Conway, Ark.- For the second week in a row the Bears are on "The Stripes" on Saturday. The test will be much more difficult this time as the FCS Coaches Poll #3 ranked team in the nation, Tarleton State, comes to town. This is the first United Athletic Conference game of the season for both teams.
Last week the Central Arkansas Bears (1-1) handled UAPB 41-17 behind a big performance from UAC Offensive Player of the Week
Luther Richesson. Richesson had a combined 4 touchdown on the day rushing for 82 yards with 1 touchdown on 11 carries and throwing for 283 yards on 18 of 25 passes including 3 passing touchdowns.
Landen Chambers had 106 yards rushing on 14 attempts and 1 touchdown.
Jalen Washington, Cameron Young and
Chapman McKown combined for another 109 yards rushing and 1 touchdown (Washington).
Malachi Henry,
Ty Durham and
Tyrell Pollard combined for 190 receiving yards and each of them had a touchdown catch. The Bears had a total of 614 yards of offense in 82 plays. The defense allowed just 272 yards of offense for the Golden Lions including just 44 yards on the ground. Ny'len Jones lead the Bears with 7 tackles including one for a loss.
Kyle Vocque and
Dillon Williams added 6 and 5 tackles respectively.
Gary Lewis,
Duncan Parham and
Jakobe Shell all had one sack in the game.
The Tarleton State Texans (3-0) come to Conway undefeated with wins over Portland State (42-0), Army (30-27 in OT) and Mississippi Valley State (59-3). The offense has scored an average of 43.7 points a game, rushed for 215 yards a game, and passed for 203.7 yards per game. The offense is led by quarterback Victor Gabalis who has thrown for 599 yards and 8 touchdowns on the season. Running back Tre Page III leads the team in rushing yards with 289 yards and has added 3 touchdowns on the ground. The Texans top receivers are Cody Jackson and Trevon West who both have 149 yards receiving so far this season. Defensively the Texans have allowed their opponents to gain an average of 310.7 yards per game and have given up just 3 touchdowns on the season. Linebackers Bam Smith (19) and AJ Owens (18) lead the team in tackles.
The Bears and Texans have played 3 times in past seasons with the Texans winning all 3 matchups. Kickoff is set for 6P.M. on Saturday, Sept. 13
th. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and you can listen the game on The Bear 91.3 or The Point 94.1.
