Boll Weevils Rally Past Bison

MONTICELLO, Ark. -- In a thrilling finish, Arkansas-Monticello rallied late to secure a 24-20 victory over Oklahoma Baptist. The game, held at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium, saw a resilient UAM team overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to capture their fourth win of the season.

Oklahoma Baptist dominated the first half, jumping to a 10-0 lead. Its defense was a main reason, as it held the hosts to a mere 79 yards of offense and registered two sacks.

EJ Moore opened the scoring with a three-yard touchdown run, capping a 96-yard drive that chewed up over nine minutes. Patrick Maxwell later added a 39-yard field goal, extending OBU's lead.

Chase Whitebear aided OBU with a 60-yard interception return late in the second, however, the Bison's offense didn't convert that into points and took a 10-0 halftime lead.

In the third, UAM finally got on the board with a 43-yard field goal by Dylan Duhon. That came after a third-quarter-opening turnover off a Bison kickoff return.

However, Oklahoma Baptist responded with a 55-yard touchdown pass from Camden McCrary to Michael Marshall, pushing their lead to 17-3. Also, during that drive, McCrary hit Darius Melton on a long pass down the UAM sideline.

After that scoring strike to Marshall, UAM stormed back with the help of second-string quarterback Buddy Taylor. Trailing 20-10, Taylor scored on a 3-yard run with just under 10 minutes remaining, cutting the lead to three points.

On the very next OBU drive, the Bison drove all the way to the UAM 10-yard line, had a fourth-down conversion to freshman receiver Kai Helton, but ended up not scoring. Then with about 1:04 left, the Weevils went for a 90-yard, go-ahead scoring drive. That series was highlighted by a 12-yard, fourth-down run by Taylor, a 63-yard pass to Anthony Dansby and then a 27-yard rushing touchdown by Taylor.  That last play put UAM up for good.

Taylor led UAM's ground game, amassing 107 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries. Oklahoma Baptist's Moore was a workhorse, rushing 32 times for 135 yards and a score. OBU's McCrary threw for 194 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Whitebear had that 60-yard interception return as well as two pass break-ups. Plus, Jahden Brown and Triston De La Rosa notched a sack.

Next week, the Bison will host Ouachita at 2 p.m.