Six turnovers plagued Ouachita’s football team Saturday afternoon as the Tigers fell to Arkansas Tech 38-28 at Buerkle Field.
Four turnovers led to four scores as the Tigers couldn’t recover from a sluggish start to the second half in dropping their fifth straight loss to the Wonder Boys.
Arkansas Tech (5-3 overall, 3-3 GSC) had the ball twice in Ouachita territory and couldn’t slip past the Tigers defense, but Lance Parker’s pass on Ouachita’s third offensive possession was intercepted by Joe Bryant, setting up the Wonder Boys’ first score.
It only took Arkansas Tech two plays to grab a 7-0 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the first quarter. R.J. Vanhook carried the ball for 26 to the Ouachita 11 and then Justin Ray connected with Tracey Stiger for an 11-yard touchdown pass.
On first-and-10, the snap went over Parker’s head and was recovered by Arkansas Tech at the Tigers’ 26. It took the Wonder Boys three plays as Ray found Stiger for his second score, giving Arkansas Tech a 14-0 lead with 13:17 left in the first half.
Ouachita (4-4, 2-4) responded on its next drive by going 57-yards in eight plays with Willie Hopson, who finished with 21 touches for 137 yards, scoring a 6-yard touchdown on fourth-and-1 at the Wonder Boys 6, cutting the Arkansas Tech lead to 14-7 with 9:35 remaining in the second quarter.
The Tigers forced their first turnover of the game with 4:18 remaining in the first half as Cliff Gardner picked off Ray’s pass at the 46.
The turnover sparked the tying score for the Tigers as Ouachita went 54 yards in seven plays as Parker connected with Pruitt for a 19-yard score with 1:05 left in the second quarter.
It didn’t take long for Arkansas Tech to grab a 21-14 lead. Ray hit Stiger on the left side and the junior sprinted 61-yards down the left sideline for the score just 48 seconds into the third quarter.
Tony Taylor fumbled the ball on a Wonder Boys punt and the ball was recovered by Marcus Arnold at the Tigers’ 41. There was a flag on the play as Taylor was drilled before catching the ball. The officials waved the flag and Arkansas Tech recovered, giving the Wonder Boys good field position.
Arkansas Tech went 41-yards in a minute and a half as Ray connected with Chris Gunter for an 8-yard score, pushing the lead to 28-14 with 23 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Despite a very bad break on the muffed punt, Ouachita answered quickly by going 55 yards in three plays and covering 23 seconds as Hopson scored on a 10-yard run off the right tackle, cutting the deficit to 28-21 with 14:55 remaining.
Ray connected with Gunter to complete an 8-play, 89-yard drive to give the Wonder Boys a 35-21 lead with 12:06 left in the fourth quarter.
Arkansas Tech extended the lead to 38-21 with 4:24 remaining after a 21-yard field goal by Michael Podobnik.
Terrell Alex scored on a 1-yard run with 35 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough.
Parker was 20-of-35 passing for 217 yards, a touchdown and a pair of interceptions. Pruitt had eight catches for 108 yards to lead four receivers.
Gardner recorded 15 tackles, while Channing Hill added 12 for the Tigers.
