ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist will hit the road for the second week in a row today to face another Great American Conference team of Bison.
The Tigers (6-0) stole a tight 7-3 victory a week ago against the Harding Bisons (4-2) in Searcy. Both teams were ranked in the top 25 in NCAA Division II by the American Football Coaches Association and D2Football.com.
Ouachita moved up to No. 5 this week in the AFCA Top 25 poll and No. 6 on D2Football.com. Both rankings are the highest-ever for the program since the Tigers moved up to Division II in the 1990s.
The Oklahoma Baptist Bison (2-4) will be the home team today in Shawnee, Okla. Ouachita leads, 5-2-1, outscoring the Bison, 195-96. The Tigers have a four-game winning streak against the Bison, dating back to the 1940 season.
Ouachita won, 52-14, at home in Arkadelphia against Oklahoma Baptist a year ago. The 38-point differential was the largest in series history.
The win against Harding gave Ouachita 65 in the decade to surpass the teams of the 1970s for the winningest decade in school history.
Ouachita now boasts the No. 1 defense in Division II, allowing just 9.2 points per contest.
The Bison won their first two games, but are now stuck in a four-game losing streak. Oklahoma Baptist fell, 56-21, a week ago against Henderson State (3-3) in Arkadelphia.
Defensive back Keandre Evans has led the secondary to a league-leading 11 interceptions and 28 pass breakups so far this season. The front seven features linebackers Airric Parker and Jon Johnson and defensive linemen Dameyun McDonald and Ernest Reed.
Ouachita's offense has outscored opponents, 175-55, with the bulk of the points coming in the first half. The Tigers have outscored opponents, 103-20, in the first half and, 42-22, in the final quarter.
They rank 12th in the nation with 254 rushing yards per game. Running back Kris Oliver leads the potent rushing attack with 456 yards and is second on the team with six rushing touchdowns.
Brockton Brown leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns. Shun'cee Thomas is behind Oliver in yards at 390.
Redshirt freshman Brayden Brazeal has completed 61 percent of his passes this season for 625 yards. He has only thrown one touchdown, but he has yet to throw an interception. Allie Freeman leads the receiving corps with 27 receptions for 299 yards.
The Tigers have also had the upper hand in special teams. Cole Antley has connected on 7 of 8 field goals this year with a season-best of 45 yards. Antley averages 63.4 yards per kickoff with 10 touchbacks.
Punter Jake Ford is averaging 41.8 yards per punt. The former preferred walk-on at Oregon has had three punts go at least 50 yards and a dozen kicks have been downed inside the 20-yard line.
A win for Oklahoma Baptist would give the Bison their most wins in a season since moving to Division II. A win for Ouachita would guarantee the Tigers an 11th consecutive winning season.
Sports on 10/13/2018