BEARS DOMINANT IN 63-3 ROUT
CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears broke one record early Saturday and flirted with several more in a 63-3 victory over the Texas Wesleyan Rams on Homecoming weekend at First Security Field @ Estes Stadium.
Third-year sophomore wide receiver Tyler Hudson caught a 93-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Breylin Smith late in the first quarter tp break the UCA career record for receiving yards. Hudson, from Spring, Texas, entered the game needing just 22 yards to top Desmond Smith's record of 2,828 yards that he accumulated from 2013-16, and ended the suspense on his first reception.
After two incompletions on the Bears' first two possessions, Smith hooked up with Hudson for the longest play of the season for the Bears that gave them a 21-0 lead in what quickly turned into a rout. Hudson pushed the record to 2,985 yards and also moved into a tie for second in career touchdown receptions with Ron Mallett at 26. Hudson also improved his season yardage total to 1,165, just 33 yards short of breaking Aaron Fairooz's record of 1,197 set in 2005.
"Desmond Smith was one of the most competitive players I've ever been around,' said UCA head coach Nathan Brown, who was UCA's offensive coordinator during Smith's career. "And I would tell Desmond this, Tyler had a ton more God-given ability than Desmond, who just got so much out of his body. But you look at some of the names that Tyler had just leaped above in the record book, I mean, Tyree Davis, Aaron Fairooz, Michael Norvell, Dominique Croom, Dezmin Lewis, Jatavious Wilson... There are so many players over the years , this has been such a great wide receiver university.
"And he's done it in two and a half years, that's what makes it so amazing, where he's at in his career and the amount of time he's got left. It's just pretty amazing.'
The Bears rolled up 538 yards of total offense by halftime, with Smith completing 13 of 17 passes for 410 yards and tying his career high with five touchdown passes. Hudson caught five passes for 178 yards and two scores _ he also had a 25-yarder in the second quarter _ and left the game for good at halftime.
UCA fnished the game with 664 yards of total offense, the fourth-best total in school history and the most since 2007. Defensively, the Bears were even more dominant against the first NAIA foe they had faced since 2012, holding the Rams to 150 yards of offense and a -3 net yards on the ground. TWU finally got on the scoreboard with a 24-yard field goal with 7:03 remaining in the game. Freshman Brett Lynch of Cedar Hill, Texas, picked off TWU quarterback early in the second period and UCA struck with a one-play scoring drive.
"First of all, we played clean football,' said Brown. "And that's the most important thing when you go into a game like this. We didn't turn the ball over, we were efficient when we had the football. Defensively, we didn't give up any big plays. It was a totally dominating effort and that's the way it should have been.
"But I want to give hats off to Texas Wesleyan. Those kids played hard. That's a good football team at that level. They were classy, Their coach is fighting an uphill battle in their situation with facilities and trying to get that program going. They were everything we expected them to be, a very well-coached football team and one we had to prepare hard for.
"And I think they way we played is a testament to what we thought of them. We did not look forward, we focused on them and we put the preparation in for Texas Wesleyan.'
UCA went almost exclusively with substitutes in the second half, including playing two additional quarterbacks. The Bears had nine different players with a carry, led by freshman sensation Darius Hale with 13 carries for 88 yards and a pair of touchdowns from 2 and 20 yards. Redshirt freshman quarterback Darius Bowers completed 3 of 3 passes for 60 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown pass to freshman Tyrion Berry. Ten different players caught at least one of UCA's 17 completed passes, with Smith connecting with junior Lujuan Winningham on an 80-yard scoring strike early in the second quarter, good for a 35-0 lead.
UCA scored on nine of its first 10 offensive possessions, and seven straight after a pair of touchdowns and a punt in the first quarter. The Bears attempted only four passes in the second half, completing all four. The Bears held the Rams to less than 100 yards of offense through three quarters.
"To cap off Homecoming week like that, with a victory like that, is huge,' said Brown. "I told them it's my job to get them motivated to play, it's their job to just go play the football we know we can play. And that's what we did tonight.'
UCA returns to ASUN/WAC play next Saturday, hosting Stephen F. Austin at 4 p.m. on "The Stripes" for Senior Day.
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November 07, 2021 at 08:40AM
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BEARS DOMINANT IN 63-3 ROUT - University of Central Arkansas Athletics - UCA Sports
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