Box Score (html)
WEATHERFORD, Okla. – SWOSU scored 21 first-quarter points – including two touchdown passes of over 60 yards – and held off a late flourish from East Central to defeat the Tigers 24-21 in the ASAP Kickoff Classic on Saturday evening in Weatherford.
With the win, SWOSU improves to 2-0 on the year, an accomplishment the program has not achieved since 2013. Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to Arkansas next Saturday for an evening matchup against Arkansas-Monticello.
Tyler Marr had a hand in all three of the Bulldogs touchdowns, carrying the first in himself less than four minutes into the action before finding
Jared Rayburn and
Justin Bailey for scoring strikes of 65 and 63 yards, respectively, later in the quarter. SWOSU led 21-7 at the end of the first and got a 24-yard field goal from
Ryan Buchanan in the second to take a 24-7 advantage to the locker room.
SWOSU was kept off the scoreboard in the second half, but the defense came up with timely stops to preserve the victory. On ECU's first drive of the half,
Dalton Cooper,
Colten Buie and a host of other Bulldogs helped stuff a 4th and 1 attempt inside the SWOSU 10-yard line, ending one of the Tigers longest drives. ECU scored a touchdown later in the third and they were driving, down 24-14 in the fourth when
CJ Jennings busted up an option attempt and recovered the fumble near midfield to return the ball to his offense.
ECU would get the ball back off an interception and cover 62 yards in 10 plays to make it a three-point game with 4:07 to play. SWOSU's offense needed to control the clock and did just that, getting three first downs – including a crucial 3rd and 13 conversion from Marr to
Patrick Lee – before heading into the victory formation.
SWOSU outgained the Tigers with 414 total yards compared to 339 for ECU.
Tyler Marr passed for 274 yards while the Dawgs got 140 yards on the ground, with ECU rushing for 178 yards and throwing for 161. ECU had an edge with 31:16 in time of possession, but SWOSU averaged 6.9 yards per play for the game, compared to an average of 4.7 yards per for the Tigers.
"I told the guys yesterday that I don't care how we do it, but as long as we get this win I'll be happy," SWOSU Head Coach
Chet Pobolish said. "I'm not pleased with some of the mistakes and penalties, but we're 2-0 and that's the most important thing. We need to clean some things up, but we'll take care of that in practice and get ready for Monticello. Spot the Ball!"
SWOSU heads to Monticello next Saturday in search of their first 3-0 start as an NCAA Division II institution. Kickoff of that contest is set for 6:00 pm.
