The UCA football team ended the three-game winning streak of the Lamar University Cardinals on Sept. 28 in its first non-conference matchup at home.
“Excited about the win, proud of our team and effort,” coach Nathan Brown said. “I thought we had three great days of practice this week, which translated into tonight.”
Brown anticipated a tough matchup against a building Lamar team.
“I was not shy about talking about how good Lamar is,” Brown said. “There’s a reason why they are the No. 19 ranked team in the country. That coaching staff has done as good a job as maybe anyone in the Southland [Conference] in the past few years at turning a program around.”
After a slow first four minutes of the first drive, Lamar looked to be the first to score in a field goal attempt at 10:23. However, the score remained at 0-0 as a result of a block from senior defensive lineman Javeon Jones.
In the second drive, the Bears (4-1, UAC 3-0) were the first to update the scoreboard courtesy of a senior quarterback Will McElvain’s completed pass to sophomore tight end Dax Courtney, who caught the ball at the Lamar 12-yard line and ran it to the endzone. After a review of the play for potentially being short of the goal line, the touchdown was confirmed, establishing UCA’s lead over Lamar 6-0.
In the initial play for the extra point kick attempt, UCA was handed a 5-yard penalty for a false start by junior offensive lineman Jamal Mull. Nonetheless, senior placekicker Jake Gaster was still able to complete a successful kick attempt, increasing UCA’s lead to 7-0.
The Cardinals (3-2) continued to struggle in the following drive after an incomplete pass intended for Lamar junior wide receiver Izaha Jones was broken up by UCA junior defensive back L.J. Hewitt. In the next play, Lamar senior quarterback Robert Coleman’s pass was intercepted by UCA defensive back TaMuarion Wilson. Wilson completed a 36-yard return to put the Bears back in possession of the ball.
After only gaining 5 yards in the drive resulting from the interception, Gaster successfully scored a field goal to bring the score to 10-0.
Although the Bears had possession of the ball at the beginning of the second quarter, McElvain’s pass in the second play was intercepted by Lamar junior defensive back DeJuan Lewis, who returned the ball 11 yards to the UCA 30-yard line. However, the UCA defense was once again able to prevent the Cardinals from putting any points on the board, as the Cardinals were forced to attempt a field goal. This field goal attempt, made by Lamar kicker Chris Esqueda, was no good, and the score remained 10-0.
“They committed to the run and we did a great job stopping the run,” Brown said. “They only had 3.3 yards per carry on 33 carries. That’s a pretty good job by our guys.”
The Bears struggled in the next drive, as junior punter Trace Beard’s punt was blocked by Lamar freshman defensive back Jordan James, and recovered by Lamar freshman linebacker Daiki Yoshikawa.
The Cardinals made quick work of the following play, as Lamar senior running back Khalan Griffin rushed up the middle for a 1-yard gain into the endzone. Junior kicker Ben Woodard’s kick attempt was successful, and the Cardinals put themselves on the scoreboard, updating the score to 10-7.
UCA bounced back in the following drive, utilizing the rushing prowess of senior running backs Darius Hale and Shunderrick Powell. Powell picked up 38 rushing yards in this drive, with the last 11 resulting in his first touchdown of the game. After a successful kick from Gaster, the Bears increased their lead to 17-7.
The Bears concluded the first half with a successful 28-yard field goal attempt from Gaster.
The second half saw a slow first two drives, but the Bears were quickly able to score another touchdown courtesy of a 5-yard rush from Hale. After another successful extra point from Gaster, UCA increased its lead to 24-7
In the next drive, Lamar was able to score what would be its final touchdown of the game by way of a 16-yard rush from quarterback Robert Coleman. Ben Woodard’s successful kick attempt marked the final point for the Cardinals, and the score stood at 24-14.
UCA concluded the third quarter with another touchdown courtesy of an 18-yard rush from Powell.
Neither team scored any points in the fourth quarter. Regardless, senior quarterback Will McElvain surpassed 10,000 career passing yards as the Bears secured their fourth consecutive win of the season.
“2-0 at home, which is great, you have to protect your home turf,” Brown said. “That finished our non-conference slate of the season at 3-1, and that’s big, especially when you get into November. Now the rest of our season conference play, we can shift our focus to that level of intensity.”
The Bears travel to Abilene, Texas, to take on the Abilene Christian University Wildcats(3-2, 2-0) returning to conference play at 3 p.m. Oct. 5.