RUSSELLVILLE- While it was a homecoming of sorts for Ouachita Baptist senior quarterback Eli Cranor, it was the Tiger defense that held Arkansas Tech to just 152 total yards in a 28-7 Gulf South Conference victory at Thone Stadium in Russellville on Saturday.
Ouachita (4-2, 2-2 GSC) battled to a 7-7 halftime tie with Arkansas Tech (2-4, 1-3 GSC), but the Tigers outscored the Wonder Boys 21-0 in the third quarter and held on with a strong defensive effort overall, limiting Arkansas Tech to just 10 yards rushing on the evening. It was the first victory over the Wonder Boys for Ouachita since 2002, and the first time the Tigers came up with a win in Russellville since 1991.
In the victory, Ouachita held the edge in total yards, 344-152, which was the lowest total offensive output by Arkansas Tech all season. The Wonder Boys came into the matchup averaging 22 points/game. The Ouachita Baptist defense came up with their second-best rushing stoppage of the season at 10 yards, after holding Texas College to -11 yards rushing on Sept. 2.
Ouachita senior quarterback Eli Cranor totaled 261 yards overall, which was single-handedly 109 yards more than all of Arkansas Tech’s offense combined. The Russellville native played in his hometown for the first and last time in his collegiate career, after having a standout high school career for the Cyclones.
“I told our kids that if they gave their best tonight, their best would be good enough,” Ouachita Head Coach Todd Knight said. “If you play great defense on the road and your kicking game is solid, you’ve always got a chance. I thought our defensive line played outstanding tonight.”
Arkansas Tech quickly jumped on the scoreboard with 12:04 remaining, as quarterback Rico Keller found Roger Jackson for a 20-yard touchdown strike to give the Wonder Boys a 7-0 lead.
It didn’t take Cranor long to respond for the Tigers, racing 57 yards for a touchdown on Ouachita’s opening drive of the game to tie the game at 7-7.
In the second half, Ouachita sophomore Daniel McGee finished an 8-play, 55 yard drive on a 15-yard touchdown run to stretch the lead to 21-7 with 12:22 left in the third quarter.
Ouachita was back on the scoreboard again at 7:05 as freshman running back Ricky Brown finished the drive on a 1-yard touchdown run. Brown scored his third touchdown on the season to give the Tigers a 28-7 lead.
With 2:51 left, Ouachita senior linebacker Blake Burkett picked off a Rico Keller pass and took it back 20 yards for a touchdown for the game’s final touchdown and to set the final score at 28-7.
“We caught up with their blitz package and what they were doing with their secondary in the second half,” Coach Knight said. “I thought Coach Jay Derby did a great job of getting us squared away at halftime, and really that was an emphasis to run the football.”
The meeting between Ouachita Baptist and Arkansas Tech marked a pairing of the two longest tenured coaches in the GSC in Arkansas Tech’s Steve Mullins (14th season) and Knight (12th season). With playoffs still in the picture for both teams before the game, it was Ouachita that kept their hopes still alive, as Cranor finished 13-for-32 for 167 yards through the air, with one interception. His top target was sophomore Demarcus Collier with two catches for 64 yards.
On defense, the Tigers were led by four sacks and three interceptions, as sophomores Jonathan Browning and Dijon Benton each totaled five tackles. Along with Burkett, senior Stanley Eduoard and freshman Colby Miller also came up with interceptions on the evening.
The Tigers continued a trend of holding their opponent to less than 200 yards passing, as Arkansas Tech marked the fifth overall opponent. Only Harding (255) on Sept. 25 has passed for more than 200 yards on the Tiger defense. Wonder Boys quarterback Rico Keller finished 18-of-37 for 132 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Keller’s favorite target on the night was Roger Jackson with seven catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, RonDerrick Jackson finished with 12 tackles, while teammate Antonio Charles recorded 11.
“It was a big win for our program. We had to have it to stay in the GSC hunt. It was a critical win and of course Arkansas Tech has a great tradition. Tonight was a solid win on the road in the GSC, and now we’ve got two of the undefeated teams in the conference still on the way in our upcoming schedule.”
With the victory, Ouachita Baptist (2-2 GSC) moved up to 6th place overall in the conference, behind unbeaten No. 3 North Alabama (3-0) and No. 13 Delta State (4-0), while Henderson State (3-1), No. 22 Valdosta State (2-1) and West Alabama (2-1) are just one game above the Tigers. Ouachita will play host to both North Alabama and Delta State in a pair of the remaining four games on the schedule.
The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 23 against No. 3 North Alabama for Homecoming at A.U. Williams Field in Arkadelphia at 1 p.m.
