DURANT, Oklahoma – The Ouachita Baptist University football team clinched the 2022 Great American Conference outright championship on Saturday with a dominant second half performance in a 40-18 road win over Southeastern Oklahoma State.
Ouachita (10-0) trailed 10-0 in the first four minutes of the game, including Southeastern's first score just 58 seconds into the contest. The Tiger defense limited Southeastern (6-4) to just eight more points throughout the rest of the game, including a shutout performance in the second half.
The Tigers scored 19 points in the second quarter on a pair of field goals by
Gabe Goodman, a 10-yard passing touchdown from
Riley Harms to
Connor Flannigan, and a rushing touchdown by
TJ Cole with 34 seconds remaining before halftime to give Ouachita a 19-18 lead at the break. Cole's last-minute touchdown helped Ouachita avoid going into the locker room with a halftime deficit for the first time this season.
Ouachita outscored Southeastern 21-0 in the second half. Cole expanded his ability to give his team points with 9:06 remaining in the third quarter on a 28-yard passing touchdown to
Justin Dean on the first play following a turnover on a strip sack by
Mikey Gonzalez, one of five sacks by the Tigers in the game.
The Tigers went to the air again for their next score with Harms and Flannigan hooking up once more, this time from 39 yards out with 2:33 remaining in the third.
Up by two scores, Ouachita used nearly 10 minutes of clock time to finalize the score on a three-yard touchdown run by Cole with 4:06 remaining to put the game out of reach.
Ouachita's defense came up with its third takeaway of the game on Southeastern's final possession, an interception by
Andrew Hayes with 1:45 remaining. The Tigers ran out the clock to collect its 10th win of the season and stay undefeated heading into the final game of the regular season next Saturday at Henderson State in the 95th edition of the Battle of the Ravine.
Cole finished with 25 carries for 143 yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with his 28-yard touchdown pass. Harms finished 12-for-19 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Flannigan had six receptions for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers defense had eight tackles for loss, five sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one interception.
Dawson Miller and
Mikey Gonzalez each had six tackles. Gonzalez also had two tackles for loss to go along with his strip sack.
The GAC championships is Ouachita's sixth in the 11-year history of the league to go along with titles in 2011, 2014, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
It is officially Battle of the Ravine week. Ouachita has won five in a row over HSU and now lead the all-time series 45-43-6. The Tigers cross the street to take on the Reddies next Saturday, November 12. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium.
