ARKADELPHIA -- Ouachita Baptist will welcome Southwestern Oklahoma State to Cliff Harris Stadium tonight at 6 p.m. for the Paul Sharp Cup.
Gates will open at 4 p.m. The game will be streamed live on https://obutigers.com.
Ouachita (1-0) is coming off of a 29-21 road victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State (1-0) on Aug. 30. A steady balance of running and passing the ball led to 449 yards of total offense.
Senior running back Kris Oliver, of Arkadelphia, led the Great American Conference in rushing last week with 106 net yards and two scores. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brayden Brazeal, England, picked up his first collegiate win after completing 70 percent of his passes for 220 yards. Allie Freeman, of Little Rock, proved to be a valuable target for the young quarterback, catching 10 passes for 109 yards.
The trio, plus a host of other playmakers for the Tigers, insured that Ouachita started the season with a victory for the 12th consecutive season. The Tigers will have two items to check off their list. With a win, Ouachita will be able to boast a 2-0 record for the ninth time in 10 years and the team will hoist the Paul Sharp Cup for a third consecutive season.
Ouachita and Southwestern have met on 14 different occasions, leading back to the 1988 season. Over that span, Ouachita is 10-4 against the Bulldogs (1-0). The Tigers are a perfect 6-0 at home against Southwestern and Ouachita is 6-1 since the start of the GAC era in 2011.
Southwestern is coming off of a Week 1 shootout against Arkansas-Monticello (0-1). Casey Freeman threw for 416 yards and seven touchdowns in the 49-35 win. The seven scores through the air was the most by any quarterback at any level of college football. He also earned GAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Bulldogs' win on Aug. 30 gave head coach Chet Pobolish his first ever college win as a head coach. Pobolish has coached college football for 17 years and was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Missouri Western University.
The Tigers' secondary will have their hands full as eight different wide receivers caught a pass for the Bulldogs in their season-opening victory. Jared Rayburn was the top target as he hauled in four receptions for 136 yards and two scores.
Ouachita defensive back Keandre Evans, of Junction City, was the leading tackler on the defense with 11 stops against Northwestern. The junior also had two pass breakups including a crucial breakup on fourth goal. Hayden Lassiter, of Warren, will also patrol the secondary for the Tigers as the junior had a pair of pass breakups, as well.
This will be the second year in a row in which both schools enter the game with a 1-0 record.
In last season's matchup between the two squads, Ouachita and Southwestern were tied at 10-10 early in the third quarter. Four Ouachita touchdowns later and the Tigers walked out of Weatherford, Okla., with a 38-10 victory.
Senior Drew Harris, of Benton, and graduated quarterback Austin Warford led the offense last season with four touchdowns between the two players. The Tigers' defense also stepped up last year as the Bulldogs went just 5-for-21 on third and fourth down. It was one of the few games in which the Tigers offense did not have more total yards or win the time of possession battle.
Sports on 09/08/2018