A late touchdown run by quarterback Tanner Marsh and a last-minute goal line stop by the Arkansas Tech defense gave the Wonder Boys a 24-21 Great American Conference win over the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field in Russellville on Saturday.
A late touchdown run by quarterback Tanner Marsh and a last-minute goal line stop by the Arkansas Tech defense gave the Wonder Boys a 24-21 Great American Conference win over the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field in Russellville on Saturday.
The Wonder Boys (5-3 overall, 3-2 GAC) extended their winning streak to four consecutive games. Arkansas Tech has trailed in every game during the winning streak, and the Wonder Boys have come back from fourth-quarter deficits to win each of the last three Saturdays.
Marsh’s 15-yard scramble around right end and Trevor Pinkston’s point after touchdown kick with 2:15 remaining gave the Wonder Boys a 24-21 lead over UA-Monticello (1-7, 0-6).
The Boll Weevils drove all the way to the Arkansas Tech 4-yard line on the ensuing possession, but quarterback Damon Wicker fumbled on a third-and-goal scramble with 15 seconds left in the game. He lost the football as he reached out in an attempt to break the plane of the goal line for the go-ahead touchdown.
Arkansas Tech’s Codey Zickefoose forced the fumble and Deandre Bonner recovered it in the end zone to preserve the Wonder Boys’ victory.
It was the Boll Weevils’ third turnover deep in Arkansas Tech territory. Bonner had recovered another UAM fumble in the end zone for a touchback late in the third quarter and Courtney Rockwell intercepted a Boll Weevil pass in the end zone for a touchback earlier in the third period.
Those three turnovers helped the Wonder Boys overcome a large disadvantage in total offense. UAM piled up 495 offensive yards on Saturday, while Arkansas Tech had 269 yards of total offense. The Boll Weevils finished with nearly a 2-to-1 edge in time of possession. UAM had the football for 39:20, compared to 20:40 in time of possession for the Wonder Boys.
UAM’s Wicker completed 34-of-46 passes for 408 yards and three touchdowns. Jamal Nixon caught 14 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns for the Weevils.
Tech’s Marsh completed 19-of-29 passes for 192 yards and rushed 12 times for 46 yards.
The Wonder Boys took a 7-0 lead with 12:57 left in the first quarter after Donnell Jones blocked a UAM punt and Will Farley returned it 16 yards for a touchdown. Pinkston added the extra point.
Two long UAM scoring drives resulted in touchdown passes of 35 yards from Wicker to Nixon and 11 yards from Wicker to Ian Levine. The Boll Weevils led 14-7 with 10:10 left in the second quarter.
Pinkston made a 19-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the first half, and the two sides went to halftime with UAM ahead 14-10.
After a scoreless third quarter, Tech’s Ketrich Harmon scored on a 1-yard run and Pinkston made the extra point to give the Wonder Boys a 17-14 edge at the 9:49 mark of the fourth quarter.
Wicker and Nixon connected again — this time on a 58-yard touchdown pass with 6:33 left — and UAM reclaimed the lead at 21-17.
Marsh then led Arkansas Tech on the decisive nine-play, 62-yard scoring drive. The Wonder Boys converted two third-down plays during the drive, one courtesy of a face mask penalty against UAM and the other on a 12-yard completion from Marsh to Cassius Washington that gave Tech a first-and-10 at the Boll Weevils’ 25-yard line.
After an eight-yard completion from Marsh to Dwight Brooks and a two-yard run by Tavadrick Lee, Marsh scrambled for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
UAM suffered its seventh consecutive loss.
The Wonder Boys will visit nationally-ranked Harding University for a 2 p.m. GAC contest at First Security Stadium in Searcy on Saturday, Oct. 27. Radio station KWKK 100.9 FM will have the broadcast, which will also be streamed over the Internet.
]]>
