OMAHA, Neb.- It may have taken the Tigers 10 hours to reach Omaha, but it didn’t take long for Ouachita to find the end zone on Thursday, racking up 557 yards of total offense in a 38-23 victory over Nebraska-Omaha at Al F. Caniglia Field on Thursday in Omaha, Neb.
Ouachita (2-0) put together a strong balanced attack offensively, including a 30-for-38 passing performance for 332 yards from senior quarterback Eli Cranor and sophomore running back Daniel McGee leading a 225 yard rushing outing, with 31 carries for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers held a 14-10 lead in the first half until Cranor found senior Nico Hobbs for a 17-yard touchdown strike with 10 seconds remaining to take a 21-10 lead into the locker room at half. It would be the closest the Mavericks (0-2) would get, as Ouachita reeled off 17-straight points to begin the second half, while Nebraska-Omaha closed with 13 unanswered points to bring the final score to 38-23.
McGee opened the scoring with 8:43 left in the first quarter, with a two-yard touchdown run to give Ouachita a 7-0 lead. After limiting the Mavericks to two yards on three plays, the Tigers went to work again offensively.
Cranor began the drive at 7:42 with an 11-yard completion to sophomore receiver Brett Reece, followed by a 25-yard connection with sophomore Jamie Harris. Cranor then finished the second drive of the game off for Ouachita with a one-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 14-0 advantage with 4:16 left in the first.
The Mavericks answered back with an eight-play, 42-yard drive then ended in a 26-yard field goal from Jacob Ramsey to cut the deficit to 14-3 with no time remaining in the first.
Ouachita again produced another solid drive for 54 yards on 14 plays, but sophomore kicker Jason Fowler’s 42-yard attempt was wide left with 5:08 remaining in the half. Nebraska-Omaha then produced the same result as the Tigers, on their next possession, ending in a 40-yard missed attempt from Ramsey.
A blocked punt against the Tigers at the Ouachita 32 yard line set up a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jon Daniels to Brian Miller to bring the Mavericks within 14-10 with 2:21 remaining.
Ouachita set up their final possession in the half at the Tigers 46 yard line, as Cranor put together a 54-yard drive, ending in a 17-yard touchdown throw to Hobbs with 10 seconds remaining. The strike was good enough for a 21-10 halftime lead for Ouachita.
After a pair of failed possessions for both teams, McGee broke loose for a 69-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 28-10 with 8:07 remaining in the third. A defensive stop by Ouachita gave the Tigers another opportunity less than two minutes later.
All-Gulf South Conference tight end Phillip Supernaw found an opening in the Mavericks secondary, taking a Cranor pass for 64 yards downfield to the two yard line. Cranor finished the drive off two plays later with another one-yard quarterback keeper for a 35-10 advantage.
Ouachita senior defensive back Desmond Smoot came away with the third interception of the season for the Tigers, picking off a Daniels pass at the 2:45 mark in the third quarter. Fowler then finished off a drive for the Tigers with a 26-yard field goal that put Ouachita up 38-10.
Nebraska-Omaha then closed the matchup with two-straight touchdown drives, the first coming via a John Teigland 21-yard pass to Ado Overstreet, and the last touchdown went from Teigland to Austin Wells for 13 yards to close the scoring at 38-23.
The 332-yard outing was a career-high performance for Cranor, who hasn’t thrown an interception in the first two games of the season. McGee finished with a career-high performance on the ground with 180 yards in just his second collegiate start at running back.
Defensively, Ouachita allowed just 180 yards passing, led by a nine-tackle performance from sophomore linebacker Augustine Ume-Ezeoke, followed by seven tackles for senior Blake Burkett. While the Tigers didn’t record a sack, senior Chad Emmons and a pair of Tigers both recorded fumbles and Smoot’s interception was returned for 35 yards.
The Tigers kick off the Gulf South Conference season on Saturday, Sept. 18 against Arkansas-Monticello at 7 p.m. at A.U. Williams Field in Arkadelphia.
