September 22, 2001

Turnovers in Red Zone Hurt Tigers in 10-3 Loss

Arkadelphia, Ark--The Ouachita and Southern Arkansas defensive units were big pieces of the storyline of the game as Southern Arkansas escaped Arkadelphia with a 10-3 victory Saturday night in Gulf South Conference action at A.U. Williams Field.

The other big part of the storyline was the 10 turnovers between the two teams in six fumbles and four interceptions. Southern Arkansas committed two of each and Ouachita fumbled four times and threw two interceptions. The timing of the fumbles and where on the field the fumbles occurred is what killed the Tigers’ chances of a victory.

Leading 3-0 on a 30-yard Justin Laird field goal, Ouachita (1-2, 0-1) fumbled three times inside the SAU 10 yard line and once on a muffed punt return at the SAU 39 yard line. Ouachita recovered an SAU fumble on the Mulerider 26 with 1:36 left in the first quarter and had a first and 10 from the SAU 11 yard line when Steven Lowe fumbled at the SAU one after breaking through the SAU defensive line and linebackers heading to the end zone.

After the Tiger defense forced a punt, Ouachita began their next drive at the SAU 24 and saw the drive end six plays later on second and goal from the SAU 6 when Donte Waldon fumbled at the four-yard line.

Even with the miscues, the Tiger defense would not allow SAU to take advantage and put points on the board. In the first half, SAU (1-2, 1-1) had one net yard rushing on 21 attempts and 80 yards passing, 28 of which came on the last play of the half at midfield.

The only touchdown of the game came in the third quarter when the ‘Riders went 64 yards on 13 plays capped off by a one yard sneak by quarterback Ted Williams. The big play of the drive came on a 19-yard pass to the one-yard line from Williams to Ryan Baker. Southern Arkansas had possession of the ball for nearly 11 minutes in the third quarter.

A 38-yard field goal from SAU’s Saul De La Cruz gave the Muleriders a 10-3 lead with 27 seconds left in the third quarter allowing Ouachita plenty of time for a scoring drive.

Ouachita would have two more chances to score as Tiger free safety Eric Allen intercepted a Williams pass at the SAU 28, his second of the game. Ouachita then faced another first and goal from the SAU six-yard line when Lowe fumbled the ball and SAU recovered. 

Southern Arkansas would then cough up the ball as OBU senior defensive end T.J. Bingham forced a fumble recovered by Lee Ruiz and Eric Allen, giving OBU new life. The Tigers would then give the ball over on downs four plays later as Lowe was stopped short on a fourth and three play over the left side of the line. SAU sealed the victory as they ran out the clock with two first downs.

Ouachita gained 112 yards rushing on 39 attempts and threw for 117 yards, completing 13 of 33 attempts. Waldon rushed for 58 yards on 14 attempts and quarterback Anthony Zaragoza was 10 of 21 for 94 yards with one interception. Sophomore receiver Andrew Fellows caught five passes for 37 yards.

Allen was the leading tackler for OBU with six solo tackles and six assisted tackles for a total of 12. Allen also intercepted two passes, deflected two passes, had two tackles for loss and recovered a fumble. Bingham had nine tackles with one tackle for a loss of one yard and one quarterback sack. Linebacker Chase Ellis had eight tackles for Ouachita.

Southern Arkansas was led by Williams who passed for all 147 of SAU’s yards through the air on an 11 for 22 effort with two interceptions. SAU rushed for a total of 107 yards, led by Sinegal’s 30. Jason Bennett was Williams’ favorite receiver as he caught four passes for 52 yards. Tim Rose anchored the Mulerider defense with eight tackles followed by Jordan Babineaux, Keenan Washington and Chad James with seven tackles each.

Ouachita will hit the road next Saturday, September 29, as they will face Arkansas Tech University at 6 p.m. at Buerkle Field in Russellville, Arkansas. The next home game will be on October 13 as the Tigers will host North Alabama at Ouachita’s Family Day.

-by Chris Babb