SLC Football Scoreboard: 9/20/14

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Abilene Christian 21, UIW 0
ABILENE, Texas – Sophomore quarterback Parker McKenzie threw for 329 yards and a stingy defense helped Abilene Christian University blank the University of the Incarnate Word 21-0 Saturday afternoon in the two teams’ 2014 Southland Conference opener at rainy Shotwell Stadium, the Wildcats’ first shutout since a 51-0 win in the 2012 season-opener.
 
ACU outgained UIW 256-62 in total yards in the first half while building a 14-0 lead, and coasted the rest of the way while its top two running backs recover from injuries. Freshman linebacker Sam Denmark led the Wildcat defense with two interceptions. Abilene Christian outgained the Cardinals 415 yards to 133 in the game, and held them to nine first downs.
 
The Wildcats (1-0 in the Southland) evened their overall record at 2-2 in the game, billed as the P4X Foundation Challenge to benefit pediatric cancer research. UIW fell to 0-4 and 0-1 in the Southland to continue a stretch of futility that has seen the Cardinals outscored 117-3 since a 49-13 season-opening loss to Sacramento State.
 
McKenzie, a sophomore, completed 21 of 33 passes for two touchdowns. Both scores were long distance: 65 yards to junior wide receiver Jace Hudson and 70 yards to junior wide receiver Cedric Gilbert on consecutive drives in the first half. Redshirt freshman running back Randy Gober added a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
 
Gilbert entered the game leading the nation in yards per catch at 36.6, and the touchdown was the fourth in his first seven catches this season.
 
McKenzie completed 21 of 33 passes in the game. ACU’s top rusher was sophomore Adrian Duncan with 54 yards on 20 carries. Hudson had six catches for 120 yards, Gilbert caught five for 92 and Thompson had four for 67.
 
UIW freshman quarterback Brey McCollum completed eight of 24 passes for 73 yards and was intercepted once. The Cardinals managed just 60 yards on the ground, led by sophomore Joseph Sadler’s 27 yards on three carries.
 
ACU travels to play Houston Baptist University next Saturday for a Southland Conference game at Dunham Field. Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. CST with the game broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest.
 
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Northwestern State 30, Louisiana Tech 27
RUSTON, La. –  A 20-point fourth quarter, capped by Chris Moore’s game-winning 47-yard field goal on the final play, lifted visiting Northwestern State to a stunning 30-27 win over old nemesis Louisiana Tech Saturday night in front of 26,004 at Joe Aillet Stadium.
  
Moore had tied the game with 1:05 left on a 29-yard field goal. Both kicks were set up by turnovers forced by a resilient Purple Swarm defense, with Marion Chapman’s fumble recovery at the Tech 35 coming with 2:45 left and leading to the tying field goal at the 1:05 mark, and Adam Jones scooping up a pass deflected by Imoan Claiborne and making the decisive pickoff, his second of the night, at the NSU 49  with 52 seconds remaining, on the first play after the ensuing kickoff.
  
The Demons got passes of 13 and 12 yards in the game-winning drive from Zach Adkins to Cody Jones, and calmly had Adkins take a four-yard loss to move the ball to the middle of the field for Moore’s attempt with three seconds left. After a Tech timeout, the junior hammered the second longest kick in his two seasons as a Demon and split the uprights, setting off a delirious celebration.
  
The outcome was the first Northwestern State win over an FBS foe since 2005, ending a 17-game skid in those matchups. In the first meeting in 20 seasons between the ancient rivals, who began playing each other in 1907, the Demons notched their first win in 10 tries, since a 25-21 victory in 1979.
  
Tech (2-2) suffered five turnovers, three interceptions. NSU (2-2) scored after each one.
  
“Our guys just battled, and battled, and battled,” said second-year Demons’ coach Jay Thomas. “We beat a real good football team because we made some big-time plays. Our defense came up with the ball again and again, and the offense converted.”
  
Northwestern trailed from the early moments and never led until the last second, but the Demons were never down by more than 10 – at 10-0, 13-3, 20-10 and 27-17 with 8:35 remaining.
  
From there, NSU drove 58 yards in 10 plays, getting a 14-yard De’Mard Llorens touchdown run one play after Adkins converted a fourth-and-1 on a sneak, after a 15-yard connection with Ed Eagan on third-and-16.
  
