ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The No. 9/12 Ouachita football team will look to continue their winning ways on Saturday evening when they face-off against East Central University in Cliff Harris Stadium.

Ouachita will be looking to open up the season with a 4-0 record for the fourth time this decade. The Tigers started the season 4-0 in three consecutive seasons from 2012-2014. So far this season, Ouachita's calling card has been hard-nosed running and a smash mouth defense.

A win on Saturday will extend the Ouachita winning streak to six games over East Central (1-2). Ouachita has reached a five game winning streak twice in the history of the rivalry, the first time the Tigers reached five in a row was between 1994-1995. Ouachita is currently 6-1 against East Central since the formation of the Great American Conference in 2011.

On Monday afternoon Ouachita entered the top-ten of the American Football Coaches Association Poll. The No. 9 ranking is the highest mark since the Tigers undefeated regular season of 2014.  

Last week, Ouachita showed that they had the ability to take over games when they needed to. The Tigers ended the game scoring 18 unanswered points in route to a 32-16 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State.

The Tigers currently rank ninth in the country in rushing yards per game with 279. Junior running back Shun'cee Thomas (Bossier City, La.) has taken over the workload in the backfield. Thomas has rushed for 270 yards on the season including a season high 114 yards against Southeastern Oklahoma State last weekend. The junior is averaging 9.13 yards per carry which ranks him fourth nationally.

Freshman quarterback Brayden Brazeal (England, Ark.) had a breakout game against the Savage Storm. Brazeal threw for 108 yards and then ran for an additional 136 yards, it was the first time in his career he was able to run and pass for at least 100 yards in the same game. Allie Freeman (Little Rock, Ark.) has been the go to guy for Brazeal when throwing the ball. Freeman has caught 18 passes for 221 yards and a score.

Ouachita's defense turned into a "no fly zone" against the Savage Storm offense. The Tigers defense hauled in four interceptions and 12 pass breakups over the course of the game. Senior defensive back Airric Parker (San Diego, Calif.) had a career night against Southeastern. The California native set a new career high in tackles with 15, he also had three pass breakups and an interception return for a touchdown.

Fellow defensive back Keandre Evans (Junction City, Ark.) has become one of the premier defenders in the conference. Evans currently ranks fourth in the nation in pass
break ups with 2.3 a game.     

East Central is coming off their first win of the season against Arkansas-Monticello. The Tigers defeated the Boll-Weevils 29-27. The win gave first year head coach Al Johnson his first ever college win as a head coach. How East Central was able to win was kind of a head scratcher when one looks at the final stats.

The Tigers only registered nine first downs in the game, ran the ball for -36 yards on 29 attempts and passed the ball for 213 yards. Monticello out-gained the Tigers 503 to 177 in total offensive yards. The defense was the strongest part of the team registering two interceptions, including a 30 yard return for a touchdown.

Last season Ouachita jumped out to a 24-0 lead behind a trio of Drew Harris touchdowns. Two of the final three touchdowns were scored by defensive players. Evans recorded a 54-yard interception return for a touchdown and linebacker Austin Guymon (Little Rock, Ark.) ran an interception back 55-yards. The final touchdown of the afternoon was a 21-yard run by Brockton Brown (Sheridan, Ark.). Surprisingly though it was East Central who came away with more offensive plays and yards than Ouachita. East Central ended the game having run 84 plays and producing 419 yards of total offense.

Ouachita and East Central will kick-off tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Coverage of the game can be found at www.obutigers.com or follow along with the official social media accounts of Ouachita Athletics and Ouachita Football.