RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Tech football team opened their 2022 slate of home games in thrilling fashion on Saturday evening as they were able to use timely defensive takeaways to fuel an eventual 35-13 win over East Central.
The first of those timely takeaways came in the later stages of the second quarter. With the Wonder Boys (1-1, 1-1 GAC) leading 7-3, East Central was in position to come away with points as their drive made its way into the redzone and the Tech 16-yardlne.
On 2
nd-and-8 from the 16, Stanleigh Bennett sacked the Tigers (0-2, 0-2 GAC) quarterback Kenny Hrncir and in the process, forced a fumble. That fumble was recovered by Tech's
Trey White at the ATU 31-yard line. No points came as a result for the Wonder Boys on the offensive end, but the stop helped build momentum overall.
Later in the quarter, the two teams continued to find it hard to get an offensive rhythm and traded punts.
With just under one minute left before halftime, the Wonder Boys got the ball back, but were pinned deep in their own territory, starting the drive at their own 12-yardline. A quick three-and-out followed and a relatively short punt, combined with a 12-yard return gave the Tigers the ball at the Tech 36-yardline with 29 seconds left on the clock.
On the very next play, the second takeaway came as
Jordan Furtch intercepted a Hrncir pass at the Tech 20-yardline and returned it 50 yards to the ECU 30-yardline, completely flipping the momentum in favor of the Wonder Boys.
It was just a play later that the Tech offense turned that defensive takeaway into points as
Taye Gatewood found a wide-open
Travis Tobey for a 30-yard touchdown, suddenly putting the Wonder Boys up 14-3 right before halftime.
Out of the break, the Wonder Boys got the ball back first but went three-and-out. ECU then was able to connect for their second field goal of the game.
On the ensuing kickoff, Tech fumbled and East Central recovered at the ATU 23-yardline. Defending a short field, the Wonder Boys defense forced a quick three-and-out and forced ECU to attempt a 37-yard field goal. This time, the Tigers would miss wide left, keeping it a 14-6 game.
Despite the miss, momentum looked to be swinging the way of the Tigers as on the second play of Tech's ensuing drive, the Tigers forced another fumble, recovered, and returned it to the Tech 20-yardline.
Here is where the Wonder Boys defense made the play of the game. After a short rush gain was compounded by a personal foul penalty against Tech that put the ball at the ATU 4-yardline,
Javon Love intercepted a Hrncir pass at the 2-yardline and proceeded to return the ball 75 yards down to the ECU 23-yardline.
Five plays later, on third-and-three from the ECU 5-yardline, Gatewood ran in for a score and pushed Tech's lead to 21-6.
From there, the Wonder Boys would hold a firm grasp on the game and scored touchdowns on their next two drives, both of which came after forcing ECU to punt.
The first of those final two touchdowns was a 16-yard rush by
Deon Simmons, while the second was a 19-yard reception by
Matthew Rivera.
ECU would go on to score a late touchdown to bring the score to its final of 35-13.
The Wonder Boys will now prepare for a stiff test at home next week as they play nationally-ranked Ouachita. That game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff from Thone Stadium on Saturday, September 17. That game will double as Family Day as well as Hall of Fame day for the Wonder Boys.
