ALVA, Okla. – For the 12^th consecutive season the Ouachita Tiger football team will begin the year with a 1-0 record as they defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State 29-21 at Ranger Field on Thursday night.

With a 1:48 left in the game junior running back Brockton Brown (Sheridan, Ark.) rumbled ahead for an eight yard gain to give the Tigers game clinching first down. Ouachita (1-0, 1-0 GAC) went into victory formation the final three plays to milk the clock away and come away with another close win against Northwestern Oklahoma State (0-1, 0-1).

The Ouachita offense was cranking on all cylinders Thursday evening. The Tigers outrushed the Rangers 281-217, out passed the Rangers 168-146 and produced 449 total yards on offense. Ouachita also won the time of possession battle 32:14 to 25:26.

Ouachita kept the ball on the ground the majority of the game as they broke in redshirt freshman quarterback Brayden Brazeal (England, Ark.). Brazeal went 12-for-19 and threw for 168 yards and a touchdown. Junior wide receiver Allie Freeman (Little Rock, Ark.) became Brazeal's go to man as Freeman collected 57 yards off five receptions and his first receiving touchdown of the season. Freeman also ran the ball five times for 52 yards.

Kris Oliver (Arkadelphia, Ark.) proved to be a force in the opening half with two touchdown scores. The senior finished the night with a team high 107 yards on 24 attempts. Shun'cee Thomas (Bossier City, La.) was the second leading rusher with 77 yards.

Keandre Evans (Junction City, Ark.) was once again a force on the defensive side of the ball for the Tigers, with 11 total tackles and two key pass brake ups late in the game. Middle linebacker Jon Johnson (Haskell, Ark.) finished second on the team with 9 tackles.   

First Quarter: Ouachita 7, Northwestern Oklahoma State 0
With 12 minutes to go in the opening quarter of play, Freeman, took the handoff ran for a nine yard gain but a hit from Aharon Barnes forced the ball loose and the Rangers set up in great field position.

Nine plays and 39 yards later Luke Neimeyer lined up for a 29-yard field goal to give Northwestern the early lead. Neimeyer shanked the field goal wide right and Ouachita took over at their own 22-yard line.

Ouachita began a slow methodical drive down the field with 9:34 remaining in first stanza of play. On the tenth play of the drive Brown took a handoff and scampered up the middle of the field for a 19-yard gain. Two plays later and Oliver ran the ball in for the first Tiger touchdown of the 2018 season.

The Tigers ended the first quarter with a 26-yard pass to La'Darius McElroy (Ashdown, Ark.). The completion set the Tigers up in prime field position to begin the second quarter.

Second Quarter: Ouachita 20, Northwestern Oklahoma State 7
Ouachita had the ball spotted at the Northwestern 10-yardline and on the second play of the quarter Oliver ran the ball in from five-yards out.

With a 14-0 advantage and all the momentum on the Tigers side, it did not take long for the Ouachita to get the ball back. In fact, Sam Johnson (Ferriday, La.) came away with an interception on the first pass of the series.

Ouachita went on a 7-play 23-yard drive that saw Cole Antley (Atlanta, Ga.) kick a 30-yard field goal. The field goal gave the Tigers a commanding 17-0 advantage midway through the second quarter.

After a quick four-and-out by the Ranger offense, Ouachita got the ball back with decent field position to work with. 15-yard roughing the passer penalty against Isaiah Weed became the big play of the series as the Tigers moved into Ranger territory for the third consecutive series. Once again the Tigers had to settle for a field goal as Antley booted a 37-yard field goal through the uprights.

Down 20-0, Northwestern knew that they needed to get some sort of momentum going in their direction going into halftime. They did just that, pulling off a 14-play, 78-yard drive that was capped off by an Isaiah Weed touchdown.

Ouachita tried to grab the momentum right back from the Rangers in the closing minutes of the second quarter. The Tigers were able to work the ball down inside the Northwestern 20-yard line, where Antley lined up for a 29-yard field goal. Barnes blocked the kick and Trey Merritt returned the block kick 15-yards. Time ran out though as
Ouachita headed into halftime with a 20-7 advantage.

Third Quarter: Ouachita 26, Northwestern Oklahoma State 14
Both teams began the third quarter with a pair of three-and-outs by the opposing offense. Ouachita began their second drive of the second half on their own 20-yardline with 11:54 to go in the quarter.

​​​​​​​Brazeal was able to showcase his arm a little bit more on this particular drive. The redshirt freshman went four-for-four on the drive with 75 passing yards through the air. The final completion of the drive was a 25-yard touchdown reception by Freeman. Antley missed the point after attempt and Ouachita lead 26-7.

The Rangers were quick to answer, they responded with an 11-play, 87-yard drive that resulted in a Jacob Peyton 11-yard touchdown run.

Ouachita got the ball back with 3:18 remaining in the quarter. Four plays later and Thomas bolted up the middle of the field for a 44-yard gain. Ouachita ended the quarter on the Northwestern 14-yardline.  

Fourth Quarter: Ouachita 29, Northwestern Oklahoma State 21
The Tigers began the fourth quarter with the fourth field goal attempt of the night. Antley once again made a 31-yard attempt and put Ouachita up 29-14.

Ouachita's defense developed a bend but don't break attitude late in final quarter of play. Northwestern Oklahoma State drove deep into Ouachita territory and had first and goal from the eight-yard line. The Tigers survived a scare on fourth goal as a touchdown was called off, thanks to a holding penalty on the offense. Evans made sure it was not a fluke as he broke up the pass on fourth and goal.

The Tiger offense took over with 9:28 remaining in the game and began to milk the clock. Ouachita was able to grind off almost five minutes of game time before they had to punt the ball back to the Rangers. Jake Ford (Australia) boomed a 42-yard punt down the field to give the Rangers a long field to work with.

On the second play of the drive Justin Cain hauled in a 35-yard reception that set the Rangers up inside Tiger territory. Three plays later and Jacob Peyton was in the endzone and Northwestern Oklahoma State was back with eight points of the Tigers.  

Ouachita was able to run out the clock and preserve the victory. Next week the Tigers will host Southwestern Oklahoma State at Cliff Harris Stadium, kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.