Trying to preserve its 27-24 edge, Tech handed to star running back Kenneth Dixon for three straight plays working on the clock, but on third-and-1 at the Bulldogs’ 34, as he dove toward the first down, the ball came loose in the collision, credited to Chapman on the forced fumble.
  
Chapman won the scramble for the ball and NSU had a chance to tie or win with 2:45 left.
  
A 9-yard pass from Adkins to Zach White and a 15-yard personal foul penalty on the Bulldogs carried the Demons to the Tech 14, but NSU couldn’t get much closer and settled for Moore’s middle-of-the-field 29-yarder to tie with 65 seconds left.
 
On the first play after the kickoff, Tech’s Cody Sokol looked toward his sideline, but Claiborne batted the pass up the field and Jones made a diving grab that was upheld on a replay for the interception.
  
Then after Adkins and Jones hooked up twice, everybody knew it was probably coming down to Moore, who relished the opportunity.
  
“The rest of the team made big play after big play to give us the chance. I was more anxious about the kickoff after the field goal to tie it, because we were going onsides and they changed it after we lined up. You don’t practice onsides kicks as much as you do end-of-game field goals,” said Moore, who said it was the first such actual game-winner in his career at any level. “Their time out actually helped me relax and focus. Then it was really up to Hunter (Graves, the snapper) and Tuff (McClain, the holder) doing the same perfect work they have done all year, the protection was perfect as always, and I just had no worries.
  
“It was a blast seeing everybody go crazy,” he said. “Everybody won this, I just had the final kick ,” he said.
  
Moore also had a 41-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to get NSU on the board. He is now 10 of 12 on field goals this season, 5 of 6 from 40 yards or more.
  
The Demons got touchdown runs of 4 and 10 yards from Garrett Atzenweiler, who led the Demons with 66 yards on 19 rushes.
  
Adkins was 21 of 35 for 205 yards and was intercepted twice, sacked three times. Eagan caught six passes for 70 yards as seven Demons had receptions, including McClain with four for 51 yards.
  
Chapman led the Demons with eight tackles, including a sack. Jones had two of the interceptions and six tackles.
  
The Bulldogs had a 413-307 advantage in yardage but were hurt by eight penalties for 74 yards and the five turnovers, the second time in as many weeks NSU came up with five.
  
The Demons have an open date before beginning Southland play Oct. 4 at defending champion Southeastern Louisiana. The Bulldogs, who whipped Louisiana-Lafayette and North Texas on the road in the last two weeks, go to Auburn next Saturday.
 
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Stephen F. Austin 35, Weber State 20
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Gus Johnson and Zach Conque each rushed for a pair of touchdowns while Collin Garrett had a career night as Stephen F. Austin defeated Weber State 35-20 at Homer Bryce Stadium. The Lumberjacks improved to 3-1 on the season, matching their win total from 2013 and notching their first three-game winning streak since 2011.
 
“Certainly we’re happy to be 3-1 and I feel especially happy for the group of guys that had to suffer through that Weber State loss last season,” said head coach Clint Conque. “I’m not pleased with the penalties, and know that there were a lot of things we could have done better tonight. We have a bye week ahead of us and we need to clean that up before heading into (Southland) Conference play.”
 
SFA finished with 466 total yards on the night, rushing for 148 while passing for 318 against the Wildcats (0-4). Zach Conque completed 17 of his 27 attempts for 264 yards while Joe Minden went 3-of-4 for 54 yards and a touchdown.
 
Gus Johnson once again made his playmaking ability felt on the ground, rushing for 83 yards on 12 carries with a pair of touchdowns. That ups his career total to 38, leaving him one shy of tying Cordell Roberson (2009-12) for the most in SFA program history.
 
Conque also made his presence felt on the ground, rushing for 29 yards on nine carries with a pair of touchdowns. Joshawa West added 30 yards on four carries as well for the Lumberjacks.
 
Tyler Boyd led the Lumberjacks with five catches for 57 yards while DJ Ward had 97 yards on three carries, including a 62-yard reception from Conque. Johnson also added three receptions for 22 yards while Aaron Thomas had a pair of catches for 44 yards.
 
