DURANT, Okla. - For the second straight week, the Oklahoma Baptist football team put together a huge fourth quarter comeback in the final five minutes on Saturday evening.
This time, they finished it off.
Preston Haire connected with
Shae Garner for a 27-yard score with 50 seconds to play and the OBU defense forced a turnover on downs to give the Bison a thrilling 34-31 win over Southeastern Oklahoma State at Paul Laird Field.Â
The Bison and Savage Storm were nearly even in yards with OBU finishing with 414 total yards including 247 through the air. Southeastern had 419 total yards including 348 through the air. The Bison defense came away with three turnovers on the night.
It is the seventh consecutive win for Oklahoma Baptist over an GAC in-state team dating back to 2017.
It was a slow start for both sides, but especially for the OBU offense as they could not muster a first down throughout the first quarter despite a forced fumble and recovery from
Rueben Thompson on the opening kickoff. Southeastern took advantage, getting a Rollin Kinsaul touchdown pass to Duce Pittman from 27 yards out for a 7-0 midway through the first.
Southeastern made it a 14-0 game early in the second quarter on a 10-play drive as Kinsaul connected with Braxton Kincade for a 39-yard score.
OBU finally found a spark on the offensive end as Haire found an opening and took a 36-yard run down into Savage Storm territory. Haire would connect with
Noah McGraw on a fade route for a 14-yard score to cut the deficit in half at 14-7.
After the two sides exchanged possessions,
Felipe Alvear changed the momentum of the game as stepped in front of a Kinsaul pass and returned it 35 yards to the SE 3 yard line to set up the OBU offense.
A few plays later,
Tyler Stuever plowed through the defense and evened the game at 14 a piece. Southeastern got a field goal back before the end of the half to take a 17-14 lead into the break.
In the third quarter, OBU opened with the ball and got a spark from Thompson as he broke off a 29-yard run into Southeastern territory. Haire would convert a 4th down on the ground and
Isaiah Mallory would cap the six play drive with a 16-yard touchdown run to give OBU a 20-17 lead, their first lead of the night.
Southeastern would control the rest of the quarter as they scored 14 straight points to take a 31-20 going into the fourth quarter. OBU would put some drives together, but had nothing to show for in terms of points.
As time continued to run later in the fourth quarter, the Bison needed a big play to switch their fortunes and they got that from
Lane Martin. Martin stepped in front of a Kinsaul pass and gave OBU the shot of adrenaline they needed to begin their comeback.
Haire went to work, immediately hooking up with
Joshua Cornell on a 44-yard pass to get into Southeastern territory. A few plays later, Haire found McGraw again on a fade route, this time from five yards out to cut the score to 31-26 with around five to play.
The OBU defense had to come up big one more time after allowing a first down and was able to force Southeastern into a fourth down situation. Inexplicably, the Savage Storm decided to fake a punt on 4th-and-6 and were stuffed from the start, causing a huge turnover on downs.Â
Haire went to work in SE territory before finding Garner all by himself by he pylon. Haire would run it in for the 2-point conversion to make it a 34-31 game with less than a minute to play.
The defense, who took such a painful loss a week ago at Southern Arkansas, found a way to close this time, forcing a turnover on downs and giving the Bison the incredible win.
Haire finished 29 of 41 for 247 yards and three scores while also adding 71 yards on the ground. Cornell tied a school record with 12 receptions for 126 yards while McGraw had four catches for 35 yards and two scores. Garner finished with four catches for 35 yards and the game winner. Thompson carried nine times for 50 yards while the OBU offense had no turnovers on the night.
Kinsaul was 25 of 47 for 331 yards and three scores as well as two interceptions. CJ Shavers had 16 carries for 53 yards and a score on the ground while Kincade had seven catches for 127 yards and a score.
Defensively,
Myles Russell led the way with nine tackles while
Trajan Lands had seven.
Josh Arnold finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack while Alvear had five tackles and the interception.
Lane Martin had an INT while
Robert Lolofie had a pair of sacks.Â
Conner Swope led the Savage Storm defensely with 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss while Jared Bell had nine tackles and a TFL.
OBU moves to 1-2 overall and will look to carry that momentum into next weekend as they return home for the first time since September 7. The Bison will welcome in East Central for a 6 pm kickoff at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex.
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