In a game that held true to the Battle of the Ravine rivalry series, it took a late stand for the victory, as Ouachita Baptist held off cross-town rival Henderson State, 35-28 in a Gulf South Conference matchup at A.U. Williams Field in Arkadelphia. With the victory, the Tigers take an all-time series lead in the rivalry, 39-38-6, as Ouachita finishes the 2009 season at 6-4.
Ouachita (6-4, 4-4) started strong with a 21-0 lead with 12 minutes left in the first half, but Henderson State (3-7, 3-5) twice cut the lead to one touchdown, before Ouachita put the game away with a solid running attack in the fourth quarter. The Tigers finished with 237 yards rushing, while holding Henderson State to just 26 yards on 27 carries. Ouachita entered the game with the top rushing offense and the top rush defense, as both held true in the season finale for the Tigers.
In the first quarter, after a fumble by the Tigers on an end around play, it was a fumble by Henderson State five plays later that was returned 49 yards for a touchdown by sophomore linebacker Tyler George that gave Ouachita a 7-0 lead with 9:22 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, it was George again who came up with the fumble recovery for Ouachita, as Henderson State quarterback Nick Hardesty fumbled at the Ouachita 15-yardline.
Sophomore tight end Phillip Supernaw gave Ouachita a 14-0 lead on a 20-yard touchdown strike from junior quarterback Eli Cranor with 2:38 left in the first quarter. Cranor’s pass capped off a 7-play, 88-yard drive that took just 2:57 in time of possession.
The Tigers went up 21-0 when senior running back KJ Johnson took the handoff to the right side, off-tackle with a 5-yard touchdown run with 12:00 left in the second quarter.
After Ouachita stopped the Reddies on two-straight possessions, Henderson State quarterback Nick Hardesty found the end zone with a 1-yard touchdown run at the 2:24 mark in the second quarter, closing the Ouachita lead to 21-7.
Neither team would score again in the first half, as Ouachita Baptist established a strong first half offensively, leading the Reddies in total offensive yards 232-153. Cranor finished the half, 11-for-14 for 134 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Johnson led all rushers at the halfway point with eight carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately for the Monroe, La senior, Johnson wouldn’t return in the second half, finishing his senior season with 1,120 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. In his four-year career, Johnson rushed for 2,651 yards and finished with 25 touchdowns.
Henderson State started quickly in the third quarter after an opening drive stalled for the Tigers. Hardesty found Jazz Scott in the back corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 10:33 left in the third, bringing the game to 21-14.
Ouachita would answer back as Jeremy Young caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Cranor to finish a 12 play, 60-yard drive and give the Tigers a 28-14 lead with 5:26 left to finish the scoring in the third quarter.
Henderson’s Hardesty then found Chris Evering with a 6-yard touchdown pass to open the fourth quarter and cut the Tigers lead to 28-21.
When the fourth quarter began, Ouachita freshman running back Kendall Council took over offensively for the Tigers. Council found the end zone with 11:31 remaining in the fourth with a 3-yard touchdown run to give Ouachita a 35-21 lead.
On fourth-and-9 from Ouachita 34-yardline, sophomore defensive back AJ Williams broke up a pass from Hardesty to give the Tigers a defensive stop midway through the fourth quarter.
Three plays later, Council raced 70 yards to the Henderson 4-yardline, giving the Tigers a first-and-goal possession. Henderson State, however, stopped the Tiger attack on four-straight downs, as the Reddies put together a goal line stand with 7:06 left in the fourth.
Henderson State answered with a 2:55 drive, ending with a 6-yard pass from Hardesty to Evering to put the score at 35-28 with 4:11 left in the final quarter. The Reddies used an 8-play, 98-yard drive to make the game interesting in the final minutes in front of a packed crowd at A.U. Williams Field.
Ouachita would end the Reddies late rally with a 10-play, 23-yard drive that took up the final 4:06 in the contest.
Council led all rushers with 30 carries for 128 yards and one touchdown, followed by Johnson’s 8 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown in the first half alone. Cranor carried the football nine times for 39 yards.
Cranor finished the game 15-for-24 for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The primary target again was senior receiver Jeremy Young, as the San Diego native closed his two-year career with 6 catches for 78 yards and one touchdown of 20 yards. Young finished his career with Ouachita with 125 receptions for 1,522 yards and 11 touchdowns receiving. Freshman receiver Peyton Tolliver finished the game with five catches for 55 yards, followed by Supernaw’s two catches for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively for the Tigers, sophomore Denszell Brown finished with 13 tackles, followed by junior safety Chad Emmons with 11 total tackles. Senior defensive end Brady King played a spectacular game in his final collegiate game, recording four tackles and two sacks to lead all defenders. Junior defensive tackle Bryan Church came up with Ouachita’s only interception of the game, while senior defensive end Jerry McNeil ended his career with a sack and two tackles. McNeil led the GSC in sacks entering the matchup and finishes his career with 171 tackles, including 39.5 tackles for loss and 24 sacks in a four-year span.
Hardesty had an efficient afternoon through the air, completing 18-of-28 passes for 271 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, while also leading the team in rushing with 23 yards on eight carries. Charles Lewis caught seven catches for 62 yards and Jazz Scott recorded five catches for 85 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Taylor Stone finished with 10 tackles for the Reddies, while Micah McDonald and Jimmy Rowster both finished with interceptions for Henderson State.
The game marked a milestone in the Coleman Dairy Battle of the Ravine series, as Ouachita Baptist took the series lead, 39-38-6. The Tigers finish the season with a 6-4 record and the second-straight winning season under Head Coach Todd Knight after finishing 7-3 a season ago.