Defensively, SFA limited Weber State to 397 total yards as the Wildcats rushed for 124 while passing for 273. The Lumberjacks recorded 11 tackles for loss on the night with four sacks while forcing three Weber State turnovers.
 
Linebacker Collin Garrett had a career night for SFA, registering 16 tackles (including five solo) with 3.5 tackles for loss and one of the sacks while recording a quarterback hurry in the process. Justin Owens also had his best night as a Lumberjack, finishing with nine tackles with a tackle for loss.
 
Maurice Poullard added eight tackles while Marvin Gray finished with seven. Keavon Madison was a pain all evening for Weber State, finishing with a pair of interceptions to go along with his five solo tackles and three pass breakups. Ishmiah Miles and Avery Henderson added sacks for the ‘Jacks with Jamal Allen and Kedrick Harrison teaming up for the fourth.
 
One area that plagued both teams on the night was in penalties as SFA and Weber State combined for 28 penalties for 250 yards. The Wildcats racked up 15 penalties for 107 yards while SFA was tagged 13 times for 141 yards, with nearly a half dozen of those infractions keeping Weber State drives alive.
 
For the third-straight week, Johnson got SFA on the board first, breaking a handful of tackles en route to a 15-yard touchdown with 10:14 remaining in the first half. That score would hold almost to the end of the half before SFA went 56 yards in four plays, capped by a one-yard plunge by Conque to give the Lumberjacks the 14-0 lead at halftime.
 
Early in the third quarter, SFA forced a Weber State fumble at its own 39-yard line as true freshman Chance Barney pounced on the loose ball, giving SFA great field position. The first play saw Conque connect with Justice Liggins on a 36-yard pass to the six, followed by a keeper to put the ‘Jacks on top 21-0 with 12:49 left in the third.
 
Weber State found its scoring touch midway through the third, recording scoring strikes from Billy Green to Shaydon Kenaho on back-to-back possessions, trimming the SFA lead to 21-13 at the end of the third quarter.
 
But Johnson once again put SFA on his back, breaking a handful of tackles again early in the fourth and rumbling 26 yards to the end zone to put SFA up by two scores at 28-13. SFA then added an insurance touchdown as Minden connected on a screen pass to Marquis Mosley, who eluded a handful of tackles to find the end zone and put the Lumberjacks on top 35-13 with 8:09 to play.
 
Weber State made it a two score game with 6:04 remaining and looked poised to make it even tighter in the final minute, threatening inside the SFA five-yard line. But an interception by Madison in the end zone sealed the victory for the Lumberjacks, redeeming a 50-40 loss to the Wildcats in Ogden, Utah in 2013.
 
It was a fitting win on a memorable night for the Lumberjacks as SFA remembered Cally Belcher 20 years after his passing. His #16 jersey was brought out of retirement for one game, being worn by Thomas, as he participated in a halftime ceremony with Belcher’s family and former teammates.
 
SFA closes out the non-conference portion of its 2014 schedule at 3-1 and improved to 3-0 at home, improving its home record since 2009 to 26-6 (.813). The Lumberjacks now head into the bye week with its sights set on Southland play, which opens up with some familiar faces for coach Conque as SFA opens up its conference schedule against Central Arkansas. Kickoff against the Bears is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Homer Bryce Stadium.
 
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Lamar 55, Mississippi College 10
BEAUMONT, Texas – For the second time in as many weeks the Lamar Cardinals utilized their depth at running back to overwhelm an opponent. Lamar carried the 36 times for 282 to defeat Mississippi College, 55-10, Saturday night at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The 282-yard rushing performance came on the heels of last week’s 393-yard performance that was the second best in school history.
 
“I was worried about their speed on offense early,” said head coach Ray Woodard. “But we made the appropriate adjustments. We took control of the game in the third quarter and put it away. I’m happy with our record, but I’m never happy with all the phases of our game. We definitely have to improve on kick coverage and kick returns. Regardless of the opponent, you want to continue to get better.”
 
Although Lamar recorded a 45-point margin of victory, the game wasn’t that easy early on as Lamar would score, only to have the visitor’s from Clinton, Miss. answer on the ensuing drive. The Cards got on the scoreboard less than four minutes into the contest when Gratian Gladney hauled in a six-yard pass from Caleb Berry to cap a 10-play, 74-yard drive.
 
