BOLIVAR, Mo. – The SBU Bearcats lost a shootout to Ouachita Baptist, 47-45, to fall to 4-5 on the season.
The Bearcats generated 549 yards of total offense to OBU's 513 yards. SBU's Steve Gachette passed for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns, while gaining another 157 yards on the ground. Johnnie King caught 12 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Ouachita's Lance Parker completed 36 passes in 40 attempts, throwing three touchdowns today.
"It was an exciting 60 minutes of football, but we came up short today," said SBU's head coach, Keith Allen." We had a chance to win there at the end, which is all we can ask for. The first half, I thought we did pretty well, but in the second half, their defense stepped up and made some plays. We needed to tackle better and get a handle on our penalties."
After stopping Ouachita's opening drive with a 3-and-out, the Bearcats quickly marched down the field in less than two minutes to put the game's first touchdown on the board. SBU's Thaddeus Everson capped the 10-play, 86 yard drive with a 14-yard run for the score.
The Tigers bounced right back, however, late in the first quarter with a touchdown of their own. Lance Parker hit Julius Pruitt on a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 7.
SBU scored the next two touchdowns, stretching out their lead to 20-7. The first was a well constructed drive, lasting 3:14, of 10 plays and 71 yards. Clint Carroz ran the ball in from a yard out to give SBU their second TD of the day. Moments later, SBU's DB Jordan Jackson picked up a loose ball on the Ouachita 46, and ran the ball back for the third Bearcat touchdown, giving SBU a 20-7 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
Ouachita Baptist scored a touchdown with 9 minutes to go in the half, and added a field goal with 4 minutes to go, making the score SBU 20, OBU 17.
SBU took advantage of the final moments of the second half, quickly driving down the field for a touchdown. Steve Gachette, already in the record books as SBU's best-ever touchdown passer, hit Reuben Hartzler with a 21-yard strike for the score, giving the Bearcats a 27-17 lead at the half.
Ouachita pulled ahead of SBU with a couple of touchdowns in the third quarter, both capped by scoring runs from OBU's KJ Johnson, giving the Tigers their first lead of the day, 31-27.
The Bearcats retook the lead when Jeff Finnell ran for a 1-yard touchdown, completing a 12-play, 80 yard drive that took only 2:15 off the clock. Ouachita tied the game with a field goal 90 seconds later, making the score 34-34.
On the next series, SBU's Steve Gachette hit Johnnie King with a 58-yard touchdown, giving the Bearcats the lead back at 40-34 after the missed extra point. Ouachita, however, opened the final quarter with a lead-taking touchdown, capped by a 14-yard pass from OBU's Lance Parker to Jeremy Young, making the score SBU 40, OBU 41.SBU's next drive was highlighted by some long, acrobatic runs by quarterback Steve Gachette. Once Gachette put the Bearcats in field goal range, Brock Jolly hit a trey from 39 yards, that just cleared the uprights by a foot for the score, putting SBU back on top 43-41.
The Bearcats stopped the Tigers on the next series, but fumbled on the ensuing possession. The Tigers scored two plays later, on a KJ Johnson 32-yard scamper around the left side. OBU was unsuccessful on their 2-point try, leaving Ouachita ahead 47-43.
The Bearcats drove the ball deep into Tiger territory, but fumbled with 2 ½ minutes to play. Ouachita ran out the rest of the clock, ending the game with an intentional safety, to preserve the victory.
With today's loss, the Bearcats have dipped below the .500 mark for the first time since September 20. Next week (Saturday, November 1), which will be Senior Day at Plaster Stadium, the Bearcats will host St. Joseph's (Indiana) at 1:30.
Final Stats
