Quarterback injuries doom UCA in loss to Eastern Kentucky

RICHMOND, Ky. — Banged-up Central Arkansas could not pull off the miraculous comeback against Eastern Kentucky this time, falling 31-24 to the Colonels on Saturday at Roy Kidd Stadium.

After beating EKU with a Hail Marry on the last play of the game a year ago at Estes Stadium, the No. 16/19 Bears turned the ball over on downs in the finals seconds at the EKU 21 this time and dropped their second consecutive game to fall to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in United Athletic Conference play.

UCA was forced to play three quarterbacks after senior starter Will McElvain injured his shoulder late in the second quarter. Sophomore Austin Myers filled in for nearly two quarters before also taking a hard hit and exiting the game. Redshirt freshman Caleb Koger entered the game for the first time in his career and finished if off for the Bears.

“I haven’t been a part of many games when you get to your third quarterback,” said UCA coach Nathan Brown. “Caleb is our signaler. But he locks in in practice, and I’m honestly proud of him. And our players are proud of him, too. You get put in a situation like that, I thought he operated and gave us a chance when it was all said and done.

“Unfortunately we just didn’t have enough in the tank. I’m sad for our guys. They played hard. They did everything I asked them to do, coming off a tough loss last week. We gave ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter, on the road in a tough place to play. It’s just unfortunate. I hurt for our guys.”

Koger completed 5 of 10 passes for 64 yards, and took the Bears from their own 5 deep into EKU territory on the final drive. The Colonels (6-4, 4-2) had broken a 24-24 tie with a nine-play, 70-yard drive, capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by Joshua Carter with 2:24 to play.

UCA took over on its 10 after a 23-yard kickoff return by Tyion Berry was partially nullified by a penalty. The Bears then had a false start on their first play, backing it up again to the 5. Koger, a 5-foot-11, 175-pounder from Katy, Texas, hit Malachi Henry for 16 yards on second down. Senior running back Darius Hale broke 31 yards up the middle to get the Bears into EKU territory.

On second down, Koger connected with Henry again for 14 yards to the EKU 34. He followed that with a 16-yard pass to running back Landon Chambers to the 18. But three incompletions and a three-yard run ended UCA’s hopes.

Myers, a 6-4, 205-pound sophomore from Vilonia, Ark., was effective as well, completing 6 of 12 passes for 80 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Trejan Bridges. The Oklahoma transfer had a pair of touchdown catches, including a 17-yarder from McElvain in the second quarter. Bridges finished with eight catches for a career-high
143 yards.

The Colonels, who upset Tarleton State last week, got a 73-yard kickoff return to open the second half that put them back in the lead briefly. UCA answered with Myers’ 30-yard touchdown pass to Bridges just 1:12 later.

The teams battled to a 17-17 tie at halftime, with the Bears also getting a 23-yard field goal from senior Jake Gaster and a 2-yard touchdown pass from McElvain to Henry, McElvain finished 10 of 14 for 113 yards and two scores. Henry caught five passes for 59 yards. Hale had 16 carries for 90 yards, while fellow senior ShunDerrick Powell had 7 carries for 59 yards in limited action due to a lingering injury.

UCA outgained EKU 458 yards to 268 yards but lost a fumble and threw an interception.Defensively. senior linebacker Demetrias Charles had 9 tackles, including 2 tackles for loss and a sack. Senior safety TaMuarion Wilson had seven tackles, 1.5 for loss and three pass breakups. Senior defensive end David Walker had 1.5 tackles for loss among his six tackles, to push his school-record total to 59.0. UCA’s leading tackler on the season, linebacker Jace Benesch, had 10 more tackles, including 6 solo stops.

The Bears return home for the first time in three weeks on Saturday when they host Southern Utah at 4 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.