Southern Arkansas stuns East Central in OT

Sep. 9—The East Central University football team dominated the scoreboard against Southern Arkansas for nearly 49 minutes of game time during their Great American Conference clash Thursday night inside Koi Ishto Stadium.

What happened to the Tigers next was stunning.

The Muleriders scored two touchdowns in the final 1:11 in regulation to send the game into overtime and went on to snatch a 24-17 victory over East Central in the extra frame.

The devastating home loss dropped ECU to 0-2 on the year while Southern Arkansas escaped Ada with a 2-0 mark. The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Southwestern in Weatherford.

Interim head coach John Litrenta and his staff now have their sights on a repeat of last year when the Tigers lost their first two contests and went on to finish the season by winning nine of its final 10 contests including a victory in a bowl game.

"We didn't finish last night. We have to find a way to flatten the curve," Litrenta said. "This team will continue to come together and be ready for our next opportunity. Build off the good and continue to coach up the bad."

After freshman kicker Tommy Yousey booted a 33-yard field goal with 47 seconds left in the second quarter, East Central carried a 17-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The ECU offense stalled in the second half and wouldn't score again. Yousey even misfired on a 25-yard field goal attempt at the 11:36 mark of the fourth quarter. ECU still held a 17-3 lead at that point.

A bend-but-don't-break ECU defense looked like it was certainly ready to close out the game. The home crowd at Norris Field thought senior free safety Jimmy Pitts had sealed the deal when he intercepted SAU quarterback OB Jones in the end zone after wrestling the ball away from a Southern Arkansas receiver.

That gave the Tigers the ball back with 3:23 to play, still nursing a two-touchdown lead.

The improbable comeback started with the Muleriders at their own 31-yard line with just 2:06 left in the final period.

The Muleriders marched 69 yards in six plays capped by a 38-yard touchdown catch and run by receiver Kendall Williams, who drug an ECU defender the final 8-10 yards into the end zone. After a PAT kick by Hayden Nitz, Southern Arkansas had pulled within 17-10 with just 1:11 showing on the clock.

Nitz squibbed the ensuing kickoff to the right side of the field and SAU's D'evin McDonald stormed through a pack of East Central players and snagged the onside kick.

The Muleriders offense then took over at the SAU 47 with just over a minute left in the game.

The Tiger defense needed just one final stop but it never came.

On a 1st-and-15 play, SAU wideout Seth Johnson hauled in a 30-yard pass down the left sideline — with a little help from a push-off — and set up the Muleriders with another first down at the ECU 15.

Jones scrambled for eight yards on a keeper and scored on a 4-yard run with 23 seconds remaining. A shaky PAT kick by Nitz was good and the game was tied at 17-all.

Southern Arkansas got the ball in overtime and needed just two plays to score — a 23-yard reception by tight end Matt Whitten and a 2-yard keeper by Jones. Another Nitz kick gave SAU its first lead of the game at 24-17.

The Tigers picked up a first down on the first play of their OT possession on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Traair Edwards to tight end Jackson Allen. ECU managed just three more yards (on a rush by Edwards).

The game ended when Edwards tried to squeeze a ball to receiver Dior Scott through an SAU double team.

The East Central offense ended the game with 256 yards of total offense but managed just 69 yards over the final two periods.

In contrast, the Muleriders piled up 511 yards of total offense — 378 after halftime.

Edwards completed 26-of-39 passes for 167 yards and rushed for 47 more and two touchdowns to pace the East Central offense. Jackson was the top pass catcher for the Tigers with five grabs for 31 yards.

Jones ended up with a monster game for Southern Arkansas. He went 21-of-43 through the air for 304 yards and rushed for 92 more and two scores. Tailback Jariq Scales added 74 yards on 15 carries.

Devon Roush paced the ECU defense with 11 tackles and broke up a couple of passes. Pitts added eight stops and had the big interception. Kevoen Davis and Jackson Flowers followed with seven tackles each and both had a tackle for loss.

East Central freshman punter Reece Conner had a big day. He had eight kicks and averaged 42 yards per try and had a long punt of 58 yards.