Bears Block Late Field Goal to Escape With 21-20 Victory

Saturday, September 18

Conway, Ark.

6 p.m.

Murray State

Central Arkansas

Photo by: Tab Brockman

Bears Block Late Field Goal to Escape With 21-20 Victory

9/18/2010 11:28:31 PM | Football

Defense limits Bears to 105 yards in second half

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Central Arkansas blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt with 34 seconds remaining in the game to fight off a game Murray State team and hand the Racers a 21-20 defeat Saturday evening in front of 12,088 fans at Estes Stadium.

Trailing by one point with 4:13 left in the game, the Racers began their final drive on their own 23-yard line. Facing a 3rd-and-8, quarterback Jeff Ehrhardt found Daniel Ard for 15 yards and a first down. After an eight yard run from Mike Harris, the Racers moved into UCA territory on a roughing the passer penalty. The Racers four yards and a couple running plays to set up the game-winning attempt.

The UCA offense struggled the entire second half, but were able to sustain one drive that turned out to the deciding points. The drive was kept alive by the legs of quarterback Nathan Dick who scrambled to pick up a pair of first downs on the 11-play drive. The drive ended as Jackie Hinton went over right tackle for a 22-yard touchdown run.

The Bears (3-0) got on the board on their opening possession as they needed fours to cover the 67 yards. Dick found Kenneth Robey on a 50-yard strike down the left sideline on a misdirection play.

The Racers (0-3) responded on their next possession as Ehrhardt connected on six passes to lead MSU to a field goal. Ehrhardt started the drive with two completions to Rashad Daniels for a first down. Ehrhardt later found Ard on a pair of completions that covered 23 yards. Kienan Cullen finished off the drive by hitting a 43-yard field goal.

UCA added to its lead late in the first quarter as Desmond Wilcox intercepted a pass and set the Bears up near midfield. The Bears moved down the field in six plays with Hinton capping the drive with a seven-yard TD run over left tackle.

Hannibal Beauford had a quick answer to the UCA scoring drive as he returned the ensuing kickoff out to the 41-yard line. The drive started with Dexter Barnett hauling in a short pass and making a pair of moves to pick up a first down. As the Racers moved across midfield, Ehrhardt found Arthur Brackett for 18 yards to the Bears 20-yard line. After a short completion to Walter Powell, Ehrhardt took advantage of a free play and found Ard over the middle for a 16-yard touchdown.

The Racer defense got into the act on the next series as Nathan Brinkley forced a fumble that was recovered by Harry McCall at the Bear 21-yard line. Mike Harris started the drive with a five-yard run and Casey Brockman followed with a seven-yard gain on a quarterback draw. Two plays later, the duo of Ehrhardt and Ard connected on their second scoring strike, this time from eight yards out.

The two teams went scoreless for nearly 22 minutes on the game clock until the Racers finally got on the board again with 5:16 remaining in the third quarter. The defense helped set up the score as they forced the Bears to punt out of their own endzone. Dontrell Johnson took the short line drive punt and returned it to the Bear 34-yard line. MSU converted a fourth-and-1 on a completion to Alex Estes. A bad snap stalled the drive, but Cullen put points on the board with a 39-yard field goal.

Nathan Brinkley led a strong defensive charge as he recorded 10 tackles and forced a fumble. Erik Fennell and Zach Kutch each added eight stops. As a unit, the Racers held UCA to just 105 total yards in the second half, including just 43 yards through the air.

The Racer offensive attack was led by Ehrhardt who went 35-for-46 for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Brackett caught nine passes for 52 yards, while Ard had seven catches for 72 yards and two scores.

On the ground, Duane Brady rushed for 42 yards on 18 carries, while Harris added 38 yards on eight carries.

The Racers return to action next weekend as they play host to UT Martin. Kickoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at 'The Track' and will be shown live on the Wazoo Sports Network.