ALVA, Oklahoma – The Ouachita football team overcame penalties, turnovers, and an efficient Northwestern Oklahoma State offense to beat the Rangers on the road on Saturday by a final score of 31-24.
Chris Henley, Jr. rushed for more than 200 yards,
Jackson Edwards came up with a key interception late in the game, and the Tiger defense tallied five sacks and 14 tackles for loss to highlight the victory.
The win gives Ouachita (7-2) its fifth consecutive overall victory of the season and keeps the Tigers unbeaten on the road this year at 5-0. The win also gives Ouachita its 13th consecutive season with at least seven wins, marking the 32nd overall in program history.
Uncharacteristically, Ouachita was flagged for nine penalties in the game and committed its first two passing turnovers of the season. NWOSU kept the game close with an offense that went 10-for-17 on third downs.
After
Romelo Bell forced and recovered a Ranger fumble on the game's first possession, the Tigers settled for a field goal, which was good from 25 yards by
Braden Johnson to open the scoring.
The Rangers (0-9) took advantage of Ouachita's first interception thrown this season to take a 7-3 lead with six minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Ouachita regained the lead two possessions later on a 17-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback
Tre Nichols with 8:52 remaining before halftime. It was the only score for either team in the second quarter, which put the Tigers up 10-7 at the break.
The Tigers outscored the Rangers 14-10 in the third quarter on short touchdown runs by
Bryce Evans and Henley.
The final Ouachita score came on a 33-yard pass from Nichols to
Carter McElhany early in the fourth quarter to put the Tigers up 31-17.
NWOSU pulled back to within one score at the 7:03 mark of the fourth quarter, and had a chance to tie the game after a missed field by Ouachita with 1:54 remaining. A deep pass down the Ouachita sideline with 1:39 remaining was picked off by Edwards to seal the win.
Henley finished the game with 222 rushing yards on 23 carries for an average of 9.7 yards per attempt. It was the best performance by a Ouachita running back since current running backs coach
TJ Cole posted 232 yards against Arkansas-Monticello in the 2022 season.
Nichols finished at 12-for-19 through the air for 189 yards and one touchdown.
Eli Holmes-Holt was the leading receiver with five receptions for 90 yards.
Justin Crutchmer paced the Tiger defense with seven tackles.
Kahlil Smith added six tackles, three tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks for a combined loss of 12 yards.
Danny Johnson had four tackles, three of which were for losses off a combined 12 yards, including 1.5 sacks for a combined loss of 10 yards.
The Tigers will be in Arkadelphia for the final two weeks of the regular season, hosting Southwestern Oklahoma State next Saturday, November 7 at Cliff Harris Stadium and then walking across the street to take on Henderson State in the 99th Battle of the Ravine on November 14.
