Football
Bears Facing Tougher Challenge Against Lamar Tonight
UCA’s hot 3-1 start to season will play maybe best defense they’ve seen yet before conference play next week.
CONWAY, Ark. — Now we may find out a little more about Central Arkansas against Lamar on Saturday on The Stripes at 6 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.
UCA and Lamar competed previously as members of the Southland Conference, with the Bears holding a 9-1 advantage in the overall series. Lamar’s lone victory came in 2018 in Conway when the Cardinals won 38-24. The series has been a lot closer than the record would indicate, with the last meeting going to the Bears 49-38 in 2021 in Beaumont.
The series has been a high-scoring one, with UCA averaging 34.9 points per game and Lamar averaging 23.9 in the 10 previous matchups.
The Bears (3-1, 1-0) are coming off a comfortable 56-17 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff last Saturday on the road. UCA put up 566 yards of total offense, including its second consecutive game with 309 rushing yards. Senior running back Darius Hale scored four touchdowns, three rushing and one receiving, while fellow senior running back ShunDerrick Powell had 148 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Will McElvain completed 15 of 15 passes for 204 yards in the first half as UCA built a 35-10 lead at halftime.
The Bears have the 4th-best rushing attack in the nation, averaging 268.5 yards on the ground. Lamar allows just 163.8 rushing yards per game.
Lamar (3-1) had a come-from-behind victory over Texas Southern last week, scoring the game-winning touchdown with 1:05 left to grab a 20-17 win at home. That was the third of three straight home games for the Cardinals, who also have wins over Mississippi Valley State and then-No. 20 Weber State. The only blemish on their record was a 34-27 loss to FBS Texas State to open the season in San Marcos, Texas.
Both the Bears and Cardinals are riding three-game winning streaks entering Saturday’s matchup.
In the 2021 game in Beaumont, UCA rushed for 350 yards, with Hale accounting for 253 of them on just 22 carries (11.5 average), and Kylin James adding 112 yards. UCA led 49-23 late in the third quarter before Lamar scored twice in the fourth to make it an 11-point game.
UCA returns to United Athletic Conference (UAC) action next Saturday, traveling to Abilene, Texas, to take on the Top 25 Abilene Christian Wildcats. Lamar still competes in the Southland Conference and will host Stephen F. Austin next week.
