SHAWNEE, Oklahoma – The Ouachita Baptist University football team secured a 35-21 road victory over Oklahoma Baptist University on Saturday to give head coach
Todd Knight his 200th career win.
Including his 28 wins in six years at Delta State University prior to coming back to his alma mater in 1999, Knight is now 200-141-2 in his 33rd season as a head coach. He is the all-time winningest college football coach in the state of Arkansas, a record he broke last season, now with 172 wins in 27 seasons at Ouachita.
Saturday's win moves Ouachita to 3-2 this season, all three wins coming on the road, including two in the state of Oklahoma where Ouachita is 37-5 since the formation of the Great American Conference in 2011. The Tigers also extended their winning streak over the Bison to 12 and improved to 11-0 against OKBU in the GAC era.
The Tigers finished one yard shy of reaching 300 rushing yards in Saturday's win. Ouachita averaged 6.6 yards per carry on 45 attempts, led by a career-day for quarterback
Tre Nichols, who finished with 155 rushing yards on just nine carries, including three touchdowns. Nichols also had 124 passing yards and one passing touchdown on 10 completions.
Ouachita scored on its first two possessions of the game, including a three-yard touchdown run by
Jaylen Boardley and a 34-yard scamper into the endzone by Nichols.
After coming up empty on its first four possessions, OKBU found the endzone with 6:28 remaining in the second quarter to make it 13-7 in favor of the Tigers.
The Bison looked to have a chance at tying the game or taking a one-point lead after recovering a muffed punt inside the redzone, but the Tigers took it right back on the ensuing play on an interception from
Justin Crutchmer. Ouachita then marched 60 yards in eight plays, ending with a lucky break on a deflected pass that fell into the hands of
Bo Baker in the endzone for a six-yard touchdown with under a minute remaining in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 20-7 lead at the break.
Ouachita went up 27-7 on the first drive of the second half, going 79 yards on 12 plays, capped by a 21-yard touchdown run by Nichols.
The Bison found the endzone again on their next drive to trim Ouachita's lead to 27-14 with 4:26 remaining in the third quarter.
Nichols led the Tigers on the ground once again on the next drive, capping an eight-play, 75-yard drive with a 57-yard touchdown run and then completing a pass to
Carter McElhany on the two-point conversion. That score put Ouachita up 35-14 with 2:09 remaining in the third.
The Bison then found a hot streak with fourth down conversions to eventually find the endzone with 9:02 remaining and then threatened to pull the game to within one score. After converting their fourth fourth-down conversion of the game to make it first-and-goal from the Ouachita four-yard line, Tiger cornerback
KJ Colen came up with an interception in the endzone to end the rally.
Kahlil Smith and
Elijah Mason paced the Tiger defense with 10 tackles each. Smith was also in on a sack and had a pass breakup. Crutchmer and
Dante Thomas each added eight tackles.
Kendall Williams had 1.5 tackles for loss, including a strip-sack fumble for a loss of eight yards.
Cortavion McMillan and
Danny Johnson were also in on sacks in the game.
The Tigers are home for the next two weeks, starting next Saturday, October 10 against Southern Nazarene for homecoming. Kickoff is set for noon at Cliff Harris Stadium.
