Ouachita (1-0, 1-0) began the 2011 season at home, not only hosting their first contest of the season, but also their first Great American Conference game. The Tigers came into the game after a bye week in which their opponent, East Central University (1-1, 0-1), defeated Incarnate Word by a score of 31-21.
“Our ability to eliminate penalties, our ability to hold on to and control the football and how hard we played are where we got it done,” said head coach Todd Knight. “We still made a lot of mistakes and we can get a lot better on both sides of the ball but we can really build on those things,”
The Tigers started off the game by receiving the ball, before being stopped by East Central and being forced to punt. It wouldn’t take them much longer to get going though, as junior quarterback Casey Cooper was given an opportunity to show off his arm. With 5:51 remaining in the first quarter, Cooper connected with junior wide receiver Brett Reece for a 33 yard touchdown pass, closing up a 75 yard drive on six plays. The defense would come back onto the field for the Tigers and force East Central to punt a mere two minutes later, opening up another opportunity for the Ouachita offense.
The Tiger offense came back onto the field and carried the momentum from their last drive, again scoring, this time on a six play drive for a total of 50 yards. The touchdown came on a four yard run by sophomore running back Chris Rycraw a few plays after Cooper connected with senior receiver Travis Anderson for a 26 yard gain. The Tiger defense took the field with 2:54 remaining in the first quarter, but they would not be on the field long. Dennis Stratton penetrated the ECU offensive line, sacking quarterback Jake Vanderzee and forcing him to fumble. The fumble would be recovered by Tyler George and would mark the end of the first quarter with Ouachita leading 14-0.
As they opened the second quarter, the Tigers were unable to score, as junior Jason Fowler attempted a 48 yard field goal but missed it to the left. East Central would put their first points on the board following Fowler’s missed field goal, by moving the ball to the Ouachita eight yard line and allowing Brian Gonzalez an opportunity to convert on a field goal, which he did. Ouachita would answer though, as they followed ECU’s field goal with one of their own, a 20 yard kick by Jason Fowler that went right through the middle of the uprights.
The second quarter would continue after Fowler’s made field goal, with East Central answering right back with their first touchdown of the game, a rush by quarterback Tyler Vanderzee from the Ouachita 10 yard line, closing the score to 17-10. Ouachita would again move the ball down the field, giving Fowler another opportunity, this time from 44 yards, but he was again unable to convert, missing it wide left. That missed kick would close the first half, with Ouachita holding onto a 17-10 lead.
The Tiger defense would come out firing in the second half, as senior A.J. Williams forced ECU running back Titus Williams to fumble, which would be recovered by Travis Simon for Ouachita. Ouachita would not be able to score, but would force East Central to fumble again with 9:18 left in the third quarter. Junior Dijon Benton was credited with the forced fumble, while the fumble was recovered by sophomore Antwion Patterson at the Ouachita 26 yard line. The rest of the third quarter would be pretty uneventful, with both teams preventing the other from scoring. Ouachita still held a 17-10 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Ouachita would begin the fourth quarter with possession and Cooper would find plenty of holes in the ECU defense, starting the drive off with a 36 yard pass to Reece and finishing it with a 56 yard touchdown pass to senior Clint Dewitt. That touchdown and point after put the Tigers ahead 24-10. The Ouachita defense would again shut down the ECU offense, forcing them three and out and placing the football back in the hands of the offense, and they would not disappoint. Rycraw would score his second touchdown of the game on the possession, a three yard run after a direct snap to Rycraw. The Tigers took a comfortable 21 point lead with a score of 31-10.
It wouldn’t take ECU long to answer the touchdown by Rycraw though, as they would drive the field on their next possession, scoring on a rushing touchdown by ECU running back Chris Opeseyitan from the Ouachita 10 yard line, followed by a succesful two point conversion for East Central, forcing the score to 31-18. The half would be very anti-climatic after that touchdown though, as neither team would score again.
The Ouachita offense amassed a total of 416 yards, including 334 passing yards on the game. They would not turn the ball over once in the contest, while East Central would amass three turnovers, all of which came on fumbles.
Ouachita quarterback Casey Cooper would accumulate a total of 334 yards through the air for two touchdowns to go along with 31 rushing yards. Brett Reece was on the receving end of more than a third of those yards, collecting 121 receiving yards on five catches as well as a touchdown. Senior receivers Travis Anderson and Clint Dewitt also had spectacular games, as Anderson collected 97 receiving yards on eight receptions while Dewitt amassed 87 yards and a touchdown on two receptions.
On the defensive side of the ball, junior defensive end Dennis Stratton had a career game, collecting three sacks, a forced fumble and 7.5 total tackles. Also notable is senior A.J. Williams who collected 6.5 tackles as well as a forced fumble, and Terrence Garrett who was credited with a sack on six tackles. Lineback Augustine Ume-Ezeoke was able to collect 5.5 tackles for the Tigers as well, while also recording a break up and a quarterback hurry.
“Our defense did bend a little bit, but we didn’t break,” said Knight. “We shut down the run game and made them very one-dimensional. The bottom line is that it was 31-18 at the end of the game.”
The Tigers will return to action on Saturday September 17, when they will take on the University of Arkansas at Monticello in the Boomtown Classic. That game will be held in El Dorado, Arkansas and will mark the Tigers second conference matchup of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“First of all, Monticello is 2-0,” stated Knight. “They are playing as good as anybody in the country. They should be ranked in my mind. It’s a conference game and a trophy game. Add all those things together and it’s going to be a tough game. We are going to have to play our best football to beat them.”
Pictures courtesy of Dr. Wesley Kluck.
