SLC Scoreboard: 9/27/14

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Central Arkansas 52, Nicholls 18
CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas Bears overcame their own mistakes on offense and turned to a stingy defense to grab a 52-18 victory over the Nicholls Colonels in the Southland Conference opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
   
The Bears (2-3, 1-0), had two interceptions, lost a fumble and missed two field goals, but still managed to roll up 487 yards of total offense against the winless Colonels (0-5, 0-1). UCA averaged 5.6 yards per offensive play and put together eight scoring drives. Two others ended in missed field goals, two ended with interceptions – one returned for a touchdown – and another closed with a fumble.
   
The Colonels, who have allowed 70-plus points twice this season, had 155 yards of total offense in the first half but UCA’s defense shut down Nicholls in the second half, allowing just 85 yards the rest of the way. UCA recovered three fumbles and recorded a season-high 18 tackles for loss for minus 88 yards, including four sacks. Junior defensive end Jonathan Woodard had three tackles for loss, while four others had two apiece.
   
The Bears opened the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown run by sophomore Blake Veasley with 6:33 left in the first quarter. The Colonels answered with a 13-yard run by quarterback Kalen Henderson, but misfired on the extra point.
   
UCA then ran off three straight scores, a 1-yard run by senior running back Willie Matthews, a 35-yard field goal by junior Jace Denker and a 10-yard scoring pass from senior Ryan Howard to sophomore Desmond Smith, good for a comfortable 24-6 lead at halftime.
   
Nicholls’ Joel Dullary returned a Howard interception 22 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter but UCA came back and scored on four of its next five possessions for a 45-12 lead through three quarters. The final touchdown of the third period was a 1-yard pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Hayden Hildebrand _ in the first action of his career _ to senior Jacoby Walker.
   
Freshman running back Dominique Thomas of Jacksonville, Ala., then got in on the action, scoring his first career touchdown on a 7-yard run with 11:30 to play. The Colonels added a last-second touchdown on a pass from backup Beaux Hebert to Kyron King from 10 yards out.
   
Howard finished 15 of 19 passing for 114 yards, with 2 touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior Taylor Reed was 7 of 9 for 98 yards, while Hildrebrand was 6 of 8 for 55 yards and a touchdown. As a team, the Bears were 28 of 36 (77.7 percent) and had 28 first downs to Nicholls’ 18. UCA never punted in the game but was solid in the return game. Sophomore Jatavious Wilson had a 78-yard kickoff return early in the second half that led to Howard’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Courtney Whitehead with12:38 left in the third period.
   
Matthews had 56 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Veasley had 58 yards and one score. Smith caught six passes for 46 yards and a touchdown, while Whitehead had four for 50 with one score. Senior Dezmin Lewis caught 3 for 36 and is now tied for fourth in UCA history with 158 receptions. He is fifth overall with 2,119 career yards.
  
The main bright spot for Nicholls was the running of junior back Michael Henry, who finished with 142 yards on 21 carries. Punter Conner Fryoux also kicked seven times for a 42-yard average.
 
UCA heads to Nacogdoches, Texas, next week to face Stephen F. Austin in SLC play. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Homer Bryce Stadium.
 
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No. 11/11 Southeastern Louisiana 63, UIW 7
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The No. 11 Southeastern Louisiana football team jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never looked back on the way to a 63-7 Southland Conference road victory over Saturday night at Benson Stadium.
 
Southeastern (3-2, 1-0 Southland) snapped a two-game losing streak with a victory in its Southland Conference opener. The Lions have now won their last 11 games versus league opponents. Incarnate Word fell to 0-5 overall and 0-2 in Southland action. 
 
SLU tied a season high with 564 total yards and scored the most points it has ever scored versus a Southland Conference opponent. The Lions did most of their damage on the ground, as they set a single-game school record with seven rushing touchdowns. SLU rushed for 337 yards – the third-highest single-game total in school history.
 
Junior running back Kody Sutton rushed for a career-high 104 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while senior quarterback and Walter Payton Award candidate Bryan Bennett rushed for 89 yards and two scores. Freshman Eugene Bethea, senior Jordan Barnett, junior Rasheed Harrell and senior Marquis Hayes each also rushed for touchdowns.
 
Bennett also did damage through the air, throwing for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-24 passing. The Granada Hills, California native connected with senior Devante Scott (five catches, 99 yards) and junior Jeff Smiley (four catches, 45 yards) for touchdowns.
 
Southeastern limited UIW to just 166 yards of total offense and seven first downs. UIW freshman quarterback Breylann McCollum was 12-of-23 for 92 yards and an interception. Senior linebacker Kaleb Muse recovered a fumble that was forced by senior linebacker Drew Misita. Freshman Ryan Sigers also recorded his first career interception for the Lions.
 
