ARKADELPHIA – Ouachita scored on its first offensive play to set the tone of what ended up being a 49-14 homecoming victory over Southern Nazarene on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (4-2) ended up with a 489-297 edge in total offense, using a balanced attack with 258 rushing yards and 231 passing yards.
The Tiger defense came up with two takeaways in the win, which were interceptions from
KJ Colen and
Jackson Edwards. Colen's interception was returned near the goal line, and then fumbled into the endzone, where
Kahlil Smith was there for the recovery and six points.
The offense was spearheaded by reigning Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Week
Tre Nichols, who was responsible for four touchdowns and finished with 294 yards of total offense.
The first offensive play for the Tigers was a short post route from Nichols to
Eli Holmes-Holt, who then ran untouched over 50 yards for what ended up being a 60-yard touchdown.
SNU (1-5) answered on its ensuing drive to even the game at 7-7. That was all for the Crimson Storm offensively until late in the game.
Including that first Ouachita touchdown, the Tigers found the promised land on their first six possessions, and at one point, were averaging over 10 yards per play.
Nichols scored three times on the ground, including touchdown runs of 41, eight, and eight.
Chris Henley, Jr. found the endzone twice on just three total carries.
After going up 49-7 on the first drive of the second half, the Tigers played with mostly backups the rest of the way.
Hutch Grace led the Tigers on defense with 10 tackles.
Justin Crutchmer added eight tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two pass breakups.
Walter Hicks also had eight tackles.
Kahlil Smith finished with seven tackles, a half sack, and one pass breakup to go along with his defensive touchdown.
The win marked Ouachita's eighth consecutive victory in homecoming games and gave the team its first win at Cliff Harris Stadium this season.
Ouachita is back at The Cliff next Saturday, October 17 to take on Arkansas-Monticello. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
