ADA, Okla. -- Henderson State pulled away from East Central (Okla.) by scoring 17 straight points in the second half, claiming a 44-27 Great American Conference victory Saturday night at Norris Field.
After Spencer Bond cut the deficit to 27-20 with a 6-yard pass to David Moore midway through the third quarter, Jaquan Cole responded with an 11-yard touchdown run for Henderson (4-0, 3-0). Houston Ray extended the lead to 37-20 with a 40-yard field goal two minutes into the fourth, and Kevin Rodgers iced it with his second touchdown pass to Darius Davis, this time 61 yards for a 44-20 lead.
The Reddies never trailed after a 10-0 first quarter that included a Rodney Bryson 52-yard touchdown run, but the Tigers (2-2, 2-2) battled back to tie it on Bond's 2-yard run with 11:06 left in the first half. Henderson responded with a Rodgers 15-yard TD toss to Davis and a 1-yard plunge by Ryan McDonald.
David Massuere booted a 38-yard field goal as time expired, his second make of the game, as time expired in the first half, pulling East Central within 24-13. Ray was also good on a pair of field goals in the contest.
Rodgers completed 30 of 45 for 309 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, finding Joseph Snapp 10 times for 119 yards and Davis four for 83. Cole led the Reddies on the ground with 81 yards on 17 carries, Bryson gaining 66 yards on only six attempts.
Henderson welcomes Northwestern Oklahoma State to Carpenter-Haygood Stadium at 3 p.m. Saturday.
OBU 35, SE Oklahoma 29
DURANT, Okla. -- Brandon Marks scored on a 14-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds left, lifting Ouachita Baptist to a 35-29 Great American Conference victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State Saturday night at Paul Laird Field.
With OBU (3-0, 3-0) leading 21-16 at halftime, the lead changed hands four times in the second half, the last time on Marks' heroics. Southeastern Oklahoma (1-3, 1-3) claimed its first lead on Ryan Polite's 20-yard pass to Tyler Sweet on its opening drive of the half, but the Tigers had the lead right back on Kiehl Frazier's 14-yard pass to Jalen Jones with 1:01 left in the third.
The Savage Storm put themselves in position to win with Ronnie Green's 9-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds left in the game, taking a 29-28 after the two-point conversion failed.
OBU built a 14-3 first-half lead on Frazier's 13-yard TD toss to Drew White and Glen Rose product Steven Kehner's 1-yard plunge, but Southeastern Oklahoma battled back to 14-13 on Polite's 18-yard pass to Kaymon Farmer with 11 seconds left in the first quarter and Jake Walters' 38-yard field goal.
Frazier then threw a 39-yard touchdown to Ke'Vontae Pope with 1:03 left in the first half, moving up 21-13. Walters booted a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, cutting the deficit to five.
Kehner led the Tigers on the ground with 20 carries for 128 yards, Marks adding 83 on 13 attempts. Frazier completed 23 of 30 for 302 yards and three TDs, finding White eight times for 121 yards and Pope five for 85.
Green led the Savage Storm's ground game with 104 yards on 23 carries. Polite was 20 of 35 for 330 yards, two scores and one interception, hitting Anthony Foster five times for 131 yards.
OBU plays Southwestern Oklahoma State for homecoming at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cliff Harris Stadium.
Harding 58,
S. Nazarene 0
BETHANY, Okla. -- Harding began the night by recording a safety, setting the defensive tone for a 58-0 shutout of Southern Nazarene for the Bisons' 300th program victory Saturday night.
Harding (3-0, 3-0 Great American Conference) limited the Crimson Storm to only 42 yards of offense, including only 4 on the ground. Harding has held its last four opponents to 10 points or less.
On offense, Alapeti Magalei and Zach Shelley each rushed for a pair of touchdowns. Ahmad Scott, Eric Simmons, Eric Kelly and Matthew Tenison each found the end zone once, 13 Bisons getting at least one carry.
Romo Westbrook paced Harding with 81 yards on 16 carries. The Bisons rolled up 462 yard on the ground.
UAM 33,
SW Oklahoma 14
MONTICELLO -- Arkansas-Monticello finally avoided heartbreak while picking up its first win of the season, beating Great American Conference foe Southwestern Oklahoma State 33-14 Saturday night at Convoy Leslie-Cotton Boll Stadium.
UAM (1-3, 1-3) forced five turnovers, one of which was a Mike Early interception return for a score that sparked a 21-0 decisive second quarter. Early had another interception, and the Boll Weevils' final takeaway was a blocked punt in the fourth quarter that set up a 1-yard Ivory Washington touchdown run.
Rod Smith led UAM's offense by rushing 21 times for 131 yards and two touchdowns. Karl Hodge led the Bulldogs (2-2, 2-2) with 99 yards and a touchdown on 19 rushes.
C. Arkansas 52,
Nicholls St. 18
CONWAY (AP) -- Ryan Howard completed 15 of 19 pass attempts for 114 yards and two touchdowns to lead Central Arkansas to a 52-18 win over Nicholls to open Southland Conference play on Saturday.
Taylor Reed, who played in his first game since leaving the Montana State game on Sept. 13 with concussion symptoms, was 7-of-9 passing for 98 yards for UCA.
Kalen Henderson scored in the first quarter after a 71-yard drive to put Nicholls within one, 7-6. The Colonels only crossed midfield twice after that.
UCA (2-3, 1-0) amassed 487 total yards while holding Nicholls (0-5, 0-1) to 240. Nicholls scored in the third when Joel Dullary intercepted a pass and ran it in from the 22 to close the gap to 24-12. UCA answered quickly as Jatavious Wilson returned the ensuing kickoff 78 yards to the 16. Three plays later Howard passed to Courtney Whitehead for a 31-12 lead.
Jackson St. 33,
Ark.-Pine Bluff 30, OT
PINE BLUFF (AP) -- LaMontiez Ivy threw a 61-yard touchdown pass and ran in the winning 15-yarder in overtime to lift Jackson State to a 33-30 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday night.
Ivy was sacked twice but completed 16 of 20 passes for 172 yards, including the 61-yard TD throw to Dan Williams in the first quarter, and added 85 yards rushing on nine carries for Jackson State (3-2, 1-1).
Trailing most of the game, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (1-3, 0-2) forced overtime with a 21-yard field goal by Tyler Strickland that tied it at 27 in the fourth quarter.
The Golden Lions got the ball first in overtime and Strickland chipped in another 21-yarder.
Jackson State then took its turn, with Ivy finding Rakeem Sims for a 10-yard gain and keeping the ball on the next snap, running in for the win.
McNeese St. 61,
Arkansas Tech 7
LAKE CHARLES, La. -- Daniel Sams hit David Bush on an 11-yard strike to open the scoring and McNeese State went on to dominate Division II Arkansas Tech 61-7 on Saturday night.
It was a night to show off McNeese State's deep bench.
Five McNeese quarterbacks threw to nine receivers for 250 yards. Seven running backs ran for 228 yards and five touchdowns.
The McNeese defense swarmed the Wonder Boys, limiting them to 93 total yards. Arkansas Tech had 70 passing yards, but finished with only 23 yards rushing on 31 attempts.
McNeese (2-1) sacked Tech's quarterback four times.
Tech (2-1) did not get past its own 40 until A.J. Harris recovered a fumble on the Cowboy 36 early in the third quarter. Three plays later Curt Ceralde passed to Devin Patterson from the 20 for the Wonder Boys lone score.
Sports on 09/29/2014