Conway – Central Arkansas found the cure what ailed them after the first two weekends of football in the span of a quarter of football in their 2021 home opener.
All it took was three consecutive touchdown drives coupled with an early Arkansas-Pine Bluff turnover that sent the Bears to an early lead that they never relinquished in a relatively easy 45-23 rout of the Golden Lions in front of an overflow crowd on Saturday night at Estes Stadium.
Fifth year senior Braylin Smith got on track early as Chris Richmond, Sam Camargo and Tobias Enlow all hauled in short touchdown passes just before the game was halted for thirty minutes just before halftime due to lightning strikes in the area.
The No. 24 ranked Bears settled for a 28-9 halftime lead, thanks in part to Smith, who tied his career high in just thirty minutes of action. In the victory, Smith completed his first 15 passes to break the school record of 14 straight held by his head coach Nathan Brown (2007) and Brian Stallworth (2001).
Smith, who finished 31-of-42 passing for 329 yards, overcame a pair of interceptions on consecutive possessions in the third quarter to lead the Bears on two fourth-quarter touchdowns drives that sealed the victory.
It was UCA’s 11th consecutive win over UAPB, as they improved to 11-2 in the overall series.
“I was pleased with our team,’ said Brown. “Bottom line is, we came out hot. If you look at the possession time, I think we held the ball for 13 minutes in the first quarter, turned them over on special teams play and I think their one possession in the first quarter was a three and out. (So) we were up 21-0 before we blinked. And that’s what set the tone of the game. I was really pleased to see our team respond that way.”
The Bears, who lost a shootout at No. 24 Missouri State last Saturday, rolled up a season-high 456 yards of total offense and held the ball for nearly 38 minutes, including a whopping 13:24 in the first quarter.
UCA also converted 12 of 17 third-down situations and held UAPB starter Skyler Perry to just 1-of-10 passing on third down.
UCA senior placekicker Hayden Ray nailed a 32-yard field goal early in the third quarter to push UCA’s lead to 31-9 before UAPB mounted its comeback. The Golden Lions (1-1) turned the back-to-back interceptions into touchdowns, the second was a 49-yard pick-six by Andre Fuller that got UAPB within one score at 31-23 with 4:50 left in the third quarter.
But UCA freshman running back Darius Hale added a pair of short touchdowns runs over the final 7:50 to seal the win. Hale, from Pearland, Texas, led the Bears with 76 yards on 19 carries, with fellow freshman Trysten Smith adding 59 yards on 15 attempts. Former UCA Bears Kierre Crossley, a graduate transfer at UAPB, led the Golden Lions with 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just seven carries.
“They (UAPB) showed a tremendous amount of fight to continue playing,’ said Brown. “And I didn’t think we handled the lightning delay and halftime very well at all. The third quarter showed it because they got after us. It was unfortunate how we played there but I thought we responded well in the fourth quarter. To win the fourth quarter, basically 14-0, was huge. We had our backs against the wall, it got to a one-possession game. And our guys responded, and that’s what you expect good teams to do. And I still think we have a good football team.”
Defensively, UCA was very good, holding UAPB to 308 total yards of offense, with quarterback Skyler Perry completing just 13 of 32 for 173 yards. UCA junior Deandre Lamont filled up his stat sheet with five tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and blocked point after. Senior linebacker Trenton Dunn led the Bears with a career-high 13 tackles and forced the fumble the Lamont recovered.
Richmond, Winningham, Hudson and Enlow all combined for 23 receptions for 275 yards.
UCA continues its homestand next Saturday, hosting defending FCS national champion Sam Houston.
The Bears and Sam Houston are familiar foes since the Southland Conference and have staged some classic battles since 2006.
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