The Choctaws answered eight plays later. After a long kickoff return had the Choctaws starting the drive from the Lamar 30-yard line, Mississippi College’s Kyle Smith put the visitors on the scoreboard with a 12-yard run. Despite starting from the 30, it took the Choctaws eight plays to punch it across the goal line.
 
Lamar regained the lead 3:22 later when transfer Carl Harris capped another long LU drive with a one-yard plunge for the score to give the Cardinals back a seven-point advantage. He finished the night with 15 carries for 134 yards and three scores. Harris, who is averaging better than 143 rushing yards per game in the team’s last two contests, set a career high with his three scores Saturday night.
 
Mississippi College answered with a 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter off the leg of Hunter Estess, to cut the deficit to four points, but that would be as close to a victory as the Choctaws would get. Similar to the season-opener against Grambling State, the Cardinals went on scoring run to break the game wide open. Lamar scored 41 unanswered points to close out the game.
 
Following a 28-yard field goal from Josh Davis, Harris recorded his second one-yard touchdown run of the night. Lamar closed out the half with a 44-yard strike to Reggie Begelton as the horn sounded. Lamar took a 31-10 advantage into the locker room
 
It was more of the same in the second half as junior Devonn Brown caught his second touchdown pass of the season. Brown’s scoring grab was a 17-yard pass from Berry, who finished the game 30-of-40 (.750) for 379 yards and three touchdowns. The 379-yard performance was one of the top-15 performances in school history.
 
Harris added his third and final scoring run of the night on a 37-yard scamper to give Lamar a 38-point lead. The LU defense put the final touches on the game when Matt Johnson recovered a fumble in the end zone with just under three minutes remaining in the game. It was the first fumble returned for a score by a Cardinal since October of 2012.
 
The Cardinals finished the night with 661 yards of total offense, including 282 yards on the ground. Lamar’s defense held Mississippi College to 219 yards, and only 91 through the air.
 
In addition to Harris’ 134 rushing yards, he also caught a team-high six passes for 34 yards. Junior Dillon Barrett had a huge night receiving with five catches for 93 yards, while Brown, Begelton and Gladney each caught a touchdown pass. A converted wide receiver, junior Brent Salenga was moved to running back and finished the night with 12 carries for 75 yards.
 
Senior Anthony Beard led the Cardinals’ defensive effort with 10 tackles, including three solo stops, and 1.5 tackles for a loss. Senior Joe Okafor finished the night with six tackles, including 1.5 sacks.
 
Lamar closes out the three-game homestand, and opens conference play Saturday against Sam Houston State. The game against the Bearkats is slated to kick off at 7 p.m. from Provost Umphrey Stadium.
 
“The conference games are the ones you look forward to,” said Woodard. “You play the non-conference games to get ready for the conference. We felt like we took a step forward last year at Sam Houston State, but we didn’t get the job done, plain and simple. It’s not end of the world if you lose your first conference game but it definitely puts you behind the eight ball. We have to start winning those type ball  games.”
 
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Houston Baptist 72, Texas College 6
TYLER, Texas – Houston Baptist could not have been more balanced on offense, getting 217 yards on the ground and 217 yards passing in a 72-6 romp over Texas College for the Huskies’ first official victory as a Football Championship Series program Saturday afternoon at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
    
Sophomore quarterback Jonathan Fleming completed 12-of-16 passes for 206 yards and five touchdowns. Senior tight end led the Huskies (1-2) with three catches for 81 yards and a pair of TDs, while sophomore Davis Iheanacho and freshmen Ethan Fry and Wesley Lewis each had a receiving TD. Freshman running back B.J. Kelly rushed 12 times for 69 yards and a TD and freshman Steven Thompson had four carries for 46 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Freshman Larry Day added the Huskies’ other TD on the ground.
    
On defense, HBU held Texas College (0-4) to 135 yards of total offens, with 86 on the ground and only 49 yards passing. Freshman cornerback Jonathan Buffin returned and interception for a TD, and freshman linebacker Victor Martinez led the Huskies with five tackles.
    
