28 Sep 2022 UCA ground game struggled last week, returns home Saturday

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — The University of Central Arkansas’ vaunted running game was stymied Saturday afternoon in a 35-27 loss to the Southeast Missouri Redhawks in non-conference action at Houck Stadium. UCA returns home for the first time since Sept. 1 on Saturday, Oct. 1, hosting the Austin Peay Governors in the ASUN opener. Kickoff is 4 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.  

At the game on Sept. 24, the Bears (1-3) were held to just 16 rushing yards and one touchdown, a 1-yard plunge by sophomore Darius Hale that brought the Bears within 35-27 with 8:41 remaining. But the Redhawks(3-1) held off the Bears for their first victory in the series in the past five matchups. SEMO finished with 457 yards of total offense, including 205 on the ground. UCA totaled 380 yards.

The Bears threw for 364 yards, with junior transfer Will McElvain completing 19 of 30 passes for a season-high 284 yards, but no touchdowns. Hale, the reigning ASUN Conference Freshman of the Year, had 12 carries for just 24 yards against the Redhawks’ defense.

“We’re not as good an offense when we can’t get our running game going,” said a frustrated UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “I thought they did a good job bottling us up on the inside and making us bounce (outside) to some of their playmakers. We just couldn’t get anything going, that was the bottom line. The passing game looked good at times, and we had a couple of big plays, but when you’re not able to run the ball consistently, that’s going to hurt your offense.”

The Bears entered the game averaging 143 yards rushing on the season and had 159 in last Saturday’s win at Idaho State.

The Bears and Redhawks scored in about every way possible in the first half, with SEMO grabbing a 28-17 lead at the break.

The Redhawks struck first, scoring on a fumble return that was picked up and carried to the end zone by Bryce Norman, eerily similar to UCA’s scoop and score last week at Idaho State. UCA quarterback Will McElvain was sacked at the UCA 17 and fumbled, with Norman taking it the final three yards for the early 7-0 lead.

The Bears tied the game on a nifty 80-yard halfback pass from sophomore running back Kylin James to a wide-open junior receiver Jarrod Barnes in the opening minute of the second quarter. It was UCA’s first play after SEMO’s D.C. Pippen misfired on a 35-yard field goal attempt.  UCA then took the lead when sophomore cornerback T.D. Williams picked up a fumble and sprinted 85 yards to the end zone to make it 14-7 with 8:33 left in the half.

But the Redhawks answered just as quickly when DeLaurant hit Ryan Flournoy with a 62-yard touchdown pass just 23 seconds later. SEMO pushed the lead to 21-14 with a 14-yard scoring pass from DeLaurent to Johnny King at the 4:01 mark. UCA drove deep into SEMO territory but had to settle for a 28-yard field goal from senior Hayden Ray that closed the gap to 21-17 with 1:29 to play.

SEMO’s Dalyn McDonald fielded the ensuing kickoff at the 3 and went the distance to give the Redhawks a 28-17 advantage with just 1:15 left in the half. With two timeouts remaining, the Bears marched deep intoRedhawks’ territory but Ray’s 34-yard field goal attempt as time expired hit the left upright.

SEMO finished the first half with 313 yards of total offense compared to 231 for the Bears. McElvain was 10 of 14 for 150 yards, but the Bears were held to just 1 rushing yard on 13 attempts. 

The Bears cut their deficit to 28-20 with a 38-yard field goal by Ray five minutes into the second half but the Redhawks retaliated with a 12-play, 61-yard scoring drive that ended in an 11-yard scoring run by DeLaurent, good for a 35-20 lead with 10:59 remaining. UCA got it back to a one-score game with a six-play, 76-yard drive, capped by Hale’s 1-yard touchdown run with 8:41 remaining. But the Bears were forced to punt on their final possession with 2:39 remaining and SEMO ran out the clock.

“We have to look our personnel, we have to look at our scheme a little bit, maybe be a little more creative in what we’re doing,” said Brown. “When you give up a sack scoop and score on offense and you give up a kickoff return, you usually don’t deserve to win a football game. So, for us to be in this game late, is pretty impressive.

“I just told our guys, and this sounds crazy for a 1-3 football team, I really don’t feel like we’re a bad football team. We just haven’t been able to put it all together. We played a difficult first four games, and obviously haven’t come out on the front end of three of them.  We feel like we have a lot to improve on, and we’ve got no choice but to keep improving.”

James caught six passes for 99 yards, while Barnes had three receptions for 113 yards.

Defensively, sophomore safety Tamuarion Wilson had a career-high 13 tackles, while transfer defensive end David Walker had nine. Junior defensive end Logan Jessup had a sack and a forced fumble.