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Old Opponent Facing Bears on Hall of Fame Weekend on Saturday

UCA hosting West Georgia at 4 p.m. on The Stripes looking to bounce back from loss and you can watch on ESPN+

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CONWAY, Ark. — An old opponent is coming to town when Central Arkansas Bears on The Stripes on Saturday as part of Hall of Fame Weekend on the campus.

The No. 12/13 Bears will host the West Georgia Wolves at 4 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

UCA and UWG, now both members of the United Athletic Conference (UAC), were former opponents in the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The team will be meeting for the ninth time Saturday, but the first since 2003.

UCA won that matchup 48-6 in Conway, three years before the Bears moved up to NCAA Division I. West Georgia is a first-year member of the UAC after making the move to Division I this year.

The overall series is tied 4-4, with UCA winning the first two meetings and the last two.

The Bears (4-2) are coming off a 41-34 loss at Top 25 Abilene Christian last Saturday in Abilene, Texas. UCA out-gained ACU 528 to 513 yards but also had two turnovers and a blocked field goal. The Wolves (1-4, 0-4) lost 20-16 at home to Austin Peay last Saturday, their fourth consecutive loss after a season-opening victory over FBS Samford.

The Wolves rely on a solid defense, allowing just 27.6 points per game, which ranks third in the league. UCA counters with the top-scoring offense in the UAC, averaging 39.0 points per game, and No. 1 total offense, putting up 492.5 yards per outing.

UCA also sports the top rushing offense and defense in the conference, running for 261 yards a game and allowing 114.8 rushing yards. UWG is ranked eighth in rushing offense (125.6) but is second in passing offense (247.8), ahead of UCA (231.5). UCA quarterback Will McElvain has thrown for 1,338 yards and eight touchdowns, while UWG’s Davin Wydner, a transfer from Ole Miss, has 1,038 passing yards and three touchdowns.

The Bears’ loss at ACU dropped them into fifth place in the UAC standings at 1-1 with six regular-season games remaining.

HALL OF FAME:

The 2024 class will be officially inducted in the annual Hall of Fame Brunch on Saturday morning in the Student Center Ballroom. The class includes:

• Kenneth Allen (track)
• Kasey Britt (softball)
• Verna Curry (track)
• Morgan Gilbert (coaching)
• Damien Land (football)
• Robert Tate (football)
• Genai Walker (women’s basketball)

Information from UCA Sports is included in this story

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2024 UCA Football

Sat, Aug 31@ Arkansas StateL, 34-31
Sat, Sep 7@ LindenwoodW, 34-13
Sat, Sep 14Austin PeayW, 45-17
Sat, Sep 21@ Arkansas-Pine BluffW, 56-17
Sat, Sep 28vs LamarW, 34-14
Sat, Oct 5@ Abilene ChristianL, 41-34
Sat, Oct 12vs West GeorgiaW, 34-33
Sat, Oct 26vs North AlabamaW, 24-19
Sat, Nov 2@ Utah TechL, 34-21
Sat, Nov 9@ Eastern KentuckyL, 31-24
Sat, Nov 16vs Southern UtahL, 38-31
Sat, Nov 30@Tarleton State2:00 PM
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High School Football Rankings

Following is the Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll including the Overall Top 10, the top five in Classes 7A, 6A, 5A, 4A, 3A and 2A, plus the top three in the 8-man division, as voted by a panel of sports media from around the state for the week ending August 24. Ranking is given with first-place votes received, records, total points and ranking from last week's poll:
OVERALLRecordPtsPrv
1.Bryant (25)10-02681
2.Greenwood (2)10-02343
30Conway9-12022
4.Little Rock Parkview9-11714
5.Bentonville7-31625
6.Benton9-11486
7.Fayetteville8-21117
8.Pulaski Academy8-2898
9.Rogers7-3439
10.Joe T. Robinson9-122
Others receiving votes: Valley View 8, Mountain Home 7, Cabot 6, Little Rock Catholic 6, Shiloh Christian 6, Elkins 1, Farmington 1.
CLASS 7A
1.Bryant (27)10-01351
2.Conway9-11022
3.Bentonville7-3813
4.Fayetteville8-2454
5.Pulaski Academy8-2395
Others receiving votes: Rogers 3.
CLASS 6A
1.Greenwood (27)10-01351
2.Benton9-11082
3.Mountain Home8-2623
4.Shiloh Christian7-3494
5.Little Rock Catholic9-1345
Others receiving votes: Marion 6.
CLASS 5A
1.Little Rock Parkview (27)9-11351
2.Joe T. Robinson9-11062
3.Valley View10-0793
4.Farmington9-1484
5.Hot Springs Lakeside8-2205
Others receiving votes: Camden Fairview 7, Harding Academy 7, Morrilton 3.
CLASS 4A
1.Elkins (20)10-01261
3.Arkadelphia (5)8-2913
2.Little Rock Mills (1)10-0682
4.Warren8-2554
5.Dardanell (1)9-123
Southside Batesville10-023
Others receiving votes: Malvern 12, Gravette 5, Highland 2.
CLASS 3A
1.Bismarck (12)10-01051t
2.Fordyce (10)10-0961t
3.Prescott (1)9-1704
4.Osceola (2)8-1543
5.Booneville (1)9-1395
Others receiving votes: Mansfield (1) 23, Rivercrest 10, Rison 4, Salem 4.
CLASS 2A
1.Carlisle (20)10-01271
2.Conway Christian (7)10-01152
3.Des Arc8-2595
4.East Poinsett Co.7-352
5.Bigelow6-4183
Murfreesboro7-3184
Others receiving votes: Mount Ida 6, Junction City 4, Cross County 3, Poyen 3.
8-MAN SANCTIONED
1.Strong-Huttig (27)5-0811
2.Midland9-0532
3.Cedar Ridge8-1253
Others receiving votes: Woodlawn 3.

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