Cory Sherman had 15 carries for 100 yards, which included a 60-yard run in the second quarter, for the Steers. Quarterback Milton Harper was 2-for-17 with a TD and an interception. Ja’Marius Allen made one catch for 33 yards, and Bradford Lewis had a 24-yard reception for Texas College’s lone score.
    
The Huskies struck first quickly as Fleming hit Iheanacho for a 12-yard TD three minutes into the game. Fleming then added a 33-yard strike to Fry and a 13-yard score to Lewis to put HBU ahead 21-0 through the first quarter. In the second quarter, Day and Kelly each capped drives with 1-yard TD runs, then Fleming’s 25-yard TD to Bibbins gave the Huskies a 42-0 lead heading into halftime.
    
Texas College went 80 yards on seven plays on their second drive of the half, which was capped by Harper’s 24-yard TD pass to Lewis, as the Steers got on the board to make the score 42-6 with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter.
    
HBU quickly struck back 1:57 later as Bibbins scored on a 48-yard pass from Fleming. The Huskies added a safety when Harper was called for intentional grounding in the endzone and HBU led 51-6 after three.
    
Buffin intercepted Harper at the 10-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown with 13:31 to go. HBU has had a defensive score in all three games, with a safety against McMurry, a fumble return for a touchdown at Northern Colorado, and a safety and interception return in today’s game.
    
Thompson scored on a 10-yard run with 7:35 left, then had a 33-yard run with 2:18 remaining to cap the scoring for the HBU.
    
The Huskies had 25 first downs to eight for the Steers, while HBU outgained Texas College, 434-135, in total yards. Freshman punter Christian Guzman averaged 50.0 yards on three punts with a long of 58 and junior Travis Shinn made all 10 extra point attempts.
 
HBU returns home to host its Southland Conference opener against Abilene Christian for Family Weekend Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at Husky Stadium.
 
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Southeast Missouri State 24, No. 3/4 Southeastern Louisiana 23
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri senior quarterback Kyle Snyder found junior wide receiver Paul McRoberts from two yards out with five seconds left to give the Redhawks a 24-23 victory over No. 3/4 Southeastern Louisiana in non-conference football action Saturday night at Houck Stadium.
 
The Lions (2-2) dropped their second straight contest. Southeast Missouri improved to 2-2 overall with the victory.
 
Lion senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Bryan Bennett gave SLU the lead with just under three minutes left with a 22-yard touchdown run. However, SEMO answered with a 15-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by Snyder’s game-winning throw.
 
Southeastern had the Redhawks facing a third-and-10 inside the red zone, but SEMO dialed up the quarterback draw that Snyder took all the way down to the Lion 2-yard line. After the Redhawks burned their last timeout, Snyder found McRoberts on a quick slant to give SEMO the upset victory.
 
Despite not getting in full gear until the fourth quarter, the Lion offense racked up 436 yards of total offense. Bennett completed 15-of-29 passes for 200 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Junior Xavier Roberson led the Lions with four catches, while senior Devante Scott hauled in three passes for 74 yards. Junior Jeff Smiley and senior Jeremy Meyers each caught touchdowns for the Lions.
 
The Lions finished with 225 yards on the ground. Junior Rasheed Harrell paced the SLU rushing attack with 18 carries for 89 yards. Bennett also rushed for a touchdown for the fourth consecutive game.
 
Defensively, the Lions were led by seniors Drew Misita and Tyler Stoddard, who finished with 13 and 12 tackles, respectively. Stoddard also intercepted a pass, while junior Denzel Thompson forced a fumble that junior Josh Dakin was credited with recovering.
 
Snyder finished the game 16-for-31 for 141 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. McRoberts hauled in both scores, finishing the game with seven catches for 89 yards. Redhawk senior running back Lennies McFerrin finished the game with 95 yards and a score on 26 carries.
 
After both teams traded empty possessions to start the game, Southeastern took the early lead midway through the first quarter. Bennett found Scott for a 62-yard catch and run to highlight an eight-play, 62-yard scoring drive. Senior Ryan Adams capped the drive with a 25-yard field goal to give SLU a 3-0 lead with 7:15 left in the opening period.
 
After another stop, the Lions drove their way deep into Southeast Missouri on the ensuing possession. However, SEMO senior linebacker Wisler Ymonice picked off Bennett at the Redhawk 19-yard line to squelch the scoring threat.
 
