HOUSTON _ A long punt return, and efficient offense and a stingy defense carried the University of Central Arkansas to its third consecutive Southland Conference victory Saturday as the Bears beat Houston Baptist 43-7 at Husky Stadium.
Junior Brandon Cox returned a punt 93 yards, the second-longest in school history, while the UCA defense held the Huskies to minus 9 rushing yards. The Bears recorded 13 tackles for loss and six sacks. Meanwhile, UCA's offense was efficient for the third straight week, scoring touchdowns on four of its first six possessions of the game.
Sophomore running back Dominique Thomas had rushing and receiving touchdowns for the Bears and sophomore quarterback Hayden Hildebrand tossed a career-high four touchdown passes as the Bears finished with 505 yards of total offense, the second time in three games to top the 500-yard mark.
Senior running back Blake Veasley caught two of those scoring passes and sophomore receiver Roman Gordon caught his first pass and first touchdown pass of his career, a 12-yarder early in the fourth quarter.
"We went on the road and took care of business,' said UCA head coach Steve Campbell, whose team beat HBU 70-0 last year in their first-ever meeting. "When you go on the road and win by 36, and within the conference, we're pleased by that. I was proud of the guys for coming out and playing. We didn't play our best early but we were still able to jump on them a little bit.'
The Bears jumped ahead 26-7 at halftime after rolling up 281 yards of total offense. UCA ran 32 plays in the opening half and averaged 8.7 yards per play. Thomas had 82 yards and a touchdown in the first half and also caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Hildebrand. Hildebrand completed 10 of 12 passes for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the half.
Cox returned a Brandon Taylor punt 93 yards for the Bears' second touchdown and a a 13-0 lead with 1:58 left in the first quarter. The return was the second-longest in UCA history behind a 97-yarder by UCA Sports Hall of Famer John Simmons in 1960.
Thomas added a 3-yard scoring run before the Huskies got their lone first-half score on an 18-yard pass from Max Staver to Ricardo Barnett with 2:26 left in the half. Senior running back Blake Veasley closed the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Hildebrand with 1:01 to play.
Veasley had an 11-yard touchdown reception midway through the third quarter and Hildebrand connected with Gordan from 12 yards out for a 40-7 lead. Jace Denker set the final with a 22-yard field goal with 1:04 left to play.
Thomas, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Ala., ran for 119 yards on 18 carries and caught two passes for 24 yards. Hildebrand completed 19 of 24 passes for a career-high 274 yards and four touchdowns. He threw his first and the team's first interception of the season in the third quarter, but Thomas forced a fumble on HBU's return and the Bears got it right back.
UCA had 13 tackles for loss _ the second highest total in Division I era _ including six sacks. Senior defensive tackle Derek Floyd had a pair of sacks, and senior defensive end Jonathan Woodard added 1.5 sacks. He is now two sacks short of tying the career school record of 30.
"I was very proud of the way the defense played,' said Campbell. "These guys had rushed for 200 yards against Sam (Houston) and Abilene (Christian). And we were able to control the run and that was big. Hayden has played extremely well, and he had another good game today. I thought he controlled the tempo well.
"The defense created some turnovers for us. I liked they energy we had and I like the way the guys are working. We're getting closer and closer.'
UCA returns home to First Security Field at Estes Stadium next Saturday to take on first-place McNeese State in the "Red Beans & Rice Bowl.' Kickoff is 6 p.m. on "The Stripes."
