ADA, Oklahoma – East Central took advantage of big plays and opponent miscues to beat 15th-ranked Ouachita on Thursday night in the 2025 season opener by a final score of 24-22.
A 24-yard field goal from ECU's Gabriel Ogura in the final seconds of the game gave the orange Tigers the victory.
ECU was first to strike by taking advantage of a fumbled punt return by Ouachita to score three players later on a 31-yard touchdown run by Cade Searcy. That came after both teams stalled on their first two drives and was the only score of the opening quarter.
Ouachita outscored ECU 16-0 in the second quarter to rally back to take a 16-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second quarter scores came on a 30-yard field goal from
Dax Jaggers, a 95-yard touchdown run from
Lyric Tredwell, and a 10-yard touchdown run from quarterback
Nate TenBarge. Tredwell's score marked the longest rush for the Tigers since Daniel McGee had an 89-yard scamper for a score against Southern Arkansas in 2010 and the longest rush for the Tigers in the NCAA era.
ECU again held Ouachita scoreless in a quarter with no points allowed in the third. Ouachita was limited to just 29 yards in the third frame. Meanwhile, ECU capitalized on a 31-yard third down play to later score on a 14-yard pass to pull to within two at 16-14 at the 10:31 mark.
Early in the fourth quarter, Ouachita came up short on a fake punt attempt, which was immediately followed by another ECU big play, this time a 47-yard touchdown run on first down to give the orange Tigers a 21-16 lead.
Ouachita regained the lead on the ensuing kickoff when
Carter McElhany broke multiple tackles to scamper 99 yards for a touchdown. A failed two-point attempt put the purple Tigers up 22-21 with 12:49 remaining in regulation.
The Ouachita defense came up strong on ECU's next two drives, forcing a fumble on the first drive followed by
Gabe Bonner coming up with an interception on the second drive. However, ECU's defense forced a pair of Ouachita punts to keep the game at a one-point difference.
ECU's eventual game-winning drive started with 2:08 remaining in the game. Big plays of 19 yards, 17 yards, and two plays of 20 yards put the orange Tigers deep into Ouachita territory to set up the game-winning field goal by Ogura as time expired.
Ouachita looks to bounce back next Saturday, September 13 with its first home game of the season taking on Southeastern Oklahoma State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Cliff Harris Stadium.
