19 Oct 2022 Bears roll past Owls, move to 2-0

KENNESAW, Ga. — Make it 2-0 in ASUN Conference play for the University of Central Arkansas Bears.

The Bears rolled past the preseason favorite Kennesaw State Owls 51-24 on Saturday afternoon at Fifth Third Bank Stadium behind a dominating defensive effort and a multi-faceted offensive approach. UCA finished with season highs in points (51) and total offensive yards (543), and it was a combined effort of numerous individuals.

Junior quarterback Will McElvain completed 22 of 30 passes for 292 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both to junior receiver Christian Richmond, who set the ASUN single-game record with 12 receptions for 156 yards. Sophomore running back Darius Hale ran 23 times for a season-high 170 yards and two touchdowns, his fifth career 100-yard game and third of the season. Junior receiver/punt returner Jarrod Barnes finished with 174 all-purpose yards, including two receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown and three punt returns for another 75 yards.

Sophomore running back Kylin James got in on the passing act with his third career passing touchdown in three attempts, this one going 49 yards to Barnes. UCA finished with 347 passing yards and 196 on the ground.

UCA had now scored 49, 49 and 51 points over the past three games.

“I think Will McElvain is getting comfortable. I think he is understanding what we want in the offense,” said Brown of his junior transfer quarterback. “And today we made an emphasis to get our playmakers the ball. Jarrod Barnes needs to touch the ball a lot. Christian Richmond needs to touch the ball a lot. Obviously, we know what Kylin James and Darius Hale can do. Those guys are responding, I thought our offensive line protected today. We knew their defensive front was good, but they protected well. And obviously they controlled the line of scrimmage in the run game.

“That’s a physical football team because they play a physical style of offense, but I thought we ‘out-physicaled’ them all day on both sides of the ball. “ 

The Owls, who have been to the FCS Playoffs three of the past four years, had won 13 consecutive home games and out-rushed opponents in 16 consecutive games. UCA won that battle 191-186 on Saturday. In fact, KSU has only been out-rushed four times in 86 games in school history for a program that began in 2015. UCA safety TaMuarion Wilson and defensive end David Walker had nine tackles each, with Wilson recording two tackles for loss. Seven others had at least four tackles for the Bears while junior safety Cameron Godrey grabbed his seventh career interception.

“We knew we had a good plan,” said Brown. “And you always feel like you have a good plan when you’re playing a team like this. But you just don’t know how prepared you are because they execute at such a high level and it’s hard to imitate what they do. So, I’m just so proud of our scout team and all the guys back home that gave us this look.

“Defensively, we had to change our whole approach this week, especially coming off a rough week last week. But our guys responded in such a positive way. We just held them down. I think it was one of the most dominating run game performances I’ve ever been a part of considering what they do on offense.”

UCA, coming off a disappointing 52-49 loss to Lindenwood last week, scored four times in the second quarter to remove much of the suspense. McElvain found Richmond with a 5-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring at the 12:51 mark of the first quarter. That duo hooked up again in the opening minute of the second period, with a 17-yard touchdown pass that made it a 14-7 lead. That was the first of three straight scores for the Bears, along with a 43-yard field goal by senior Hayden Ray and a 3-yard rushing touchdown by Hale that made it 24-7.

Both teams added another field goal each before halftime, Ray’s from a season-high 48 yards, as the Bears took a 27-10 lead to the locker room.

KSU (2-4, 1-2) scored midway through the third quarter to get within 27-17 before UCA put the game away with a 2-yard rushing touchdown by James, his 49-yard scoring pass to Barnes and Ray’s third field goal from 23 yards, good for a 44-17 advantage.

After the Owls got a late touchdown, Hale broke up the middle on fourth down and went 40 yards for the final touchdown. 

UCA now takes a 3-4 overall record, but more importantly a 2-0 ASUN mark, into its only open date of the season next Saturday before returning home to host North Alabama on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

“We knew they were good in here, and they’ve proven that,” Brown said. “That’s why they are a consistent playoff team. But man, what a win for our guys. Our guys stayed consistent with the process because you could get really down and frustrated after last week. 

“And the bottom line is, you can have an up-and-down season all you want, but you control what you can control, and that’s the ASUN Conference,” Brown said. “Right now we’ve had two opportunities, and we’ve dominated both games. And that’s just the way it is. I’m not saying that to push my chest out or anything like that. But our guys have handled ASUN play in a dominating fashion, and that’s always encouraging to see.”