Ouachita junior safety Chad Emmons knocked a pass away from quarterback Steven Gachette to John Austin on the two-yard line with no time remaining to preserve the 14-10 non-conference home victory at A.U. Williams Field on Saturday.
Ouachita Baptist (5-3, 3-3) defeated Southwest Baptist (4-5) for the second-consecutive season in a fourth quarter thriller, as the Tigers trailed heading into the final quarter. Senior quarterback Eli Cranor led the go-ahead touchdown drive for Ouachita with 6:01 remaining, as Cranor found freshman Peyton Tolliver for a 14-yard touchdown strike to take a 14-10 lead.
Southwest Baptist answered back on the final drive of the game, as running back Semaj Edwards carried on the first six plays for 47 yards to the Ouachita 18-yardline. Gachette then carried to the 7-yardline, before Ouachita stopped the Bearcats on four-consecutive plays inside the 10 to preserve the victory and improve to 3-1 at home in 2009.
Junior quarterback Eli Cranor led the Tigers on a 16-play, 80-yard scoring drive in Ouachita’s first offensive series, ending in a 19-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Phillip Supernaw to give Ouachita an early 7-0 lead with 6:27 left in the first quarter.
Southwest Baptist answered back on their next possession with a 32-yard field goal from Brock Jolly with 5:02 left in the first quarter. Jolly finished a drive that started on the Ouachita 35-yardline, after a 43-yard kickoff return by Bearcats returner Sean Kelly. The kick cut the Ouachita lead to 7-3.
The Tigers put together a second-consecutive successful drive on their next possession, until a fumble at the two-yard line by senior running back KJ Johnson that ended an eight play, 38-yard drive.
In the next three possessions for Southwest Baptist, the Ouachita defense held the Bearcats to -1 yards total.
Meanwhile, Ouachita continued to move the football on their final two possessions midway through the second quarter, stalling at the eight yard-line after a fourth-and-17 pass from Cranor to Supernaw was good for 16 yards, ending a six-play, 50-yard drive with 8:52 remaining in the first half. Ouachita would have taken a 14-3 lead after an impressive 10-yard touchdown run by freshman running back Kendall Council was called back on an illegal procedure penalty. Council broke three tackles, while spinning off a defender, but the penalty would be the first of several that ended potential Ouachita scoring drives.
At halftime, Ouachita held Southwest Baptist to just 34 yards of total offense, while the Tigers put together 198 yards total. The Tiger offense provided balance, with 75 yards rushing and a 12-for-14, 123 yard passing effort from Cranor. Johnson led all rushers with 54 yards in the first half.
A 30-yard kickoff return by junior Nico Hobbs gave the Tigers starting possession at the 38-yardline to begin the third quarter. A combination of Cranor, Johnson and Council led the Ouachita offense to the Bearcats 3-yardline, but a fourth-and-three pass from Cranor to Brett Reece fell incomplete, ending the 59-yard drive to open the second half.
Southwest Baptist then answered two drives later with a 6-play, 52-yard scoring drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown run by quarterback Steven Gachette with 2:02 remaining in the third for a 10-7 lead for the Bearcats. The drive almost didn’t happen when punt returner Clayton Davis fumbled twice before Southwest Baptist recovered at the Ouachita 48-yardline.
Ouachita began their final possession in the fourth quarter on the OBU 23-yardine at the 11:05 mark. Aided by 45 yards rushing, the Tigers drove to the SBU 14-yardline. On second-and-nine from the 14-yardline, Cranor found freshman receiver Peyton Tolliver open in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown strike to give Ouachita a 14-10 lead with 6:01 remaining in the game.
Southwest Baptist began their final drive with 6:01 remaining, as Bearcats running back Semaj Edwards ran six-straight times for 47 yards, putting the football at the Ouachita 18-yardline. A 9-yard run by Gachette put Southwest Baptist in great possession with a first-and-goal from the 6-yardline. However, the Tiger defense held strong, stopping the Bearcats on four-straight offensive plays, ending in the pass breakup by Ouachita defensive back Chad Emmons on John Austin as time expired.
Cranor finished the game 18-for-27 for 175 yards passing, with two touchdowns and one interception on a tipped pass in the third quarter. The junior quarterback also added 62 yards rushing, including a 45-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Johnson recorded his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season with 29 carries for 100 yards. The Monroe, La native entered the game leading the conference with 788 yards rushing, with an average of 112.6 yards per game. Council added 49 yards on 15 carries.
The primary receivers for Cranor were Tolliver and Supernaw, as the two combined for 122 of the 175 yards receiving. Tolliver led Ouachita with eight catches for 72 yards with the 14-yard go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter, while Supernaw added three catches for 50 yards and a 19-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Leading the top-ranked Gulf South Conference Tiger defense was junior linebacker Clayton Goree with eight tackles and junior safety Chad Emmons who added six tackles and two pass breakups, including the game-winning stop with no time remaining. Senior defensive end Brady King recorded the only sack of the afternoon for a 10-yard loss, while sophomore Taurus Williams and freshman Landon Freeman added two tackles-for-loss for Ouachita.
Gachette ended the game 10-for-25 for 72 yards and 72 yards on the ground with a 14-yard touchdown run, as the totals were by far his worst offensive output of the season. The junior quarterback entered the game with 2,346 yards passing and 741 yards rushing. Jarre Schumpert and Shawn Kilduff both recorded 13 tackles each, while Lavarus Rue provided the only interception of the game, returning the pass for 29 yards.
The victory gives Ouachita momentum heading into their final two games against Gulf South Conference opponents West Alabama in Livingston, Ala on October 31 at 5 p.m., and Henderson State for the annual Battle of the Ravine series at A.U. Williams Field on Nov. 7 at 1 p.m.
