Bears strike within 13 seconds in 31-7 victory over Colonels

By DAVID MCCOLLUM

LOG CABIN STAFF WRITER

The University of Central Arkansas Bears slapped Nicholls with defensive and offensive surges in the first seconds and the final seconds of the first half Saturday, then crushed Nicholls with a 17-point surge in the third quarter Saturday for their first Southland Conference victory of the season at Thibodaux, La.The Bears (4-3, 1-2), who broke a three-game losing streak, stopped the Colonels (2-5, 1-2) on five straight possessions into their territory in the first half, then put them away with redshirt freshman Jestin Love’s 98-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Bears built a 31-0 lead late in the third quarter before Nicholls backup quarterback Landry Klann led a drive that put the final margin at 31-7.It marked the first victory in three tries for coach Clint Conque at Guidry Stadium against his alma mater.“I’m ecstatic,” Conque said. “Anytime you can go on the road and win in this league is rewarding, partcularly here. It’s a tough place to get to and win.”The Bears intercepted two passes, blocked a field goal attempt and forced two fumbles as the defense scored twice. The defenders, led by linebackers Tok Opeloye, Frank Newsome and Justin Heard, had had 10 sacks. The 10 sacks for a minus 76 yards tied a school record. Heard, Markell Carter and Markeith Gaines had two apiece. “We played pretty well in all three phases,” Conque said. Jermayne Lett and Seth Allison combined to give the Bears the advantage within 13 seconds. Lett forced a fumble with a hit on quarterback LaQuintin Caston and Allison completed the scoop-and-score touchdown with a 10-yard return. The UCA offense had a long wait for its big moment. The Bears had the ball only for six plays and 2:59 and had a total of 14 yards in the first quarter.In the first half, the Bear defense denied a nine-play drive by the Colonels to their 41, then blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt. Love stopped a 15-play drive to first and goal at the UCA 6 with a leaping interception on third down in the end zone and the UCA defense stopped Caston on fourth down at their 15.The Bears, who did not have a first down until late in the first half, began their only offensive uprising in the first half at their 20 after a fumble recovery. They drove 80 yards in six plays.A pass from Nathan Dick to Ken Robey, a thorn in the Colonels’ defense all game, got the Bears to their 40. The UCA quarterback then completed three straight passes in 31 seconds to get the Bears into the end zone — 26 yards to Robey, 19 yards to Isaiah Jackson (who caught the ball on his back at the 15) and 15 yards to Robey for the touchdown with 30 seconds left for the 14-0 halftime lead.“We bent but didn’t break defensively and we didn’t have many at-bats the first half,” Conque said. “To be able to drive 80 yards and stick it in was a big momentum shift.”Dick began the third quarter with passes of 27 and 17 yards to Robey got the Bears going on a drive to the Nicholls 9, leading to a 27-yard field goal by Eddie Carmona for a 17-0 lead.Nicholls drove to the UCA 14, then pulled away with the 98-yard interception return for a touchdown that put UCA up 24-0 with 5:57 left in the third quarter.“

We were opportunistic with a big defensive play on the first play, then Love’s interception broke it open,” Conque said.After a fumble recovery, Dick passed to Dominque Croom to the Nicholls 2, then Jackie Hinton scored the fourth touchdown on the first play.Backup quarterback Landy Klann led the Colonels to a fourth-quarter touchdown, capped by Jesse Turner’s 6-yard run.Carmona averaged 44 yards on five punts while Robey caught eight passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. Three UCA quarterbacks (Dick, Wynrick Smothers and Jim Youngblood) combined for 176 yards of 15 of 25.The Bears, however, rushed for only 46 net yards, 36 on six carries by Dick on the way to a season-low 230 yards of total offense on 46 plays to 330 on 81 by Nicholls.“We continue to not be able to run the football,” Conque said. “We refuse to knock people off the ball. We may have to throw the ball every stinking down.”After two weeks on the road, the Bears have a true homecoming Saturday with a 2 p.m. regionally televised game against Southeastern Louisiana at Estes Stadium, the culmination of Paint The Town Purple Week.