Tigers take care of business against Boll Weevils
Nov. 10—MONTICELLO, Ark. — East Central University sports information director Teri LaJeunesse is usually pretty tame — one way or the other — when posting athletics information on the Tigers' official website.
But even she couldn't help herself after ECU's football team's impressive 35-10 road win over Arkansas-Monticello in a Week 10 contest inside Willis "Convoy" Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.
LaJeunesse's headline read "Football Stomps on Boll Weevils" and it wasn't wrong.
The Tigers outgained Monticello 344-234, raced to a 21-0 halftime lead and cruised to the Great American Conference victory.
East Central improved to 6-4 on the year and secured its first winning season since the Tigers went 6-5 in 2015. The Boll Weevils dropped to 4-6.
ECU quarterback Kenny Hrncir had a hand in all three Tiger first-half touchdowns. He completed a 16-yard TD toss to Miles Davis to cap a seven-play, 38-yard drive at the 8:59 mark of the opening quarter. That short field was set up by a nice 37-yard punt return by Ada High School graduate Jackson McFarlane.
A Hrncir 24-yard pass to Greg Howell set up a 1st-and-goal situation from the UAM 3 early in the second quarter. Hrncir later snuck in from the 1 and a Garrett Clark PAT put the Tigers ahead 14-0.
East Central milked over five minutes off the clock on its final scoring drive of the first half that went for 12 plays and covered 69 yards. Hrncir threw an 8-yard TD pass to Jake Berrey for the score that put the Tigers on top 21-0 with 5:18 to play before halftime.
It looked like the Boll Weevils were headed to paydirt on their next drive. However, on a 1st-and-10 play from the ECU 12, quarterback Demilon Brown connected with DeAndre Washington for 11 yards. Before crossing the goal line, East Central's Jalen Baldwin forced a fumble that was recovered by teammate Keonte Lusk at the 1-yard line.
UAM got a 14-yard TD run by tailback Chris Smith Jr. and a 30-yard field goal from Cole Crenshaw that got the home team within 21-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
East Central scored twice in the final period on a 31-yard TD toss from backup quarterback Taye Gatewood to Jake Berrrey and a 5-yard TD run by Nemier Harrod.
Both Tiger QBs performed well. Hrncir completed 19-of-28 passes for 155 yards with two scores and an interception, while Gatewood ended up a perfect 4-for-4 for 48 yards and a TD.
Herod led an ECU ground game that gobbled up 134 yards with 61 yards on 11 carries. Berry, a freshman from Purcell High School, had four catches for 68 yards and his two scores, while Davis added five catches for 32 yards. McFarlane ended up with three grabs for 26 yards. A total of 10 ECU players had receptions for the Tigers.
RJ Williams was the defensive leader for ECU with seven tackles and a quarterback sack. Jimmy Pitts also had seven tackles, while Devon Roush added six stops.
The Tigers will wrap up the 2021 season Saturday at Southeastern when they battle the arch-rival Savage Storm in the Great American Classic. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Paul Laird Field in Durant.
Southeastern is coming off a 35-21 upset victory over sixth-ranked Ouachita Baptist University in Week 10 at Arkadelphia, Arkansas.
