WEATHERFORD, OK- The Ouachita Tigers (4-2, 3-0 GAC) looked to stay unbeaten in Great American Conference play when they traveled to Weatherford, Oklahoma this weekend to face off with the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State (4-3, 2-3 GAC) on Saturday. The Tigers would do just that, holding off a late rally by the Bulldogs and walking away with a 48-38 victory, pushing them to 3-0 in conference play and sustaining their spot atop the GAC standings.

The Tigers were led on offense by sophomore running back Chris Rycraw, who had a breakout game, collecting a career high 122 yards and three touchdowns. Also having a breakout game of his own was junior running back Daniel McGee, who collected 96 yards and added three more touchdowns for the Tiger offense. Overall, the Tigers finished with 305 rushing yards for the game and seven touchdowns on the ground, complementing the 101 yards through the air for the offense.

On defense, the Tigers had three players finish with seven tackles. Freshman safety Travis Simon, junior safety Dijon Benton and senior linebacker Tyler George were the aforementioned three players. Simon also finished with 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception, while Benton collected an interception as well. George finished with three pass break ups on the game.

The first quarter started off with the Tigers showing their dominance, putting 21 points on the board while not allowing Southwestern to even sniff the end zone. Two of the Tiger touchdowns in the first quarter were scored by Rycraw, while McGee trotted in for the other. Junior kicker Jason Fowler converted on all three extra points, leaving the Tigers a lot of breathing room going into the second quarter.

As the second quarter began, the Tigers continued their offensive onslaught, scoring only three minutes into the quarter when Rycraw took a handoff into the end zone for a 16 yard touchdown run. Fowler's kick on the PAT would be no good, making the score 27-0 in favor of Ouachita. Southwestern Oklahoma would follow the Tiger touchdown with their first scoring drive of the game, finishing it on a seven yard passing touchdown from quarterback Dustin Stenta to Bulldog receiver Timmy Winans and making the score 27-7. The next score of the first half would not come until the final play of it, as Southwestern finished off an offensive drive with an 18 yard field goal from kicker Colton Rainey, and closed the gap to 27-10 at halftime.

As the third quarter began, Ouachita provided themselves with a bit more breathing room, as they took the opening drive down the field and McGee trotted into the end zone for a two yard touchdown run, making the score 34-10 in favor of the Tigers. Southwestern would again answer the Tiger score, negating their seven points and closing the gap back to 17 points on their next drive when Stenta scurried into the end zone for a 12 yard rushing touchdown, making the score 34-17, a score that would hold until the fourth quarter.

Shortly after the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs scored again, when Stenta connected with Winans again, this time for a 27 yard touchdown pass, closing the Tiger lead to 10 points and putting the Bulldogs in position to rally. Following a 57 yard punt from sophomore punter Clark Gaddis, the Bulldogs would score again and close the gap to three. That touchdown was scored on a 75 yard pass completion from Stenta to Bulldog receiver Aaron Wilson. The Tiger offense would answer though, as junior quarterback Casey Cooper showed the Bulldog defense what he can do with his feet, scoring on a 53 yard touchdown run and forcing the score to 41-31 in favor of the Tigers. Southwestern continued the back and forth offensive battle, when Stenta hooked up with receiver Andrew Murga for an 80 yard touchdown pass, again closing the Tiger lead to three points and putting them in a tough position with a lot of time still on the clock. The Tigers scored the final points of the game with 03:06 remaining on the clock, when McGee scored on a six yard rush, making the score 48-38 and closing the game strong for the Tiger offense.

The Tigers return home this weekend for a battle with Southern Arkansas University. It will provide them an opportunity to move to 4-0 in conference play and stay the lone unbeaten in GAC play. That contest will kickoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday at A.U. Williams Field.

-Josh Fink, Sports Information Director