ARKADELPHIA -- With the game clock quickly running down and the ball on the Henderson State 1, Ouachita took their second-straight timeout after no gain on second-and-goal with 37 seconds left in the game.
Brockton Brown took a direct snap, running the ball in to give the No. 5 Tigers (11-0) their third-straight Great American Conference title and fourth-straight win of the Southern Bancorp Battle of the Ravine in front of 8,891. The win gave the Tigers their first series lead since 2009.
"It felt great," OBU head coach Todd Knight, noting the similarities to the 2011 Battle of the Ravine that HSU won 41-36. "When the ball got down there, I knew this time we were going to get it in, especially with the time, and it just just felt great to be on that same goal line. It's a new turf field, thanks to Tom and Tony Thrash, but it was great to put it in there."
The Tigers struggled early as No. 20 Henderson State (9-2) pushed out to a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter, both touchdowns coming off 1-yard runs by Logan Moragne.
"We came out slow," said senior Brockton Brown. "I mean, they outplayed us in the first half, and I think that touchdown right before the half gave us the momentum. We went back in the locker room, and it was kind of quiet. I mean, you could tell the momentum was down, even though we just scored.
"Me and some other guys on the o-line just kind of walked around said, 'Hey man, it's not a funeral, you know. Let's get up; let's get excited. I mean, we've got a chance now. We get the ball coming out second half, 7-14. Let's go out, score, get some momentum under us.' And I think that second half, we just did what championship teams do. We bumped shoulders, and we went and won a big game in a tough situation."
The Tigers pulled within 14-7 as Allie Freeman reeled in a 25-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Brayden Brazeal with 32 seconds left in the half with freshman Gabe Goodman making his first of three PATs on the day. The TD reception pushed the senior receiver past East Central's David Moore, who had 2,776 all-time receiving yards, ending the day with 2,850 career receiving yards.
Brazeal then ran the ball in from the 6 just under five minutes into the second half to cap a nine-play, 55 yard drive that knotted the score. Goodman, who is no stranger to pressure with multiple Class 4A state title games under his belt, then kicked a 36-yard field goal that brought the game's longest drive (13 plays, 71 yards, 6:13) to an end and, with 11:40 left in the game, gave the Tigers their first lead of the game.
"It's pretty awesome," Goodman said of the deciding kick. "I mean, I've been growing up going to the Battle of the Ravine, but, I mean, in the moment, it's kind of just like another field goal. And I mean, now it feels pretty good because I mean, we won. We're 11-0, conference champs, pretty great, but I mean, it's really no different than just winning another game."
Goodman admitted that the pressure from the state title games prepared him for his collegiate career, but he said there is more pressure in each game for him than there ever was in high school.
"I kind of feel like every college game is a little bit more just because it's at the next level, and you don't know what's going to happen," he explained. "And so like, definitely this one, I mean, growing up here, going to the Battle of the Ravine, it's crazy. ... This is probably the biggest game I've ever played in. I mean, everything was filled with people. I mean, it's insane. Like I can't even explain how crazy it was to come out here."
Brown's game-winning touchdown, his 22nd of the season, broke the GAC record for rushing touchdowns in a season and left him tied at fourth with former Tiger Kris Oliver with 40 all-time rushing touchdowns.
Knight was not surprised to see the game come down to a single play or a single field goal.
"It always does," he said. "I've been in very few of them as a player or as a coach [where it did not]. I mean, my freshman year, we win on the last play of the game at Henderson in 1982. ... So, pretty crazy."
The Reddies, Tigers, and No. 14 Harding Bisons, who defeated Arkansas Tech for their 10th straight win, await today's decision on the NCAA Division II playoff field. The field is scheduled to be announced at 4 p.m.
;1Q;2Q;3Q;4Q;F
HSU;14;0;0;7;21
OBU;0;7;7;10
First quarter
HSU--Logan Moragne 1 run (Temo Martinez kick), 11:28.
HSU--Moragne 1 run (Martinez kick), 1:29
Second quarter
OBU--Allie Freeman 25 pass from Brayden Brazeal (Gabe Goodman kick), 0:32
Third quarter
OBU--Brazeal 6 run (Goodman kick), 10:02
Fourth quarter
OBU--Goodman 36 field goal, 11:40
HSU--Querale Hall 10 run (Martinez kick), 1:44
OBU--Brockton Brown 1 run (Goodman kick), 0:35
;HSU;OBU
First downs;14;21
Total yards;306;392
Rushes-yards;28-117;47-169
Passing;189;223
Comp-Att-Int;19-12-1;26-18-1
Punts-yards;5-189;4-170
Fumbles-lost;2-0;3-1
Penalties-yards;4-31;9;85
Time of possession;25:53;34:07
Individual statistics
Rushing -- Henderson State, Querale Hall 14-76, Logan Moragne 9-38, L'liott Curry 1-9, Richard Stammetti 4-14. Ouachita Baptist, Brockton Brown 16-63, Shun'cee Thomas 14-46, Brayden Brazeal 11-33, TJ Cole 6-27.
Passing -- Henderson State, Stammetti 12-19-1-189. Ouachita Baptist, Brazeal 18-25-1-223, Grant Allen 0-1-0-0.
Receiving -- Curry 6-83, Ayden Shurley 3-25, Chase Lodree 1-52, Moragne 1-16, Doug Johnson 1-13. Ouachita Baptist, Allie Freeman 7-74, Hayden Waller 4-33, Justin Dean 2-47, Cole 2-38, Keemontrae McKnight 2-25, Thomas 1-6.
Sports on 11/17/2019