It’s been a dozen years since Arkansas Tech University started a football season with five consecutive wins.
Nationally 11th-ranked ATU (4-0 overall, 4-0 Great American Conference) will try to match the start by the 2005 Wonder Boys and maintain at least a share of first place in the GAC standings when it hosts Ouachita Baptist University (3-1, 3-1) at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field in Russellville on Saturday, Sept. 30.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Tickets ($10 adults/$5 students and senior citizens) will be available at the stadium ticket office on game day. Those with a valid ATU identification card will be admitted free of charge.
Party at the Plaza, the pre-game tailgating celebration on Centennial Plaza, will begin outside the stadium at 4 p.m.
The Wonder Boys earned their first road shutout since Nov. 23, 1985, last Saturday with a 52-0 triumph at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Okla.
Through the first four weeks of the season, Arkansas Tech leads the GAC in scoring offense (41 points per game), scoring defense (11.2 points allowed per game) and turnover margin (+8).
Ouachita Baptist also went to Oklahoma last week and earned a runaway victory. The Tigers roared past East Central University 45-14 to remain one game behind Arkansas Tech and Southeastern Oklahoma State University (4-0, 4-0) for first place in the GAC standings.
OBU quarterback Austin Warford ranks third in the conference in rushing (78.8 yards per game) as part of a Tigers’ offense that is second in the GAC in rushing offense (212 yards per game).
“To me, it all starts with the quarterback,” said ATU head coach Raymond Monica. “(Warford) turns a quarterback draw into a big play, and he can scramble for a big play. We know they’re going to run him on different plays, and he’s a good player. He throws it just as well as he runs it. I also think their offensive line is very good.”
Ouachita Baptist allows 414.2 yards of total offense per game. Only four GAC teams rank below the Tigers in total defense. However, a bend but don’t break mindset has allowed OBU to earn a position among the top three scoring defenses in the league (23.3 points allowed per game).
“They keep it all in front of them,” said Monica. “They don’t take a lot of chances, so if something pops somebody can make the tackle.”
Arkansas Tech is 44-30-7 all-time against Ouachita Baptist. The Wonder Boys have won the last two meetings in the series, including a 49-17 victory over the Tigers in Arkadelphia last season.
Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM and www.arkansastechsports.com will provide live coverage of the Tech-OBU game.
