In their first ever trip to Idaho State University, the University of Central Arkansas football team (1-2, 0-0 ASUN) used an offensive surge to get past the Bengals (0-3). The final score of the game was 31-16. 

The Bears offense took some time to get rolling in Pocatello, Idaho, on Saturday, Sept. 17. In a familiar fashion as the last two games for UCA, the Bengals held the Bears scoreless in the first quarter. ISU held a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, in the second quarter, the Bears’ offense came alive. 

Sophomore Darius Hale and junior quarterback Will McElvain led the Bears offense to success in the second quarter. Hale finished back-to-back scoring drives with touchdowns for the Bears. The first touchdown for Hale was a short run after an 80-yard drive. McElvain found Hale for a 13-yard touchdown pass to extend the UCA lead to 14-3 by halftime.

ISU received the kick after halftime and did not take care of the ball. UCA sophomore safety Tamuarion Wilson forced a fumble deep in Bengals territory that was scooped and scored by junior linebacker Corley Hooper. This pushed UCA’s lead to 21-3 with most of the second half left to play.

The Bears forced a punt on Idaho State’s next possession. The Bears offense capitalized on another scoring opportunity with Hale’s third touchdown of the day, this time a run. This score padded UCA’s lead and extended it to 28-3. 

Idaho State scored their first touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter. 

UCA responded with a 29-yard field goal by Hayden Ray with just under seven minutes left in the game. The Bengals again found the endzone soon after, making the score 31-16. The Bears ran out the rest of the clock en route to their first victory of the season. 

McElvain threw for 259 yards on 24 of 29 attempts through the air, as well as one touchdown. Hale had 17 rush attempts for 117 yards and three total touchdowns. Junior wide receiver John David White had a career-high 7 receptions for 103 yards.

When speaking on his team’s offensive performance, UCA coach Nathan Brown told UCA Sports, “I thought our receivers played well and made some tough catches. But he [McElvain] played with poise, he played like the guy we knew we recruited. And it helped having that running game going with Darius and Kylin [James] and Trysten [Smith].”

Brown was not only pleased with offense, but also his defense. Brown told UCA Sports, “I thought our defense had a great game plan. They have an athletic quarterback, he made a lot of plays alive, especially in the first half. But we got him down more often in the second half. [Defensive coordinator] Coach [Matt] Kitchens and that defensive staff, they played three good weeks, whether the first two weeks looked like it or not.”

UCA will continue the road-trip with their next game at Southeast Missouri State on Saturday, Sept. 25.