DURANT, Okla. -- Ouachita Baptist scored 18 unanswered points against Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday night to earn a 32-16 victory on the road.
Ouachita improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 2014 season. The Tigers are now 12-4 all-time against Southeastern (1-2) when scoring 30 or more points.
The Tiger defense was on the field for 80 plays, but produced four interceptions. The offense ended the game with 383 yards and the bulk coming from the running attack.
Ouachita accumulated 275 yards on the ground Redshirt freshman quarterback Brayden Brazeal led with 136 yards on the ground and a touchdown to go with 108 passing yards. Junior running back Shun'cee Thomas finished second on the team with 115 yards on 16 carries.
Graduated quarterback Austin Warford gained 316 yards of total offense a year ago against the Savage Storm. Brazeal's 244 yards of total offense set a new career high.
Airric Parker and Dameyun McDonald led the defense in tackles with 12 and 10, respectively. Parker and Keandre Evans led the no-fly zone defense that produced four interceptions and 12 pass breakups.
Special teams also played a key part for the Tigers. Senior kicker Cole Antley connected on his only field goal of the night, a 37-yarder in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Jake Punter also had five punts for an average of 39.4 yards, including three inside the 20-yard line.
The first quarter saw the Tigers surrender the first points of the game to their opponent for the first time this season. Southeastern opened the game with an 11-play, 77-yard drive capped off by Kenneth Burks' one-yard touchdown run.
An interception by Parker tied the game. He scored in the opening frame with an interception at Southeastern's own 3-yard line and ran it in for the score.
Both teams traded punts before the Tigers took possession at their own 42-yard line with 7:10 remaining in the first half. A 38-yard reception by senior receiver Drew Harris on the third play of the drive set the Tigers up at the Southeastern 18-yard line.
Brazeal scampered into the end zone on the next play for his first career rushing touchdown. The score gave Ouachita a 14-7 advantage with 5:47 left in the opening half.
Southeastern answered with an 11-play, 69-yard drive. Ouachita's defense held firm in the red zone to force the Savage Storm into one of their three field goals in the game.
A fumble by Brazeal was recovered by Southeastern, but the Tigers took the ball back with an interception by linebacker Jon Johnson. Southeastern managed two field goals in the third quarter while keeping Ouachita off of the scoreboard.
The final quarter was all Ouachita. The Tigers blanked the Savage Storm in the fourth quarter and scored 18 points.
Brazeal rushed for 43 yards on a 54-yard scoring drive early in the quarter. Running back Brockton Brown capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run.
Brown scored his second touchdown of the night on the next drive. Ouachita went 60 yards on nine plays and took four minutes off the clock for a 29-16 lead.
Linebacker Austin Guymon intercepted Southeastern on the first play of the next series to give the ball back to the Tigers in the red zone. Antley hit a 37-yard field goal with 3:12 remaining int he game to set the final score.
The Savage Storm worked to get something going on offense, but an interception by Evans at the 50-yard line allowed the offense to run out the clock.
Ouachita will be back at home on Saturday to host East Central (1-2) at 6 p.m.
Sports on 09/17/2018