SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist football rallied from a pair of 3-score deficits to get within striking distance twice in the second half, but was unable to complete the comeback in a Great American Conference defeat as Ouachita Baptist walked away with a 35-21 victory on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex.

The Bison (2-3, 2-3 GAC) trailed 13-0 after the opening quarter and were down by as many as 21 points twice in the second half and battled back to get within two scores, but the Tigers (3-2, 3-2) hung on for the victory.

OBU received the opening kickoff but was held to a three-and-out, leading to an eight-play, 62-yard scoring drive by the Tigers that ended with a Jaylen Boardley 3-yard touchdown run. Braden Johnson missed the ensuing extra-point attempt to keep the score at 6-0 with 10:04 to play in the opening frame.

Oklahoma Baptist responded with a methodical drive to take the ball all the way to the Ouachita 28-yard line, but came up short on a fourth-down attempt to give the Tigers the ball back at the 5:05 mark of the first quarter. The Tigers took advantage immediately with a four-play touchdown drive punctuated by a Tre Nichols 34-yard touchdown run to make it 13-0.

Neither team would muster another score until the Bison strung together a nine-play drive that saw Haven Lysell score his second rushing touchdown of the season from five yards out to cut the deficit to six points (13-7) with 6:28 left in the half.

OBU was given a golden opportunity to take the lead after Ouachita's Nate Stafford muffed a punt and Bison running back Malachi Kendrick recovered the fumble at the Tigers' 17-yard line. On the next play, Brady Bricker tried to float a pass to Devan Daniels who was open on the left side, but Ouachita linebacker Justin Crutchmer snagged the ball out of the air and returned it 35 yards to set up the Tigers for one more first-half scoring drive.

Ouachita Baptist drove the ball to the OBU 6-yard line, and Bison safety George Getanda nearly picked off a Nichols pass in the end zone, but the ball slipped out of his hands and into the arms of Tigers wideout Bo Baker for a touchdown to give Ouachita a 20-7 halftime lead.

The Tigers scored on their opening drive of the third quarter when Nichols scrambled in from 21 yards out to push the lead to 20 points (27-7). Despite the deficit the Bison would not go quietly as they converted on a pair of fourth-down attempts on the ensuing drive, once on a Jason Ceniti scramble on fourth-and-five, and again on a Ceniti touchdown pass to Nick Harris on fourth-and-five from the 8-yard line to make it 27-14.

It looked as if Oklahoma Baptist had seized momentum, but Nichols scored on another touchdown run from 57 yards out on the sixth play of Ouachita's next drive and the Tigers converted a two-point attempt to push their lead to 35-14.

Jordan Garcia blocked a punt on Ouachita's next possession to set the Bison up for another chance to trim the deficit. Oklahoma Baptist responded with a seven-play scoring drive on the ensuing possession. Ceniti found Harris on a fourth-and-six to keep the drive alive, connected with Jacob Trimble for 36 yards, and Justin Pascone punched it in from nine yards out to bring the Bison within two scores (35-21) at the 9:02 mark of the fourth quarter.

After holding the Tigers to a three-and-out with 6:51 to play, the Bison again strung together a long drive that included an incredible fourth-down conversion on an 11-yard Ceniti run to get to the Ouachita 4-yard line. But KJ Colen picked off Ceniti in the end zone on the next play and the Tigers were able to run out the clock to escape with a 14-point win.

Ceniti finished 17-of-22 for 181 yards with a touchdown and one interception in relief of Bricker, who struggled in the first half and went just 3-of-10 for 49 yards and an interception. Pascone led the Bison with 65 rushing yards on 12 carries and a touchdown, while Trimble hauled in six passes for 109 yards and Harris added seven catches for 69 yards and a score.

Jackson Copeland led the Bison with a career-high 10 tackles, Austin Vincent had nine stops, while Garcia, Bryce Starling, and Kadyn McDonald each had seven.

Nichols was 10-of-14 for 124 yards and a touchdown while adding 155 yards and three scores on the ground. The Tigers' defense was led by Kahlil Smith and Elijah Mason, who each had 10 tackles. Crutchmer finished with eight tackles, one tackle-for-loss, one interception, and two pass breakups.

Ouachita Baptist outgained Oklahoma Baptist 423-388 and ran for 299 yards to the Bison's 153. The Tigers finished with a 34:04-25:56 advantage in time of possession. Ouachita converted 5-of-15 third downs, while Oklahoma Baptist converted 4-of-5 fourth-down attempts.

Oklahoma Baptist travels to take on Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. at Willis "Convoy" Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.