CONWAY, ARK. – Breylin Smith threw for 367 yards and two touchdowns and Carlos Blackman scored twice, rallying the University of Central Arkansas to edge Abilene Christian University 31-30 Saturday night in both teams' Southland Conference opener in Estes Stadium.
"That's a really good football team," said ACU head football coach
Adam Dorrel. "We've been talking the last five days about how they've outscored their opponents in the fourth quarter, and so when it happens to you ... it's disappointing. I thought we stayed aggressive. I don't feel like we got conservative. They made some plays over the top, and you have to take their hats off to them to do what they've done over the last three weeks. That says a lot about their coaching staff, leadership and character.
"Even though we lost, I do think there are things that we can take away and gain confidence from knowing that we came this close to beating a top-20 team on the road in school history since going division I. We'll get there. I'm proud of our guys. They competed at a really high level tonight."
ACU (1-2 , 0-1) and UCA (3-0, 1-0) were engaged in a defensive battle before beginning a fourth-quarter track meet, which the Bears converted into yet another come-from-behind win. Central Arkansas has now scored 57 points in the final frame of its first three games, including 22 in the final 15 minutes against Abilene Christian.
The win – UCA's 20th straight in home openers – appeared in doubt until a 46-yard field goal attempt by Abilene Christian's
Blair Zepeda fell short with 35 seconds left in the contest.
Zepeda, however, made three other field goals, including a 51-yard near the start of the fourth quarter that gave ACU a 20-17 advantage. He is the first Wildcat to make a 50+yard field goal since Nov. 12, 2011 when
Morgan Lineberry made one from 54 yards out at Incarnate Word.
"He's had to come back from a significant injury," said Dorrel, "and he kicked really well in practice all week and kicked well tonight. He's a young guy, and he'll learn from it. I'm super proud of him for coming back from the injury that he came off of, and it's a testament to his character."
Luke Anthony threw for 322 yards and one score and
Tracy James ran for a game-high 88 yards and two TDs to lead the Wildcats offensively, while its opportunistic defense looked to have forged a huge upset to begin league play.
The Wildcats built a 10-9 halftime lead and a 10-point advantage in the fourth quarter before the Bears began their comeback. Last week UCA rallied for 14 points late to upend Austin Peay after outscoring Western Kentucky 21-0 in the fourth quarter to win its season opener two weeks ago.
Abilene Christian's self-described "road dawg mentality" nearly treed the Bears on their own purple-and-gray striped field.
ACU scored first to take a 7-0 lead and 10-9 halftime advantage, but escaped danger three times in the first half with terrific defensive stands in the Central Arkansas red zone.
The teams twice traded punts to open the game, with UCA's second just a 29-yard effort that gave the Wildcats the ball at their 43. A 27-yard pass from Anthony to
Kobe Clark moved the ball to the UCA 30, and seven plays later, James outraced the defense to the end zone for a 6-yard scoring run, his sixth of the season.
Cameron Myers returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards to the Wildcat 20-yard line. ACU stiffened on third down when linebacker
Jeremiah Chambers dropped Kierr Crosley on 3rd-and-goal at the ACU 3-yard-line, forcing UCA to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Hayden Ray.
ACU turned the ball over early in the second quarter and deep in its territory when a low snap from center couldn't be handled by quarterback
Sema'J Davis, and the Bears recovered at the Wildcat 20. But the Wildcat defense stood tall once more, forcing Ray to kick his second field goal of the game, a 37-yarder with 10:50 on the clock.
The stout defensive performances at the end of two Bear drives preserved Abilene Christian's lead at 7-6, but the Wildcats weren't through. Linebacker
Jack Gibbens intercepted a Breylin Smith pass at the 2-yard line, returning it to the 26.
Anthony took advantage of UCA's first turnover of the game, moving his team smartly downfield, with a 33-yard pass to
Josh Fink the big play in setting up ACU for a 42-yard field goal by Zepeda.
Another fine defensive stand in the final minute of the first half limited the Bears to a 23-yard field goal by Ray – his third of the game – with 21 seconds left, preserving ACU's slim lead, 10-9.
The Wildcats looked to pad their lead on their first drive of the second half, but Zepeda's was wide left on a 37-yarder. Central Arkansas responded by moving back downfield, only to have ACU made yet another big defensive play to stop the Bears in their tracks.
Facing a 4th-and-2 at the ACU 36-yard-line, UCA quarterback Smith was sacked by senior defensive end Temesian Kuyatsemi for a loss of seven yards. The Wildcats took over and marched 57 yards the other way, with James weaving his way into the end zone five plays later, a 13-yard run up the middle that grew ACU's lead to 17-9 with 3:79 left in the third quarter. A 32-yard pass from Anthony to sophomore tight end
Remington Lutz on 3rd-and-10 was the key play in the drive.
The Bears responded with a 10-play, 65-yard drive capped by Carlos Blackman's 10-yard TD reception. The Wildcats lost containment on redshirt freshman wide receiver BeSean McCray, and their lead on the scoreboard, when he squeezed inside the pylon for a successful two-point conversion.
Zepeda then broke the 17-17 tie on ACU's ensuing drive with a career-best 51-yard field goal and 13:36 left on the game clock.