Another Lion turnover led to Southeast Missouri’s first score of the game. Southeastern junior Kody Sutton fumbled to give the Redhawks the ball back at the Lion 25-yard line. Four plays later, McFerren powered in from a yard out to take a 7-3 lead with 6:04 left in the first half.
 
The Lions answered on the ensuing drive to take the lead with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive. The Redhawks stopped SLU to set up an Adams field goal. However, Roberts dipped in to his bag of tricks and sophomore holder Cole LeBlanc found Meyers wide open for an 11-yard touchdown on a fake field goal. The score put the Lions up, 10-7 with 2:58 left in the first half.
 
Southeastern appeared that they would go into the break with the lead when Dakin intercepted a Snyder pass on the last play of the half. However, the pick was negated by a Lion penalty and SEMO sophomore kicker Ryan McCrum drilled a 54-yard field goal to send the game into the break knotted at 10.
 
The Redhawks carried the momentum into the second half to take the lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. Snyder found McRoberts from 12 yards out to cap an 11-play, 73-yard drive to give SEMO a 17-10 lead with 8:24 left in the third quarter.
 
The Lions drove into Redhawk territory on the ensuing drive, but turned the ball over downs when Harrell was stopped short on a fourth-and-four in SEMO territory.
 
After a Lion punt, Southeast Missouri methodically drove into the Lion territory as the third quarter wore down. However, with the Redhawks on the verge of taking a two-score lead, Stoddard picked off Snyder at the goal line to end the SEMO scoring threat.
 
The Lions finally scored to cut the lead with 5:18 left in the contest. A 36-yard run by Roberson highlighted a seven-play, 90-yard march. On fourth-and-goal, Bennett found Smiley from four yards out to cut the lead to 17-16. Southeastern tried a fake on the extra point, but sophomore quarterback D’Shaie Landor was stopped short on the two-point try.
 
The Lion defense got the ball back for the offense, as Thompson stripped McFerrin and Dakin fell on the loose ball to set up Southeastern at the Redhawk 38-yard line. After Harrell broke free for a 19-yard screen pass on third-and-15, Bennett faked out the Redhawks and raced in from 22 yards out to give SLU a 23-17 lead with 2:53 remaining. However, the Redhawks answered with the game-winning drive over the final 2:43.
 
Saturday’s game was the second of three straight away from home for SLU. Next Saturday, the Lions travel to Incarnate Word for a 6 p.m. Southland Conference contest in San Antonio, Texas.
 
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Missouri State 33, Central Arkansas 31
CONWAY, Ark. – This time the University of Central Arkansas Bears’ late rally wasn’t enough as the Missouri State Bears escaped with a 33-31 victory on Saturday night at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
 
The Bears (1-3), as they had done two weeks early on “The Stripes” in a 26-24 win over UT Martin, drove 76 yards in 13 plays with no time outs to grab a 31-30 lead with just 59 seconds left to play. But the visiting Bears (3-1) drove down to the UCA 36 and junior Marcelo Bonani came on a nailed a career-long 53-yard field goal as time expired to win it.
 
Senior running back Willie Matthews scored from the 1 for the go-ahead touchdown after the Bears had trailed 27-17 midway through the fourth quarter. Matthews, from Bartlett, Tenn, drew the Bears within 27-24 with a 13-yard touchdown run at the 7:48 mark.Missouri State answered with another field goal from Bonani, who had missed an extra point in the first half, this time from 34 yards out for a 30-24 lead. That left UCA with 3:32 on the clock and 76 yards to cover.
 
Senior quarterback Ryan Howard directed the Bears on a 13-play drive, converting a fourth-and-10 and a key third-and-6 pass to Damien Watts. Howard hit Desmond Smith for 26 yards to midfield on the fourth-down play. He then found Courtney Whitehead for 13 yards  before scrambling for 12 himself and a first down at the Missouri State 25. On third and six, Howard hit Watts over the middle for a first down at the Missouri State 1.
 
Three plays later, Matthews went over the top for the touchdown. Jace Denker added the PAT for a 31-30 lead.
 
