As time expired Saturday in John L. Guidry Stadium, the Colonels found themselves back in the conference title hunt after a 0-2 conference start. Junior kicker Ross Schexnayder nailed a buzzer beating 38 yard field goal to lift the Colonels to a 20-17 win against the 11th ranked University of Central Arkansas Bears. This was the second consecutive win the Colonels earned against a ranked opponent.
“We have had two excellent weeks in practice and it showed today’ said head coach Jay Thomas.
After a late touchdown and a subsequent successful two-point conversion attempt, the Bears tied the game at 17 with less than a minute left to play in the fourth quarter. The Colonels put up a late rally of their own that resulted in the win.
“We were not playing for overtime,” Thomas said.
On the first play of the game winning drive, senior quarterback Chris Bunch connected with junior wide receiver Antonio Robinson for a 38-yard gain. The connection gave the Colonels hope for a potential game winning field goal attempt. A seven-yard run by junior fullback Corey Buchanan and a defensive holding penalty on the Bears gave the Colonels closer range for the kick.
“After I kicked it, I felt like I had the distance, but I didn’t see it go through because I was getting rushed by my teammates,” Schexnayder said. “When my teammates surrounded me, I knew it went through.”
Offensively Buchanan led the Colonels with a game and career high of 83 yards rushing. He opened the game on the first offensive play with a 70-yard run that set up the Colonels’ first touchdown. Bunch ran for 79 yards with a touchdown and had another 102 yards through the air. Robinson accumulated those receiving yards on four catches.
Defensively, senior safeties Andrew Eddie and Ladarius Webb, along with sophomore linebacker Yoshua Willis led the team with seven tackles each. Senior defensive end Chris Noble had a sack.
The Colonel defense was able to control the offense of Central Arkansas and its quarterback Nathan Brown. The Bears came into the game with the conference’s top rated offense. Brown was held to 224 yards passing and just 72 in the first half.
“We knew we had to get to Brown,” Noble said. “We just couldn’t let him sit back there. He is just too good.”
The Colonels will be back at home in John L. Guidry Stadium as they face the Sam Houston State Bearkats. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
