Defense Carries OBU to Win Over Tech

Ouachita Baptist earned its first win over Arkansas Tech in Russellville in 19 years by defeating the Wonder Boys 28-7 at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field on Saturday night.

The Tigers (4-2 overall, 2-2 Gulf South Conference) limited the Wonder Boys to 152 yards of total offense as OBU got its first win over Tech since a 35-3 victory in Arkadelphia in 2002 and its first victory over Tech in Russellville since a 56-35 triumph in 1991.

The Wonder Boys (2-4, 1-3) marched 60 yards in six plays on the first possession of the game. Tech took a 7-0 lead on Rico Keller’s 20-yard touchdown pass to Roger Jackson and Cody Jones’ point after touchdown kick with 12:04 left in the first quarter.

But that turned out to be the final celebration of the evening for the Wonder Boys, who gained just 92 total yards during their final 16 possessions of the game.

Ouachita Baptist tied the score at 7-7 on a 57-yard touchdown run by quarterback Eli Cranor with 9:07 left in the second quarter.

The Tigers took control of the game during the third quarter with a pair of lengthy touchdown drives.

Tailback Daniel McGee capped an eight-play, 55-yard drive with a 15-yard touchdown run at the 12:22 mark of the third quarter. After a Tech punt, tailback Ricky Brown plunged in from one yard out with 7:05 to go in the third period to punctuate a 13-play, 51-yard scoring drive for OBU.

Those two touchdowns gave Ouachita a 21-7 lead, and Blake Burkett put it away for the Tigers when he returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown with 2:51 left in the third quarter.

RonDerrick Jackson made 12 tackles and Antonio Charles had 11 tackles to lead the Arkansas Tech defense.

Cranor completed 13-of-32 passes for 167 yards and rushed 13 times for 94 yards for OBU.

The Wonder Boys will host Southern Arkansas for their 2010 Homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 16, at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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