In only his second game as a starting quarterback, junior Casey Cooper showed that he is definitely the man for the job, as he helped lead Ouachita (2-0, 2-0 GAC) to a victory over the University of Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils (2-1, 1-1 GAC) by a final score of 38-20.
“A lot of guys played really well and we played hard,” said Head Coach Todd Knight. “We aren’t having a bunch of penalties and we aren’t committing turnovers. Those things are helping us through and helping us get those wins but there are still a lot of things we can get better at and we look forward to another week of football.”
Ouachita got the offense rolling early, scoring a touchdown on their first drive when junior running back Daniel McGee barreled his way into the endzone, giving the Tigers an early 7-0 lead over UAM. That play capped off a 12 play 75 yard drive for the Tigers. The rest of the first quarter was a defensive struggle, as neither team would score again until the beginning of the second quarter.
Monticello immediately scored at the beginning of the second quarter, when quarterback Hunter Leppert rushed into the endzone, subsequently tying the score at 7. The Tigers would answer that score with a field goal of their own very shortly though, as junior kicker Jason Fowler converted on a 30 yard attempt, forcing the score to 10-7.
A mere four minutes after Fowler’s field goal, Monticello would answer with three points of their own, as they drove the field and converted on a 28 yarder, knotting the game at 10 on a seven play 54 yard drive for the Boll Weevils. The Tiger offense was having none of it though, as they again separated themselves from the Boll Weevils on a four yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Chris Rycraw and forcing the score to 17-10 a mere four minutes after the Monticello field goal. That score would hold up going into halftime.
Coming out of the half, the Boll Weevils would receive the ball and drive the field, resulting in another field goal and making the score 17-13. That would mark the last Monticello score for a period of 10 minutes, as the Tigers continued to put points on the board. The first Tiger score in that 10 minute period of the third quarter would come on a touchdown pass from Cooper to freshman Spencer Knight, giving the Tigers a 24-13 lead. Not too long after that score, the Tigers would again drive the field, resulting in a 13 yard touchdown run by Cooper and a 31-13 lead for Ouachita.
Monticello would strike shortly after, scoring their first touchdown since the beginning of the second quarter on a three yard run. This would be their last scoring drive of the game, forcing the score to 31-20. The Tigers would score once more though, on a 30 yard run from Rycraw, resulting in the score of 38-20 that would carry over and become the final score.
The Tigers were led by Cooper, who collected a total of 336 yards in the game, accounting for a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown. Along with his 217 yards through the air, Cooper added 119 on the ground, easily making him the most productive offensive player in the game. Also notable was Rycraw, who collected a total of 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the contest, helping the Tigers prove that they can be just as productive on the ground as they can be through the air. Junior receiver Brett Reece continued to make his presence known as well, collected 105 yards on five catches.
The Tigers collected a total of 521 yards on offense, including 304 rushing yards, which almost matched the number of total yards for Monticello. Ouachita averaged 6.5 yards per play, using the experience and power of their offensive line to pave the way for their rushing attack and to give Cooper time in the pocket.
“Being able to run the football was a concern we had going into this week,” commented Knight. “I thought people stayed on their blocks well and people made big plays and I thought Casey managed our offense so well.”
On defense for the Tigers, senior linebacker Terrence Garrett led the team, collecting a total of 10 tackles, followed by junior linebacker Ricky Brown, who collected seven tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass break ups. The Tigers again won the turnover battle, forcing Monticello to turn the ball over twice, while only turning it over once themselves.
The Tigers have a shortened week to prepare for their next match-up, as they play their only Thursday night game of the 2011 campaign this week against Texas A&M-Commerce. That game will be in Commerce, Texas and will kick off at 7 p.m.
Knight finished by saying, “We are going to have to continue to be a good road team. Commerce is going to be really excited about playing the game and I think they are going to get after us. We have to be very sound and disciplined in practice this week and our guys have to stay focused and locked in and if we can do that we will feel good about going in there and playing our game.”
Picture courtesy of Dr. Wesley Kluck.
