LIVE AUDIO
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE STATS

    CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears will be celebrating "Senior Day" on Saturday and also fighting for an outright ASUN Conference championship when they host the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at 4 p.m. at First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

    The Bears (5-5, 3-1) will be meeting the Gamecocks (8-2, 4-0) for just the second time, following last year's 38-14 Bears' victory in Jacksonville, Ala. The Bears are already guaranteed at least a share of the inaugural ASUN title since the Gamecocks are transitioning to FBS an are ineligible to win it. A victory would give the Bears an outright title, while a loss would split the title with Austin Peay (3-2) and possibly Eastern Kentucky (2-2).

    UCA turned three interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, into a big road victory last season in its first visit to Jacksonville. Linebacker Trenton Dunn returned an interception 51 yards in the second quarter to give the Bears a 21-7 halftime lead. Defensive back Christian Cain sealed the win with an 87-yard interception return with 4:18 to play.

    UCA is coming off a solid 34-7 road victory over old Southland Conference rival Stephen F. Austin, while JSU blasted EKU 42-17 at home in its home finale.

    The Bears' offense returned to form against SFA, with 407 total yards, including 233 rushing yards. Sophomore running back Kylin James earned ASUN Offensive Player of the Week with his 280 all-purpose yards, which included 155 rushing (10 carries), 88 receiving and a 37-yard kickoff return.

    UCA's defense held the high-powered SFA offense scoreless until the 1:38 mark of the fourth quarter as the Lumberjacks got a touchdown pass against UCA reserves to avoid the shutout.

    The Bears will face another high-scoring offense with the Gamecocks, who average 421 yards per game, with 248 of that coming on the ground. JSU piled up 496 yards of offense against EKU last week, rushing for 341 and six touchdowns. For the season, the Gamecocks have 33 rushing touchdowns.

    UCA hopes to see the return Saturday of running back Darius Hale, who was injured three weeks ago against North Alabama. Hale, the reigning ASUN Freshman of the Year, leads the Bears in rushing with 945 yards and 10 rushing touchdowns (12 total), despite missing most of two games. James, UCA's most versatile back, has filled in admirably with 213 rushing yards on 24 carries (8.8 per carry) and 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns on just seven receptions.

    Quarterback Will McElvain, a transfer from Northern Iowa, has surpassed the 6,000-yard passing mark (6,196 yards) for his career. Senior placekicker Hayden Ray of Bryant, Ark., tied the UCA career field goal mark last week with 43. He is also one back of tying the career PAT record (he has 172) and became the top scoring kicker in UCA history with 301 points against SFA.

    The Bears will honor nine players on "Senior Day" in a pregame ceremony, including a posthumous honor for tight end Garrett Thomas, who passed away last March after a campus accident. His parents will be on the field with the rest of the seniors and their families. The 2022 seniors include:
DB    Cameron Godfrey    Spring, Texas
DB    Christian Cain    Grenada, Miss.
DL     Jalen Bedell    Greenwood, Miss.
LB    Taurean Mays    Crestview, Fla.
DS    Justin Keijers    Valrico, Fla.
OL    Jaylin Hendrix    Everman, Texas
WR    Jake Meaders    Bryant, Ark.
DL    Caden Brown    Dardanelle, Ark.
TE     Garrett Thomas    Argyle, Texas