Southeastern jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening drive. Harrell capped a 13-play, 75-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put the Lions ahead with 8:42 left in the opening quarter.
 
After the Lions forced a three-and-out, Southeastern answered with a quick six-play, 80-yard scoring drive. A Bennett 41-yard pass to junior Dylan Bossier highlighted the drive. Bennett sprinted in from 21 yards out to give SLU a 14-0 lead with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter.
 
Southeastern held UIW without a first down on its next drive and a 24-yard punt return by Scott set the Lions up in Cardinal territory. However, the Cardinals stiffened to force Southeastern to punt.
 
After Southeastern forced another three-and-out to end the first quarter, the Lions embarked on another methodical drive to pad the lead. A Bennett 12-yard touchdown run capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive that took over five minutes off the clock. His second score of the game gave the Lions a 21-0 lead with 9:50 left in the opening half.
 
Incarnate Word managed their initial first down 21 minutes into the game and moved into Southeastern territory on the ensuing drive. However, Misita forced McCollum to fumble and Muse recovered it to end the UIW scoring threat.
 
UIW would get on the board on its final drive of the first half after a short punt gave the Cardinals the ball deep in Lion territory. On the first play of the drive, the Cardinals used a wide receiver pass by freshman Kody Edwards to junior Cole Wick from 24 yards out to cut the SLU advantage to 21-7 with 1:40 remaining in the first half.
 
Southeastern answered that drive with a scoring drive of its own to close the half. A 44-yard kickoff return by junior Xavier Roberson set the Lions up near midfield with 1:29 left on the clock. Bennett marched SLU down the field and found Smiley from four yards out to send the Lions into the break with a 28-7 lead after a first half that saw team outgain UIW, 296-95.
 
After forcing the Cardinals to punt on their first drive of the second half, Southeastern added to its lead on their first drive. Sutton accounted for 42 yards of SLU’s 68 yards on a 10-play drive. Sutton raced around left end from eight yards out to cap the drive and put the Lions up, 35-7 with 9:21 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Southeastern forced another three and out for UIW before showing its quick strike ability. Bennett found Scott on throws of 33 and 29 yards with the final throw resulting in a touchdown and a 42-7 lead with 7:16 left in the third quarter.
 
The Lions made another quick stop and a 12-yard punt by Ramon Coto set up the Lions with a short field. Barnett capped a quick, three-play 20-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to push the SLU lead to 49-7 with 4:19 left in the third quarter.
 
UIW could not move the ball on their ensuing drive and a 35-yard punt return by sophomore Jarrell Bennett set up the Lions at the Cardinal 36-yard line. Bethea capped the drive on the final play of the third quarter, scoring from 10 yards out with seven seconds left in the period.
 
Southeastern closed out the scoring in the fourth quarter. Hayes raced in from 19 yards out to give the Lions a 63-7 lead with 6:10 remaining.
 
Following Saturday’s contest, Southeastern will return home to host Northwestern State at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 in Strawberry Stadium. The game will be televised on the Southland Television Network.
  
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Abilene Christian 59, Houston Baptist 14
HOUSTON, Texas – Abilene Christian running back Herschel Sims had his first 100-yard rushing game as a Wildcat as he and a potent passing attack led the Wildcats to a 59-14 win against Houston Baptist in a Southland Conference game at Husky Stadium.
  
The Wildcats have now won three straight to run their record to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in league play, while HBU falls to 1-3 and 0-1. ACU will return to Shotwell Stadium next weekend for a conference game against Lamar. Kickoff between the Wildcats and Cardinals is set for 6 p.m.
  
Sims — who ran for 96 yards on 20 carries against Troy before leaving the game with a concussion and then missed last week’s game against Incarnate Word — ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries to lead an ACU offense that finished the game with 659 yards. He scored on touchdown runs of 3, 2 and 4 yards and had a long run of 62 yards on one of those touchdown drives.
  
ACU sophomore quarterback Parker McKenzie had another spectacular night, completing 21 of 31 passes for 385 yards and four touchdowns, his fourth game with at least 300 yards passing on the season. McKenzie has now thrown for 1,594 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, both of which lead the Southland Conference. He hit nine different receivers — including himself for a 14-yard gain on a ball batted back toward him — in the game as he led the Wildcats to their first 50-point game of the season.
  
McKenzie’s main target Saturday night was junior Cade Stone, who recorded the first 100-yard receiving game of his career with seven catches for 121 yards and a pair of scores in the game.
  
ACU gave up a 46-yard touchdown pass on HBU’s second offensive play of the night, but then the Wildcats reeled off 31 straight points to take a 31-7 lead midway through the second quarter. McKenzie hit Cedric Gilbert with a 9-yard touchdown pass with 5:26 left in the first quarter to give ACU a 10-7 lead and then Sims scored each of ACU’s next two touchdowns before McKenzie hit Stone with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 6:15 left in the half to make it 31-7.
  
