HUNTSVILLE -- Quarterback Nathan Brown completed 28 of 37 passes for 308 yards including touchdown passes of fiyr abd 16 yards to lead Central Arkansas to a 35-14 Southland Conference victory over Sam Houston State Saturday at Bowers Stadium.
Brown threw to 14 different receivers as he led the Bears to 476 total yards on 83 plays.
The Bearkat offense turned the ball over three times in UCA territory. The defense stopped four Bear drives (two punts, a fumble and a missed field goal) in the loss.
“We had mistakes on both sides of the ball,” SHSU head coach Todd Whitten said. “While we moved well at times, but as many difficulties as we had on defense, we had the same difficulties on offense when we got down in their territory. It was a complete effort by the team.
“But you have to give credit to Central Ark ? this it the type of thing that can happen every single week in our league.”
The Bearkats got on the board first thanks to a fumble by Bears wide receiver Quinton Morris on an end around on UCA's opening possession that gave SHSU a short field in which to work. Three plays and 16 yards later, running back Chris Poullard took it in from 6 yards out to put the Kats up 7-0 following the point-after kick by Taylor Wilkins.
But it would be all Bears after that with Brown taking over the game. The junior quarterback led UCA on three scoring drives in the first half, completing 20-of-24 passes for 261 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass to Charles Twilley that gave the Bears a 21-7 lead going into halftime.
The Bears' other two first-half scores came on an 8-yard run by running back Brent Grimes and a 1-yard plunge on fourth and one by fullback Spencer Hebert.
Brown finished the night with 308 yards through the air and three touchdown pass, the other two coming in the fourth quarter.
“We gave up some big third-down conversions,” SHSU safety Byran Richmond said. “It seemed like every time we got there to make a play, we were one step away from making a big play. That's a good thing, but it is also a bad thing because we have to finish.
“The good thing is we are one step there. We just have to work harder in practice in order to get that one step closer.”
While the defense had its share of problems, the offense had just as much trouble with the Bears.
After scoring that quick first-quarter touchdown, the Bearkats went three and out, then on the next two possessions, quarterback Rhett Bomar threw a pick and Poullard fumbled. Both turnovers came with SHSU driving on Central Arkansas side of the field.
SHSU came out firing to start the fourth quarter and got down to the Bears' 17 before stalling out. On fourth and two, the Kats decided to go for it and Bomar found wide receiver Trey Payne for a 17-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-14.
The Bears were forced to punt on the following possession, but a costly penalty and Bomar's second interception of the game ended the threat around midfield.
UCA held the Bearkats to only 325 yards of total offense.
Bomar finished the night 22-of-38 for 241 yards and two interceptions. Catron Houston led the Kats with seven catches for 90 yards, and tight end Blake Martin added five grabs for 56 yards. Payne finished the game with four catches for 49 yards and a score.
Despite his fumble, Poullard had a solid game running the ball, picking up 72 yards on 14 carries.
“As far as the offense goes, like every week I felt like we did some good things, but the bad things outweighed the good things tonight,” Martin said. “We had several bad penalties and some missed opportunities. They played a great game and have a lot of good players. We just didn't put it together as a team.”
The Bearkats have now lost three of their past four SLC home games dating back to last season.
“It's frustrating because our fans deserve better,” Whitten said. “I don't know, maybe I talk to much about us traveling good. But our guys, like I said, had a great week of practice. There has been a good focus to them, but I'm going to have take a better look at the film and see how the wheels came off.”
