Box Score DURANT, Okla. —
Wesley McKinney had an 18-tackle effort,
Logan Genz added 13 stops, and
Shai Kobayashi turned in an 11-point effort as the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys defense held Southeastern Oklahoma ten points below its season average in a 22-5 loss to the Savage Storm on Saturday at Paul Laird Field.
The Wonder Boys opened scoring on their first possession of the contest, as
Randy Velazquez booted a 52-yard field goal to give Arkansas Tech (3-7, 3-5 Great American Conference) an early 3-0 lead at the 2:28 mark of the first quarter.
Velazquez' field goal tied the record for the longest field goal in school history, previously set by Piotr Styczen against West Alabama in the 1996 season.
The lead would hold until the end of the quarter, when Southeastern Oklahoma (6-4, 5-4 GAC) took over seven minutes off the clock with a 16-play, 92-yard drive capped by a four-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Polite to Layton Dworaczyk. A two-point conversion attempt was good, and the Savage Storm pulled ahead 8-3 with 23 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Wonder Boys threatened to reclaim the lead late in the second quarter, but a fumble on the Southeastern one-yard line gave the ball back to the Savage Storm. Deep in their own territory, the Savage Storm were unable to push away from the goal line and were forced into a punting situation.
Tech's
Nick Akins blasted through the Southeastern line to block the punt off the foot of Jared Heim, and the ball went through the back of the end zone resulting in a safety, pulling the Wonder Boys to within 8-5.
After a scoreless third quarter, the Savage Storm used three consecutive big plays to set up a one-yard touchdown run on a quarterback keeper by Polite with just over ten minutes to play in the contest.
Southeastern sealed the win later in the fourth quarter, when Polite connected with Dworaczyk on a 28-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-8 to give the Savage Storm a 22-5 lead with 2:29 remaining.
Arkansas Tech will conclude its 2014 season with a 2 p.m. contest against Harding in Searcy, Ark. on Saturday, November 15.
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