After Houston Baptist scored on a 77-yard strike from Ka’Darius Baker to Darian Lazard to make it 31-14 with 4:48 left in the half, the Wildcats responded with a four-play, 73-yard drive that was capped by a 4-yard touchdown run from Sims to make it 38-14 at halftime. The key play in the drive was a 59-yard completion from McKenzie to Jonathan Epps to move the ball down to the HBU 14-yard line.
  
ACU then salted the game away on the first two plays of the third quarter.
  
After freshman linebacker Sam Denmark recovered a fumble by Taylor Thompson on the opening kickoff, McKenzie hit Stone on the ensuing play for a 19-yard touchdown just 16 seconds into the half to push the lead to 45-14. McKenzie finished his night with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Gilbert in the fourth quarter, and Randy Gober picked up his second rushing touchdown of the season with 5:30 to play to cap the scoring.
   
While ACU was rolling up 659 yards of total offense, the Wildcat defense was busy limiting the Huskies to just 300 yards on 58 plays. Of those 300 yards, 187 of them came on four pass plays, giving the Huskies just 113 yards of total offense on their other 54 plays.
   
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Sam Houston State 42, Lamar 10
BEAUMONT, Texas – With an offense led by running back Jalen Overstreet and quarterback Jared Johnson and a defense that limited the Southland’s scoring and total offense leader to a touchdown and a field goal, Sam Houston got back on the winning track by defeating Lamar 42-10.
  
The contest in Beaumont at Humphrey Provost Stadium was the Southland Conference opener for both teams. The Bearkats now stand 2-3 while the Cardinals dropped to 3-2.
  
University of Texas transfer Jalen Overstreet rushed for 130 yards on seven carries including a 50-yard fourth quarter touchdown. Johnson passed for 164 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 78 more.
  
The Cardinals came into the game averaging 42.3 points and 497.5 yards per game. The Kats forced seven Lamar fumbles, recovering three. P. J. Hall led the defense with eight stops including a quarterback sack. Mikell Everitt added seven tackles and intercepted a Cardinal pass.
  
Yedidiah Louis and Derreck Edwards led the Kat receivers. Louis caught five passes for 43 yards. Edwards had four receptions for 52 yards.
  
Sam Houston totaled 441 yards with 288 on the ground and 173 in the air. Lamar ended with 345 total yards.
  
The Bearkats struck quickly, driving 55 yards in six plays after a 22-yard interception return by Mikel Everett a minute and a half into the contest.
  
Johnson passed for 27 yards to Derreck Edwards to the Lamar 16 and two plays later to Yedidiah Louis at the Cardinal two. Keshawn Hill scored from the two to put Sam Houston up 7-0 with 12:23 to play in the first.
  
Luc Swimberghe kicked a 28-yard field goal four-and-a-half minutes later to put the Kats up 10-0. Johnson rushed five times for 27 yards on the eight-play, 38-yard scoring drive.
  
A 31-yard run by Carl Harris to the Sam Houston 13 gave the Cardinals their first scoring opportunity. But Jacobi Hunter tackled quarterback Caleb Berry for a two-yard loss and kicker Josh Davis hit the right upright on a 31-yard field goal attempt with 4:33 left in the opening period.
  
Swimberghe added a 33-yard field goal to up the score to 13-0 with 2:29 to play in the first following an eight-play, 64-yard drive. A 23-yard run by Jalen Overstreet to the Lamar 16 was the key play in the drive.
  
Linebacker Myke Chatman ended another Cardinal scoring threat with a fumble recovery at the Bearkat 11-yard line four minutes into the second quarter. Facing a fourth down and two after driving 62 yards to the SHSU 20, Hall had the ball knocked from his hands by A. J. Davis.
  
Davis put Lamar on the scoreboard with a 33-yard field goal 2:59 before intermission after a seven-yard, 31-yard drive fueled by a pair of 15-yard interference calls against Sam Houston.
  
Sam Houston responded with a six-play, 77-yard scoring drive which ended with a six-yard Donavan Williams touchdown run 0:50 before halftime. A 46-yard scamper by Jalen Overstreet to the Lamar 11 was the big play of the drive. The extra point attempt was blocked,, sending the two teams to the locker room with Sam Houston owning a 19-3 lead.
  
Lamar scored on its second possession of the second half as Berry hit Mark Roberts for a 32-yard scoring at the 9:05 mark in the third quarter. The 57-yard scoring drive took only four plays as the Cardinals cut the Bearkats’ margin to 19-10.
  
