ARKADELPHIA – Two sets of Tigers will meet on Thursday night at Cliff Harris Stadium at Benson-Williams Field as fourth-ranked Ouachita Baptist University hosts East Central University in a matchup of the top two teams in the Great American Conference.
Ouachita will conduct its Senior Day ceremony starting at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday on the field. Ouachita's 18 seniors include, in alphabetical order:
Grant Allen,
Anthony Chairez,
TJ Cole,
Ty Compton,
Tommy Crumpton III,
Justin Dean,
Trey Flint,
Anthony Freeman,
Jax Gasaway,
Terrell Gibson,
Hunter Jackson,
Jason Jackson,
Mason Martin,
Clayton Nelson,
Peyton Stafford,
Hunter Swoboda, and
Josh Wallace. Ouachita will also honor the late
Clark Yarbrough as a part of this year's senior class.
Including some members of this year's senior class that initially joined the team for the 2017 season, the group has been a part of 49 wins over the past five seasons, three conference championships, and three NCAA playoff appearances. There are seven All-GAC selections represented in this class, three all-region honorees, two all-America honorees, and nine GAC all-academic team selections among the group.
Thursday's game will kick off at 6 p.m. The Ouachita Football Radio Network will broadcast the game live on affiliate stations across the state of Arkansas. The Ouachita Sports Digital Network will also broadcast the game live on YouTube. Links can be found at
www.OBUtigers.com/coverage.
Ouachita (8-0) enters the game as one of 11 remaining unbeaten teams in the nation at the NCAA Division II level. The Tigers most recently earned a 63-31 win over Southern Arkansas this past Saturday at the Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado. A win over ECU on Thursday would clinch at least a share of the 2022 GAC championship, which would be Ouachita's sixth conference championship in the 11-year history of the league.
Other than undefeated Ouachita, East Central (6-2) is arguably the hottest team in the league coming into Thursday night's game. ECU started the year with back-to-back losses to Harding and Arkansas Tech, but has since posted six consecutive wins, including a 42-28 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State this past Saturday at home. The orange-and-black Tigers are currently in a three-way tie for second place in the league with Henderson State and Harding.
