ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – At 6 p.m. tomorrow night No. 19/20 Ouachita Baptist and Southwestern Oklahoma State will battle under the lights at Cliff Harris Stadium for the Paul Sharp Cup.

Ouachita (1-0, 1-0 GAC) is coming off a 29-21 road victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State. A steady balance or running and passing the ball led to 449 yards of total offense. Senior running back Kris Oliver (Arkadelphia, Ark.) led the Great American Conference in rushing last week with 106 net yards and two scores. Redshirt freshman quarterback Brayden Brazeal (England, Ark.) picked up his first collegiate win last week after completing 70 percent of his passes for 220 yards. Allie Freeman (Little Rock, Ark.) proved to be a valuable target for the young quarterback as Freeman caught 10 passes for 109 yards.

The trio, plus a host of other playmakers for the Tigers insured that Ouachita started the season with a victory for the 12^th consecutive season. This week the Tigers will have two items to check off their list. With a win the Ouachita will be able to boast a 2-0 record for the ninth time in ten years and the team will hoist the Paul Sharp Cup for a third consecutive season.   

The two schools have met on 14 different occasions leading back to the 1988 season. Over that span Ouachita is 10-4 against the Bulldogs. The Tigers are a perfect 6-0 at home against Southwestern Oklahoma State (1-0, 1-0 GAC) and Ouachita is 6-1 since the start of the GAC era in 2011.

Southwestern Oklahoma State is coming off a week one shoot-out against Arkansas-Monticello. Casey Freeman had possibly the best game in the nation last week, throwing for 416 yards and seven touchdowns. The seven scores through the air was the most by any quarterback at any level of college football. For his stellar performance on the field, Freeman earned GAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

The Bulldogs win last weekend gave head coach Chet Pobolish is first ever college win as a head coach. Pobolish has coached college football for 17 years and was most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Missouri Western University.

The Tigers secondary will have their hands full as eight different wide receivers caught a pass for the Bulldogs in their week one victory. Jared Rayburn was the top target though as he hauled in four receptions for 136 yards and two scores.

Last weekend Ouachita defensive back Keandre Evans (Junction City, Ark.) was the leading tackler on the defense with 11 stops. The junior also had two pass break-ups including a crucial breakup on fourth goal. Hayden Lassiter (Warren, Ark.) will also be patrolling the secondary for the Tigers as the junior had a pair of pass break-ups as well.  
In last season's matchup between the two squads Ouachita and Southwestern Oklahoma State were tied at 10 early in the third quarter. Four Ouachita touchdowns later and the Tigers walked out of Weatherford, Okla., with a 38-10 victory. Drew Harris (Benton, Ark.) and Austin Warford led the offense last season with four touchdowns between the two players. The Tigers defense also stepped up last year as the Bulldogs went just 5-21 on third and fourth down last season. It was one of the few games in which the Tigers offense did not have more total yards or win the time of possession battle.

This will be the second year in a row in which both schools have entered the game with a 1-0 record. Kick-off for the game is scheduled for 6 p.m. tomorrow evening with gates opening at 4:00 p.m. If you cannot make it to the game, the game will be livestreamed at www.obutigers.com or you can hear Rex Nelson on the radio at 101.1 FM.