Sam Houston added a 22-yard field goal with 9:03 left in the game after Jacobi Hunter forced a fumble.
  
Johnson and the Kat offense answered with a nine-play, 62-yard scoring drive with Gerald Thomas scoring on a 22-yard pass with 6:24 left in the period. Johnson completed six of seven passes on the drive as Sam Houston extended its lead to 26-10.
  
Lamar opened the fourth quarter with an 80-yard drive from its own two to the Kat 18 where P. J. Hall blocked a 35-yard Lamar field goal attempt.
  
Overstreet broke through the middle of the Cardinal defensive line for a 50-yard scoring run to give Sam Houston a 32-10 lead with 10:57.
  
Fumble recoveries set up two late Bearkat scores as Swimberghe added a 22-yard field goal with 9:03 remaining and Donavan Williams tallied on a one-yard rush with 4:50 to play.
  
Sam Houston will have an open date next weekend before playing host to McNeese State for homecoming Saturday, October 11 at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
   
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No. 5/4 McNeese State 61, Arkansas Tech 7
 LAKE CHARLES, La. – A week off didn’t seem to affect the McNeese Cowboys and its return to the gridiron as the fourth-ranked Pokes thrashed Arkansas Tech 61-7 behind a strong balanced offensive attack and a dominating defense.
  
The win moved the Cowboys to 2-1 on the season as they now prepare to open Southland Conference play against Nicholls next Saturday in Cowboy Stadium.
  
McNeese held the Wonder Boys to 93 total offensive yards for the game and didn’t allow the visitors to get inside Cowboys’ territory until a Derrick Milton fumble at his team’s own 36-yard line on the first play of the third quarter.
  
In fact, Arkansas Tech never made it to its own 30-yard line in eight first half possessions. For the game, McNeese’s defense forced ATU into nine three-and-outs, 11 punts, a fumble and an interception. And for the first time in school history, the Cowboys scored a defensive touchdown for the third consecutive game when freshman linebacker grabbed a fumble out of the air and strolled in from 17-yards out to put McNeese up 21-0 with 14:06 to play in the second quarter.
  
Goins wasn’t the only true freshman to put his stamp on the game.
  
Ryan Ross led the Cowboys with 66 yards on 17 carries and scored three touchdowns on the game. Ross was slated to redshirt for the season but had it pulled earlier in the week after learning Nate Holmes will miss a significant amount of time after getting injured against Prairie View two weeks ago.
  
The Cowboys entered the game ranked No. 1 in the Southland Conference and seventh in the FCS in rushing yards per game with a 278.5 average. They didn’t reach that mark on Saturday night but still rolled up 228 yards and scored five rushing touchdowns.
  
Kelvin Bennette added 65 yards on 10 carries. He had 68 yards rushing in the first half while his only carry in the second half brought the total down three yards.
  
Quarterback Daniel Sams added 54 yards on eight carries for a 6.8 per carry average. He also completed 8 of 11 passes for 82 yards and threw his first touchdown as a McNeese Cowboy when he hit David Bush from 11 yards out for the first score of the game to make it 7-0 with 5:09 left in the first quarter.
  
McNeese played all five quarterbacks that were dressed out in the brand new home blue uniforms. Tyler Bolfing completed 4 of 5 passes for 85 yards and a score; Will Briscoe hit 4 of 8 targets for 83 yards; Grant Ashcraft misfired on his only attempt; and Joe Lissard handed the ball off to wind down the last couple of minutes of the game.
  
The Cowboys rolled up 478 total offensive yards and averaged 6.5 yards per play. The quarterbacks combined to go 16 of 25 for 250 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. The team also made good on 8 of 13 of its third downs for 62 percent, an area it struggled with in the first two games after having converted on just 31 percent.
  
Derrick Milton, who rushed the ball seven times for 40 yards and his first quarter score with 1:08 to play was his fifth rushing touchdown of the season and put the Cowboys up 14-0.
  
After Goins’ fumble recovery that resulted in a stunning hit by Aaron Sam, Dylan Long scored from one yard out to make it 28-0 with 11:37 to play in the first half. Ross followed with his first td of the game from four yards out to increase the lead to 35-0 at the 6:01 mark of the second quarter then Alex Kjellsten hit his first of two field goals with a 30 yarder with 36 seconds to play as the Cowboys went into the half with a 38-0 lead.
  
ATU got on the board early in the second half after Milton’s fumble resulted in a 20 yard pass from Curt Ceralde to Devin Patterson with 13:15 to play in the third.
  
Kjellsten then hit a 25 yard field goal and Kahlil Thomas took a quick pass from Bolfing and scampered 21 yards for the score to make it 48-7 at the end of the third quarter.
  
Ross capped the scoring with touchdown runs of six and 28 yards in the fourth quarter.

 

 

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