By Mark Rico
Conway – Late in the third quarter, the Central Arkansas found themselves in familiar territory.
But they finally got things in gear when it mattered most.
Tyler Hudson’s 57-yard punt return coupled with Dre Matthew’s 30-yard fumble return on defense helped propel the No. 11-ranked Central Arkansas Bears over Missouri State 27-20 in their home opener at Estes Stadium.
The Bears win came on a night when they only could muster 177 yards of total offense and once again trailed for much of the contest.
Mired in a 20-7 hole midway through the third quarter in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 2,500 onlookers starved for football, the Bears managed to score three touchdowns in a span of two minutes late in the third quarter and early fourth period to record their eighth comeback victory over the past 16 games.
Hudson had two of the scores – one a 7-yard touchdown grab from junior quarterback Breylin Smith with 1:24 mark in the third quarter – along with the spectacular punt return in which he weaved his way through traffic down the middle and broke free for the final 30 yards with 14:11 to play.
Sandwiched in between Hudson’s two touchdowns, junior linebacker Dre Matthews turned in the play of the game, with a 30-yard scoop-and-score fumble return that knotted the game at 20-20 with 14:48 remaining.
While the Bears defense, stellar all night, forced three consecutive incomplete passes by Missouri State and then Hudson did the rest.
It was UCA’s first punt return for a touchdown since Tremon Smith returned one 47 against Arkansas State in 2016.
With the top FBS team in the nation looming on Saturday on the road in North Dakota, Central Arkansas head coach Nathan Brown kept the win over a one win team in 2019 in persceptive.
“We have to wipe the slate clean.” said Brown. “We did not play a good three quarters. In fact, that was probably one of our poorer performances for three quarters that I’ve been a part of. But again, it just shows the resiliency of our football team, different guys stepping up, different guys making plays when it mattered. And just believing. At the end of the day, it’s about belief.
“Football never goes to script, it never goes to plan. We talk about that every day. That’s why we do different stuff in practice, to practice for games like this. But our guys believed and they found a way to win the game. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see the belief these guys have in our team. We look bad at times. We were down 20-7, on offense we didn’t play our best game. Special teams had blunders, but the defense kept us in the game throughout. We know any win is a good win, especially at this point in a season like this, so we’re excited about it.”
Hudson had four returns for 83 yards and caught four passes for 62 more yards while UCA’s No. 1 receiver Lujuan Winningham was shut out as Smith completed just nine passes for 79 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
The Bears also had a punt blocked that Missouri State returned for a touchdown to give them an early 10-0 lead.
But from there it was the Central Arkansas defense that kept the Bears within striking distance by limiting a Missouri State coached by former University of Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino to 293b yards of total offense.
MSU quarterback Jaden Johnson – a transfer from Southern Mississippi – completed 25 of 44 passes for 249 yards but no touchdowns.
UCA’s defensive unit recorded 16 tackles for losses, had nine sacks and forced four fumbles and one interception.
“The defense, oh my gosh, what a great game plan,’ said Brown. “I thought we had their quarterback off balance all night. They gave him a tough time in the pocket all night. They just did a great job. Coach (Chad) Williams dialed up the right blitzes at the right time and guys made big tackles, big stops when it mattered. And offensively, we made enough plays when we needed to.”
The visiting Bears (0-2), who lost to Top 5 Oklahoma in their opener two weeks ago, got on the board first after a 47-yard field goal by Jose Pizano with 12:04 left in the first quarter.
Arkansas took six possessions to finally answer MSU’s score as senior tailback Kierre Crossley cashed in a fumble recovery by linebacker Malik Wilson, with a 4-yard touchdown midway through the first half that drew the Bears within 10-7.
But a late MSU touchdown on a 3-yard run by Keshun Parker with 4:02 left extended the lead to 17-7 at the break.
“They did a great job mirroring Lujuan all night, they took him away,’ said Brown. “They did a good job of that. But that’s why you have a Tyler Hudson on the other side. Breylin showed some poise, I thought Kierre had some big runs, Cameron Myers had some big runs. And we did enough to win the game.”
The UCA defense turned in another big stop when MSU sophomore tailback Cameron Myers fumbled at the UCA 26 with 6:21 to play.
The Bears held on a fourth-and-4 at the UCA 7, and then again on a fourth-and-2 down at the UCA 28 with 1:28 remaining. UCA took over and ran the clock out the rest of the way.
“The scoop and score was the biggest play of the game,’ Brown said. “Dre did a great job. We coach that on defense, we coach to strip the ball, try to produce turnovers. But also, I don’t want the offense back on the field. People don’t realize how fast Dre is. And he did a great job, being athletic and getting his weight down and scooping the ball as opposed to falling on it. And then getting in the end zone. That was huge.”
UCA faces another Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) team next Saturday in three-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota.
Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m.
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