards out of, Frazier got six more on a design quarterback draw. Frazier took the ball once again, getting out to the Ouachita 44-yard line and to convert another first down.
“I knew they had a good football team going into this game,” Head Coach Todd Knight said. “The guys stood up and played well. I’m just really proud of them.”
Kehner would take the next play, scampering for a 14-yard gain. Kehner would get the ball again, just a play later to convert for another first down. Frazier then completed another pass to Pope for six yards. Kehner would get another first down on the next play. Kehner would take the next two rushes as well, gaining yet another first down. Just three plays later Kehner would score out of the wildcat formation for a touchdown.
“Kehner has been in that role behind [Chris] Rycraw for years and now he’s the guy and he’s proved that for two weeks now. He’s had two great games,” Coach Knight said.
Ouachita had six first downs on the drive, throwing just twice with 12 runs. The drive took five and a half minutes.
On first down, Spencer Bond of ECU threw an incomplete pass on first down and Ouachita received a pass interference call on second down, giving East Central a first down. Bond would throw an interception on second down, snagged out of the air by Zach Mitchell, which was returned 13 yards to the ECU 34-yard line.
On second down, Kiehl Frazier would take the ball to the 14-yard line. On the play, Frazier would be hit out of bounds, giving OBU a first down from the ECU seven-yard line. Kehner would take the ball in for another touchdown, his second of the day. OBU would lead 14-0 with 7:36 in the first quarter.
“Our moto this year is finish empty,” Stephen Kehner said. “We preach it all the time and leaving it all out on the field and that’s just what I try to do.”
ECU scored on a Bond pass to David Moore with 5:38 remaining in the first quarter to make the score 14-7.
Brandon Marks gained five yards on first down and four on second down. After an illegal procedure, Frazier hit Pope for 22 yards and another Ouachita first down. Marks would take the next carry two yards to bring up second-and-eight. Frazier would carry the next play, gaining another Ouachita first down. Frazier would fumble on the next play, and Kellan Taeatafa-De La Rosa would recover for ECU. Just two plays later, Jeremy Small would intercept a pass from Bond with 2:50 left in the first-Ouachita’s second on the day.
Kehner took the first play ten yards, just short of a first down. Kehner would get a first down on a carry on the next play. Ball would be placed on the 23-yard line. Evian Hill would catch a laser from Frazier on the next play, for another Tiger first down to end the first quarter.
Ouachita had 185 yards in the first quarter, with 138 of that coming on the ground. Kehner had 14 rushes for 67 yards and 2 touchdowns.
On the first play of the second quarter, Hill would snag a pass from Frazier for third and one. On fourth down, Kehner would get the first down and cross the goal line for another Ouachita Tiger touchdown. The Tigers would go ahead 21-7 with 13:21 in the second quarter.
“The offensive line deserves a lot of credit,” Kehner said. “They really worked up front and made it easy to follow.”
ECU’s David Moore scored on a long pass play from Bond. The drive was 8 plays 82 yards and took 1:46. Tigers still led 21-14.
Ka’Vonte Pope would take the kickoff back to the ECU 22-yard line: a 58-yard return. Marks would take the next two carries four and two yards for Ouachita bringing up third and two. The Tigers would convert for a first down but stall on downs afterwards. Matthew Ehaz knocked a field goal in to make the score 24-14.
On ECU’s next position, Mitchell intercepted a bond pass, Mitchell’s second interception and Bond’s third of the game.
“It all starts in practice,” Zach Mitchell said.
Frazier would carry the ball 22 yards, all the way to the ECU 38 yard line and another first down. Ouachita would get a holding call, but on the next play, Frazier would hit Drew White for a ten-yard pass.
“There is a reason the coaches voted him all conference,” Coach Knight said. “It’s for his work ethic and talent.”
The next play, Frazier would gain ten more yards on a draw and earn Ouachita another first down. Kehner would carry the next play for another nine yards. He would get the first down on the next play. Kehner would carry the ball on the next two plays, but after a delay of game penalty, the Tigers would be marked back to the 13-yard line. Marks would catch a pass but come up inches short. Kehner would not be able to convert on fourth down.
Ouachita would have two 15-yard penalties, one on a late hit, the other on a pass-interference, which would plague Ouachita on the drive. ECU would stall on the Ouachita 48 yard line and punt. The Tigers would take over at their own 25-yard line with 2:30 left.
Marks would start the drive with a 13-yard run. On third down, Frazier would scamper for another Tiger first down to the ECU 43-yard line. The Tigers would get back-to-back holding calls and be pushed back to third-and-23. The Tigers would stall. After the penalties, the drive would be marked at seven plays for 20 yards.
The Tigers would shank the punt and ECU took over at their own 45-yard line. After getting the initial first down, ECU had four incomplete passes to turnover the ball.
At halftime, the Tigers had 310 yards on 56 plays. Frazier led the rushing and passing columns of the box score, rushing for 105 yards on 10 carries and passing for 74 yards on seven completed passes. Kehner also rushed for 91 yards on 22 carries. He also had 3 touchdowns in the first half.
After ECU drove some length of the field, Zach Mitchell intercepted another Bond pass at the Ouachita 12-yard line.
“We wanted to make sure to set the tone early against a good team,” Mitchell said. “We knew that this win was really important to the confidence of our team.”
Kehner took the ball on first down out to the 25-yard line. On third-and-11 for the Tigers, Frazier threw to White for 22 yards and another first down to advance the Tigers to the 47-yard line. On third and ten, Evian Hill caught a bullet from Frazier for a first down on the ECU 40-yard line. Marks would get another Ouachita first down at the ECU 28 yard line.
Frazier completed a pass to Drew White at the 7-yard line for another Ouachita first down. Kehner then rushed for 4 yards collectively on first and second down. On third down, he punched it in, earning his fourth touchdown of the day. The Tigers possession was 7:24 and ate up 93 yards on 16 plays.
On second down, Dave Fair got a sack, bringing up third-and-19 from the Ouachita 34-yard line.
“The defensive line played real well,” Coach Knight.
The very next play Bond hit Moore for 34-yards and an ECU touchdown. The extra-point was missed.
The Tigers took over at the 22-yard line. Brandon Marks would pick up 12 yards on second down for another Ouachita first down. After a holding call, Frazier hit Pope for another first down to end the third quarter.
Kehner would get four carries in a row, pick up a first down and then Frazier would pass to Drew White. The pass was broken up by an ECU defender bringing up third down from the ECU 28. On fourth down, ECU received a pass interference, giving Ouachita a first down. Marks would carry next, picking up four. The next play, Marks would score from nine yards out. Ehaz would hit the extra point, making the score, 38-20 with 12:44 left in the game.
“Brandon knows his role and he’s apart of a one, two punch with Kehner,” Coach Knight said.
Dave Fair sacked Bond for his second of the game on third and long. ECU punted with 10:51 left in the game.
Kehner would rush for six on the first play of the drive and then would pick up the first down on the next play to advance the Tigers to the ECU 28-yard line. Marks would carry the ball the next two plays bringing up third and four. On fourth down, Kehner would pick up the first down on the ECU 15-yard line. Matthew Ehaz would nail a kick, giving the Tigers a 41-20 win.
Kehner had 167 yards on 38 carries and four touchdowns. Frazier threw for 165 yards on 11 passes. Mitchell had three interceptions and Dave Fair racked up two sacks.
“This is an important win for us,” Coach Knight said. “We wanted to make sure to get these wins at home and now we’re on the road. We’re glad to be carrying this momentum into next week.”
The Tigers play next week on the road at Southeastern Oklahoma St. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
