Central Arkansas football can’t get ball back in loss at ACU

Central Arkansas scored with 8:11 left Saturday and then never touched the football again.

Abilene Christian made sure of it. The Wildcats ran 15 plays, moved 57 yards and used up every second that remained in a 20-14 win in Abilene, Texas.

That’s a tough way to lose. UCA had just pulled within six and didn’t get one more snap on offense.

The result dropped the Bears to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Abilene Christian improved to 3-4 and 2-0.

It wasn’t only the last drive, either. ACU held the ball for 36:23 and UCA had it for 23:37.

Third down was a big reason why. The Wildcats converted 10 of 14 and the Bears went 3 of 8.

Washington’s long run made it a game

Jalen Washington gave UCA its chance. The redshirt freshman running back broke loose for a 46-yard touchdown, and Caleb Jones added the kick to make it 20-14.

That drive took two plays and 14 seconds.

Washington finished with 105 yards on 12 carries, the most rushing yards for the Bears.

What’ll sting is the possession before it. UCA had moved to the Abilene Christian 8 earlier in the fourth quarter after Ty Durham caught a 29-yard pass and Chapman McKown ran for 12.

Then the Bears lost a fumble at the 10.

It was one of two turnovers for UCA. Abilene Christian didn’t have any.

In a six-point game, you don’t need a calculator to figure out how much that hurt.

A different team after halftime

The Bears didn’t score a point in the first half and trailed 17-0 at the break.

UCA opened the third quarter by going 75 yards in eight plays.

Donovyn Omolo finished it himself. He kept the ball on fourth-and-3 and ran 30 yards for a touchdown.

Omolo ran for 79 yards on 14 carries. He also completed 8 of 16 passes for 83 yards with one interception.

The Bears piled up 206 rushing yards and got both touchdowns on the ground. That’s 89 more rushing yards than ACU had.

The defense showed up in that third quarter too. Jakobe Shell and Kaydin Thomas got to the quarterback on the series after the touchdown, and Trevion Traylor and Shell did it again later.

Abilene Christian still squeezed out a 34-yard field goal with 56 seconds left in the period. That made it 20-7.

How the first half got away

ACU’s first drive lasted 18 plays and ate up 7:30.

UCA’s defense kept it out of the end zone. Marcus Washington made a tackle for a 5-yard loss and Bryson Adamoh broke up a pass, so the Wildcats settled for Brandon Perez’s 26-yard field goal.

The Bears had just one full possession in the quarter. They reached the Abilene Christian 33 before a fourth-down interception and a penalty handed the Wildcats the ball at the UCA 26.

Tucker Parks turned that into a 2-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. He later threw a 10-yard scoring pass to Dallas Dudley with 2:01 left in the half.

In between, the Bears drove 50 yards. Omolo hit Kealen Juniel for 30 of them, but Jones missed a 42-yard field goal.

Traylor ended the half with a 9-yard sack. He finished with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Ashtyn Williams led UCA with 14 tackles. Tae Bulock added nine and Shell had eight.

The Bears stay on the road next. They’ll play Tarleton State in Stephenville, Texas, on Saturday, Oct. 17.