After a 21-yard kickoff return, Missouri State got a big 13-yard completion from quarterback Kierra Harris to Julian Burton, then a 29-yarder to Burton to the UCA 31. The visiting Bears were called for a false start on a attempt at spiking the ball with three seconds to play. Bonani then came on and bested his career long, set last week, by two yards to win the game.
 
UCA opened the scoring with a 90-yard touchdown pass from Howard to senior Dezmin Lewis on the Bears’ first offensive play. The teams traded touchdowns the rest of the half as the Bears took a 14-13 halftime lead. Lewis caught two passes for 108 yards to move into fourth place in career receiving yards at UCA with 2,083. His 16th career touchdown reception tied him for sixth all-time.
 
Howard, in his first start of the season, completed 18 of 26 passes for 242 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. UCA entered the game without a turnover in its previous three games, but had two interceptions and lost a fumble. Missouri State ran 93 plays for a season-high 579 yards, while the Bears had 61 for 388.
 
MSU’s Harris had a career-high 342 passing yards, completing 20 of 35 with two touchdowns. Burton caught 10 passes for 194 yards. UCA’s defense recorded 10 plays for lost yardage, with sophomore defensive end Bailey McIver recording a career-high three tackles for loss. Linebacker Ricky Wyatt and cornerback Prince Ene had career highs with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively.Watts blocked a punt for the Bears, the first since the 2013 season opener by Smith.
 
UCA continues its two-game homestand with a 3 p.m. kickoff next Saturday against Nicholls State, the Southland Conference opener for both teams.
 
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North Texas 77, Nicholls 3
DENTON, Texas – In their first meeting since 2002, North Texas proved not much has changed as the Mean Green remained undefeated in the series against Nicholls with a 77-3 victory on Saturday at Apogee Stadium.
 
The Colonles (0-4) have lost 10 consecutive games dating back to last season and fall to 0-6 all-time against North Texas (2-2). The loss was also the first under interim head coach Steve Axman, who took over the reins on Tuesday.
 
The game was never in doubt as North Texas jumped out to a 21-0 lead after just five minutes. The Colonels managed a field goal in the first quarter, but the Mean Green broke open the game with four touchdowns in the second.
 
The second half was much of the same as the Colonels had no answer for the Mean Green in any facet of the game. Along with 526 yards of offense for North Texas, the former Southland Conference member scored on defense and special teams while keeping the Colonels off the scoreboard. 
 
Nicholls was held to 244 yards on offense and 14 first downs. Running back Michael Henry led the offense, rushing for 95 yards on 19 carries. Under center, Kalen Henderson played the first half, throwing for 50 yards on 7 of 15 passes with two interceptions. Henderson was under duress the whole 30 minutes, resulting in six sacks. Beaux Hebert played the second half, finishing with 116 yards passing on 10 of 16 passes.
 
Demon Bolt led the receivers with 38 yards on four receptions while Keenan Canty also had four grabs for 36 yards.
 
In the game, North Texas took the opening kickoff and needed just five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Dajon Williams, who accounted for five touchdowns, ran in from eight yards for the first score, and following a pick on Henderson’s first pass, Williams found a wide open Carlos Harris for a 41-yard touchdown. The Mean Green then received great field position after blocking a Colonel punt and it led to a Reggie Pegram 1-yard touchdown run.
 
Trailing 21-0, Nicholls put together its best drive of the day, going 69 yards on 13 plays. Fueled by a 36-yard run by Henry, the Colonels moved inside the 5-yard line, but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Francisco Condado with 5:03 on the clock.
 
In the second quarter, following another touchdown run by Williams that made the score 28-3, James Jones stepped in front of a Henderson pass for an interception and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown. North Texas then scored two more touchdowns in the quarter, both on passes by Williams, to lead 49-3 at half time.
 
After the break, Nicholls was forced to punt on their first drive, and Darvin Kidsy ran it back for a 75-yard touchdown. North Texas continued to pour it on, rushing for two more touchdowns in the quarter.
 
The Mean Green capped the dominating performance with a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown by Zac Whitfield early in the fourth.
 
B.T. Sanders led the Colonel defense with nine tackles, while Josh Dewey and Davin Bovie had five tackles each.
 
The Colonels will open up conference play next Saturday as they head to Conway, Ark. to face Central Arkansas. Kickoff at “The Stripes” is scheduled for 3 p.m.

 

 

 

 

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