University of Central Arkansas Athletics

CONWAY, Ark. _ The endings just keep getting crazier and crazier for the University of Central Arkansas Bears.

The No. 24 Bears drove 83 yards in 19 seconds and finished it with a Hail Mary touchdown pass from Will McElvain to Jarrod Barnes as time expired Saturday, giving UCA an improbable 27-24 victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Senior Day on "The Stripes."

The Colonels had driven 97 yards in 10 plays in just 49 seconds to go ahead 24-21 with just 19 seconds remaining. On the ensuing kickoff, UCA had a holding penalty that put them back at their own 17. Four plays later the Bears (7-3, 4-1) had a monumental victory that keeps their hopes alive for a United Athletic Conference championship in the league's inaugural season.

EKU, which lost in overtime to Austin Peay last week, was picked first in the UAC preseason poll, with UCA second and Austin Peay third. The Bears travel to Clarksville, Tenn., next Saturday to take on APSU (8-2, 5-0) with the title and automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs on the line.

"I'm really at a loss for words," said UCA head coach Nathan Brown. "Just proud for our guys, our men that were a part of that. And I think the thing that's so special about a game like that is the ability to quit in a game like that. You have 18-19 seconds left, no timeouts, you have 88 yards to go. A lot of teams wouldn't put the ball where it needs to be, or wouldn't make the play when it mattered the most, or whatever that looks like.

"But these guys just kept fighting. I thought this year, that possibly we had won every single way you could win a football game, whether it's comebacks, blowouts, holding on to a lead, delays. But that may have topped it all."

The Bears finished with 419 yards of total offense, with McElvain completing 27 of 44 passes for 291 yards and three scores. His 63rd career touchdown pass may have been his best ever. McElvain connected with Trustin Oliver on first down for 37 yards down the left sideline, putting the Bears at the EKU 46. Two incompletions to Oliver and Barnes followed, one that Barnes just missed over the middle which may have actually used up all the time on the clockhad it been caught.

The final play was a planned tip ball that sophomore Kam Robinson went up and got a hand on, tipped it up in the air right to a closing Barnes, who secured it and dove across the goal line in a pile of players. A lengthy official's review confirmed the game-winning touchdown.

"I've never been on the good side, or necessarily even the bad side, of a Hail Mary like that," said Brown. "And it's funny, you work on those plays, you work on them throughout camp, you work on them maybe a few times throughout the year to just refresh yourself. You work the tip drill, you work getting the ball in the end zone, where to go.

"And you may never use it. You may use it once. We've used it once and it resulted in a touchdown." 

Barnes was the trailer on the play, expected to be ready for the tip, and he was.

"In my head, I was already mad that I dropped the (previous pass)," said Barnes, a fifth-year senior from Cabot and the Bears' leading receiver this season and last. "But it happened for a good reason. I was just thinking in my head, I have to go make a play. First of all, I didn't think we were going to get the ball. He (McElvain) had so much pressure.

"And then I saw him throw it and I was just trying to play the tip because I saw a big crowd (of players). Then when I saw the tip, I just went after it and made sure I had to get in."

McElvain had to use his legs to avoid the EKU pressure and even get the throw off.

"I knew that I was going to have to extend the play just because of how long it takes for guys to run 50 yards," said the senior quarterback. "I was trying to get out to the right where the receivers were and it just didn't happen that way. So I just went left and just heaved it and tried to give them a chance to make a play, and they did."
 

UCA , which improved to 5-1 at home this season, opened the game with a bang as junior cornerback T.D. Williams picked off a pass and returned it 52 yards on EKU's first play of the game for a 7-0 lead. The Colonels (4-6, 3-2) scored the next 10 points on a 10-yard pass from veteran quarterback Parker McKinney to Jalen Burbage and a 37-yard field goal by Patrick Nations.

UCA responded with a 13-play, 74-yard scoring drive just before the half, with McElvain hitting Oliver with a 2-yard touchdown pass, the first reception of the season for the junior receiver. McElvain and senior Christian Richmond hooked up late in the third period from 11 yards to push UCA's lead to 21-10. 

But the Colonels got a pair of 23-yard field goals from Nation and the long touchdown drive to briefly take the lead before UCA's patented heroics. Earlier this season, the Bears outscored Southeast Missouri 32-3 in the fourth quarter to earn a 38-33 victory on Oct. 7 at Estes Stadium.

"You win a game like that, and I said this the week of SEMO when we won that game, you watch a team where their emotions are high and then they lose a game like that. It's just football is a crazy sport. Eastern Kentucky no more deserved to lose that game than we did. That was two heavyweights in this conference going back and forth. 

"Coach (Walt) Wells and his staff and his team, that's a talented bunch. It just felt good winning a tight one against those guys because they've had the better end of that for the last couple of years. Proud of our team.

"And it makes next week matter more. We're kind of in a situation where, it's almost like an FBS deal. You're in the SEC championship game, you're in the Big 12 championship game. This is the UAC championship game . It kind of just works out that way. It's the final week of the season and I think both teams have done a lot to get in the playoffs, even if one of us is going to lose. I think that's two playoff-caliber teams.

"But the only way you'll assure yourself and guarantee yourself of postseason play is winning next week. And that's why you come to UCA, to play in games like that." 

Barnes caught four passes for 75 yards, while Richmond had a season-high 10 receptions for 71 yards. Junior ShunDerrick Powell ran for 96 yards on 13 carries (7.4 yards per carry). UCA's defense held EKU in check for most of the night, save the final drive. Senior defensive end Logan Jessup added UCA's second interception of the night, while end David Walker had 1.5 tackles for loss and sophomore linebacker Jake Golday had a team-high nine tackles.

UCA and APSU will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Fortera Stadium in Clarksville, Tenn.