ARKADELPHIA – The Ouachita football team scored on the first play from scrimmage to set the tone for what ended up being a 55-14 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday at Cliff Harris Stadium.
Saturday's win is Ouachita's fifth straight this year and secures the program's 17th consecutive winning season, which is the longest active streak among all college football programs in the state of Arkansas.
True freshman
Tre Nichols went deep over the middle of the field to find
Carter McElhany in stride at the NWOSU 20-yard line on the first offensive play of the game. McElhany left the defenders behind to put the Tigers up just 19 seconds into the game.
The Tigers kept pouring it on in what ended up being a 42-7 lead at halftime. Other first half scores including a 53-yard rush from McElhany, an 82-yard rush from
Lyric Tredwell, a 15-yard rush from
Chris Henley, Jr., a 38-yard pass to
Bo Baker from Nichols, and a four-yard rush from Henley.
In the first half, Ouachita had only 20 offensive plays and racked up 367 yards for an average of 18.4 yards per play.
That average dropped slightly in the second half with most of the Tigers' roster getting playing time. Ouachita ended up with 523 yards of total offense for an average of 14.5 yards per play.
The second-half scoring came on a 65-yard pass from
Jordan Walker to
Nathan Stafford and a five-yard pass from Walker to
Brayden Hendricks.
The Tigers ended up plus-one in turnovers in the game on an interception by
Gabe Bonner at the goal line to negate a potential scoring opportunity for the Rangers.
Ouachita honored its 22 seniors prior Saturday's game and then recognized the 2025 induction class of the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame during the halftime festivities.
Ouachita will now turn its attention to its final road trip of the season to take on Southwestern Oklahoma State next Saturday, November 8. That game is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff in Weatherford.
