By Mark Rico
Sports Editor
Conway – Three plays into their homecoming game, the Central Arkansas Bears watched as their emotional leader on defense crumpled to the turf writhing in pain after making a tackle with a stunned Estes Stadium looking on in silence.
After junior linebacker Dre Matthews was carted off the field following an eight-minute delay with an season-ending knee injury, it only took Missouri Western four more plays to get on the scoreboard as Jared Scott banged his way into the end zone from a yard out.
The NCAA Division II Griffons led 7-0.
But UCA would quickly right the ship behind junior quarterback Breylin Smith – who tossed four touchdown passes in a dominating first half to pace the Bears (4-4) over Missouri Western 52-10.
Central Arkansas reeled off 38 answered points from that point forward – with Smith connecting with sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson for back-to-back touchdowns to close out the first quarter – one for 71 yards and then another for a 58 yards.
“After an emotional loss last week, you could have gone one of two ways with it,’ said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. “We could have felt sorry for ourselves all week, but I thought our guys had the best week of preparation we’ve had all year. We took their best punch after they had a good return and punched the ball in early. But I thought we did a good job of sustaining and not panicking.”
Smith, who completed 17 of 23 passes for 283 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, also found junior Lujuan Winningham for a 32-yard touchdown early in the second quarter to push the lead to 21-7.
The UCA defense got in on the act just 16 seconds later when freshman safety TaMuarion Wilson forced a fumble and sophomore defensive end Logan Jessup scooped it in stride and 26 yards for his first career touchdown and a 28-7 lead.
Hudson caught four passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, while Winningham had three for 61 yards and another pair of touchdowns, giving him a team-high 11 for the season, which leaves him tied for third in school history with two games remaining on the slate.
Marshun Douglas rushed for 97 yards on just nine carries to lead UCA.
UCA’s defense held the Griffons (0-1) to 198 yards of total offense, and were held to 46 rushing yards on 31 attempts.
Missouri Western also lost its top return specialist Trey Vaval to injury in the first quarter, following a 66-yard return that set up the Griffon’s lone touchdown.
The Griffons lost four fumbles – one of which was returned for a 38-yard touchdown by sophomore Logan Jessup – to stretch the lead to 28-7 early in the second quarter.
After a sizzling start, Missouri Western could only muster eight yards of offense on 14 plays as UCA took it to another gear in the second quarter.
The Bears will host Eastern Kentucky after a bye week on Nov. 14 at 3pm in their final home contest of the season.
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