SAN ANTONIO, Texas _ The third-ranked University of Central Arkansas Bears earned at least a share of the 2017 Southland Conference championship Saturday night, and they did it rather quickly.
Sophomore safety Juan Jackson intercepted Incarnate Word's first pass of the game and returned it for a touchdown and the No. 3 Bears went on to dominate the Cardinals 56-10 in SLC action at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium.
With the win, the Bears improved to 9-1 overall and 8-0 in league play, with one game remaining. Both Sam Houston State and Nicholls State already have one loss, so the worst the Bears could finish would be tied for first place.
Jackson's 43-yard pick six staked the Bears to a 7-0 lead just 10 seconds into the game, and it only got worse for the Cardinals (1-9, 1-7) as UCA rolled up 527 yards of total offense to win its ninth consecutive game after a season-opening loss to FBS Kansas State. UCA hosts Abilene Christian at 3 p.m. next Saturday.
"Southland Conference champions, that does have a good little ring to it,' said UCA head coach Steve Campbell, who led the Bears into the third round of the FCS Playoffs a year ago. "I told the guys, you sewed up a ring tonight. Now, what's that ring gonna say, it can either say 8-1 or it can say 9-0. Let's make sure it says 9-0.
"Very, very proud of the guys. We were close last year, and they guys kept fighting and scratching and clawing, and they never doubted and they believed we could get here. And we're here now.'
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The Bears amassed 306 yards of total offense in the first half, staking themselves to a 42-3 halftime lead. Hildebrand completed 16 of 22 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns, two to senior wide receiver Brandon Cox.
After UIW got a 49-yard field goal from Jose Perez to make it 7-3 with 10:24 left in the first quarter, UCA ran off the next 35 consecutive points. Hildebrand had scoring passes of 9 yards to senior Roman Gordon, 69 yards to senior Brandon Cox and another 9-yarder to Cox.
The Bears then went to the run game, getting a 4-yard touchdown run from sophomore Carlos Blackman and a 17-yarder from Kierre Crossley, following a muffed punt by UIW that UCA snapper Austin McIntosh covered at the UIW 17.
Cox, from Conway, caught five passes for 108 yards and the two scores in the first half alone.
In the second half, even with a conservative game plan, scored twice in the fourth quarter. Junior running back Cedric Batlte went 20 yards for a touchdown to cap a 6-play, 53-yard drive, good for a 49-3 lead. UIW got its only touchdown on a 49-yard pass from Taylor Laird to Breylann McCollum with 10:37 to play. UCA then added one final score when redshirt freshman quarterback Breylin Smith threw his first career touchdown pass, a 35-yarder to redshirt freshman Joe Hampton that set the final at 56-10 with 4:58 remaining.
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Hildebrand completed 20 of 30 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns, while Kierre Crossley had 68 rushing yards on 14 carries.Â
The UCA defense kept UIW off balance all night, recovering three fumbles, intercepting a pass and blocking a field goal attempt. The Cardinals finished with 294 yards of total offense, with 75 of those yards coming on the late scoring drive. George Odum and Robert Rochelle each forced and recovered fumbles, while Tre Smith had 8 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Chris Chambers and Chris Terrell had sacks and deep snapper Austin McIntosh recovered a UIW muffed punt.
"When we recruited these guys four years ago,' Campbell said, "we said hey you're going to have a chance to play for championships. And tonight they won a conference championship. Nobody can ever take away from them. So I'm very, very proud.
"And now we need to enjoy this one for 24 hours, then make sure we take care of business next week.'
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