Football
Without key players, Bears close out season on road in Texas
No. 16 Tarleton State standing in way for UCA, who will literally come limping into final game of year
STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Central Arkansas gets one more shot to send their seniors out on a high note Saturday, with a tough Tarleton State team standing in their way.
The Bears (6-5, 3-4) face the No. 16 Texans at 2 p.m. Saturday at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.
The Bears have battled numerous injuries for the past month and have dropped three consecutive games, two on the road. UCA is expected to play again without its top two quarterbacks (Will McElvain, Austin Myers), an All-American running back (ShunDerrick Powell), a defensive end (Buck Cobbs) and possibly a cornerback (T.D. Williams).
Tarleton State (8-3, 5-2) was beaten by Abilene Christian 35-31 last Saturday at home, giving ACU the United Athletic Conference (UAC) championship and the automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs. The Texans are still playing for a possible at-large berth.
TSU leads the overall series 2-0, including last year’s 25-23 victory in Conway. In that game, UCA scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns but failed on a two-point conversion pass that would have tied the game with 14 seconds remaining.
One of the best to ever put on the Purple and Gray has joined one of the most prestigious clubs in the sport. Congratulations @dwalkeerr33 on your @seniorbowl invite!#BearClawsUp pic.twitter.com/DPCW1V9Gtb
— 𝗨𝗖𝗔 𝗕𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗢𝗧𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟 (@UCA_Football) November 22, 2024
The Bears had driven 72 yards in nine plays in just 1:45, capping the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from McElvain to tight end Jordan Owens, his second score of the game.
Both the Bears and Texans have been in the FCS national polls all season until UCA’s three-game skid dropped it out last week. The Texans, coached by former Sam Houston State coach Todd Whitten, are ranked No. 16 in both polls. UCA was picked first in the preseason UAC poll while TSU was second.
UCA senior running back Darius Hale, from Pearland, Texas, has run for 3,183 career yards at UCA and has scored 43 rushing touchdowns and 47 overall touchdowns. His rushing yards if fourth all-time at UCA behind Hosea Knowlton, Vaughn Edwards and Phil Caldwell, all UCA Sports Hall of Famers.
Powell, who is battling a hamstring injury, has 3,848 career rushing yards between his time at North Alabama and UCA. McElvain has 11,116 career passing yards (7,163 at UCA, fifth in school history) at Northern Iowa and UCA.
Senior safety TaMauarion Wilson is fifth in school history in tackles with 333, just behind No. 4 George Odum, who plays for the San Francisco 49ers.
Senior defensive end David Walker, who received his invitation to the Reese’s Senior Bowl on Thursday, has already shattered the UCA mark for career tackles for loss with 60.0 and is one away from tying the career record for sacks (30.5, Jonathan Woodard).
Information from UCA Sports is included in this story.
