Special Teams and defense came up with big plays as the Ouachita Baptist University football team rolled past Southern Arkansas, 30-14, Saturday afternoon in a Gulf South Conference game at A.U. Williams Field.
For the second straight season, the Tigers (4-3 overall, 3-3 GSC) knocked off the Muleriders (1-6, 1-4) on homecoming. Last season, Ouachita defeated Southern Arkansas, 38-17.
With the score tied at 14, the Ouachita defense came away with a blocked field goal and three plays later, Lance Parker connected with Julius Pruitt for a 78-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 21-14 advantage with 51 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Again it was the special teams play that came away with two points as a snap on a Muleriders punt went over the head of kicker Zach Massingill and he was forced to kick the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety, giving the Tigers a 23-14 advantage with 14:07 left.
Ouachita’s defense forced a fumble at the Mulerider 18 and Parker connected with Jeremy Young on the very next play for an 18-yard touchdown with 12:17 remaining to give the Tigers a 30-14 lead.
Ouachita finished with 364 total yards, with 230 coming in the air. Parker was 12 of 21 passing with three touchdowns.
Pruitt had five catches for 114 yards to lead all Tiger receivers. Young added 67 yards on three receptions.
KJ Johnson led the Tiger ground game with 96 yards on 26 carries.
Defensively, Terrence Garrett led the Tigers with nine tackles. Desmond Smoot and Blake Burkett added eight.
The Tigers struck first as Parker connected with Young for a 35-yard touchdown, capping a 9-play, 93-yard drive with 7:59 remaining in the opening quarter.
Southern Arkansas took advantage of a Ouachita turnover by going 44 yards in seven plays with Quintin Porter scoring on a 1-yard quarterback keeper with 10:57 left in the second quarter, tying the game at 7.
The Muleriders grabbed their first lead of the game with 2:33 remaining in the first half as Mark Johnson, who had 107 yards on 19 carries, went off right tackle and down the sidelines for a 72-yard score. However, Ouachita answered with an impressive 6-play, 60-yard drive as Parker scored on a 1-yard quarterback keeper to tie the game at 14 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter.
Ryan McCombie was just 7-of-23 in the air for 70 yards, while Quintin Porter was 2-of-4 for 23 yards.
Isaac Marrufo led all Southern Arkansas receivers with five catches for 67 yards.
Clarence Wright had 11 tackles, while Daren Lewis added eight to pace the Mulerider defense.
The Tigers, who matched last season’s win total, will travel 1:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18 to Bolivar, Mo., to take on Southwest Baptist in the final nonconference contest of the season. The game can be heard on the Ouachita Football Network through the following stations: Arkadelphia (KYXK-FM 106.9); Hot Springs (KBHS-AM 1420); Magnolia (KVMA-AM 630); El Dorado (KELD-FM 106.5); Nashville (KNAS-FM 105.5); Mena (KQOR-FM 105.3) or on the web at: mms://rain.obu.edu/tigerathletics/