ACU's big-play defense stepped up once more on the kickoff, forcing Myers to fumble at the UCA 38-yard-line, where sophomore cornerback
Robert McKnight recovered the ball. Five plays later, sophomore running back
Tyrese White caught a screen pass from Anthony and raced 20 yards to the end zone, putting his team up 27-17 with 11:07 left.
UCA answered with a lightning-fast drive – 45 yards in 51 seconds – with Lujuan Winningham catching a 20-yard scoring pass from Smith, cutting the Wildcat lead to 27-24. ACU's offense stalled and following a
Simon Laryea punt, the Wildcat defense made yet another big play when junior defensive end
Kameron Hill stripped Smith of the ball and Chambers recovered at the UCA 19-yard-line.
A 10-yard TD pass from Anthony to
Josh Fink was nullified by a penalty, forcing ACU to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Zepeda that pushed ACU's lead to 30-24 with 5:28 remaining.
UCA embarked on a long drive, punctuated by huge pass completions to Wittingham – 23 yards on 3rd-and-13 and 35 yards on 3rd-and-6. Blackman ran three yards around left end with 1:30 left. Ray's PAT put the Bears up 31-30.
What looked like ACU's potentially game-defining drive began at the 35-yard line when Ray sent the UCA kickoff out of bounds. Anthony mixed plays well to move the Wildcats into scoring position with 35 seconds left, but Zepeda's 46-yard field goal try fell short and wide right, setting off a celebration by the home team and its fans.
Anthony completed 24 of 41 passes for 322 yards and one score, and James ran for a game-high 88 yards and two TDs to lead the Wildcats offensively. Fink caught four passes for a team-high 98 yards.
For the Bears, Smith completed 36 of 53 passes and Winningham caught six for 119. Blackman caught 12 for 82 yards. ACU led Central Arkansas in rushing yards (123 to 51) and had a 445-418 edge in total yards.
"We had done a real good job of keeping over top coverage on him ... I thought our corners really competed but that kid's special," said Dorrel. "(And) we did a really good job getting pressure on the quarterback (Breylin Smith), but he just stepped up and made the plays."
ACU returns home next Saturday when it hosts a 6 p.m. game with McNeese.
PLAYS THAT MATTERED
- 1Q – Tracy James ran 6 yards for a TD – his sixth of the season and fifth on the ground – with 3:12 left in the opening quarter. Blair Zepeda's successful PAT put ACU on top, 7-0.
- 1Q – The Bears could not take advantage of a short field following Cameron Myers' 80-yard kickoff return. UCA settled on a 21-yard field goal by Hayden Ray to cut the Wildcat lead to 7-3 with 1:11 remaining.
- 2Q – Ray kicked his second field goal of the night, a 37-yarder with 10:50 left, pulling his team to 7-6.
- 2Q – ACU linebacker Jack Givens stepped in front of a UCA pass at the Wildcat 2-yard line, returning it to the Wildcat 26.
- 2Q – Zepeda increased ACU's lead to 10-6 with a 42-yard field goal, his third of the year, and longest thus far, capping an eight-play, 49-yard drive.
- 2Q – Hays' third field goal of the game, a 23-yarder with 23 seconds left, pulled UCA closer, 10-9.
- 3Q – Zepeda was wide left on a 37-yard field goal attempt on ACU's first drive of the second half.
- 3Q – James scored his second TD of the night on a 13-yard run with 3:29 left, pushing the Wildcat lead to 17-9.
- 4Q – Carlos Blackmon caught a 10-yard scoring pass from Smith. BeSean McCray ran the two-point conversion in, tying the game 17-17 with ____ left.
- 4Q – Zepeda kicked a 51-yard field goal to put ACU back on top, 20-17.
- 4Q – Robert McKnight recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving ACU the ball at the UCA 34.
- 4Q – Tyrese White raced 20 yards with a screen pass from Anthony to score a TD, putting the Wildcats up 27-17 with 11:07 remaining.
- 4Q – Lujean Wittingham caught a 20-yard TD pass from Smith, capping a three-play, 45-yard drive and pulling the Bears closer, 27-24.
- 4Q – Zepeda kicked a 33-yard field goal to increase ACU's lead to 30-24 with 5:28 left.
- 4Q – Blackmon ran 3 yards for a TD with 1:30 left, putting UCA on top, 31-30.
- 4Q – Zepeda's bid for a fourth field goal – a 46-yarder that could have won the game – fell short with 35 seconds left.
STAT CORNER
- UCA leads this series 5-1, including a 16-7 win last fall in Abilene.
- ACU entered the game leading the nation (FCS) in total offense, averaging 579.5 yards per game.
- The Wildcats stopped yesterday in Little Rock to do a walk-through in historic War Memorial Stadium. ACU and Arkansas played the first-ever game there in 1948. One of the Wildcat stars that season was running back V.T. "Vitamin T" Smith Jr., who became the first former ACU football star to play in an NFL title game, something he did three times for the Los Angeles Rams from 1949-53. A halfback who caught passes from Hall of Fame quarterback Norm Van Brocklin for the league's top-scoring team, Smith led the NFL in punt return yards in 1949 and in kickoff return yards in 1950. His three touchdowns on kickoff returns in 1950 stood as an NFL record for 17 seasons. Smith also starred in track and field (as a sprinter and javelin thrower) and was the first Wildcat football player named first-team All-America. He served in the U.S. Army during the D-Day invasion at Normandy before enrolling at Abilene Christian, and graduated in just three years.
