MONTICELLO, Ark. -- Arkansas-Monticello rushed for 324 yards in the second half as the Weevils rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to knock off Southern Nazarene, 31-28, at Convoy Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.
The Crimson Storm (2-5, 2-5 GAC) held a 20-7 lead at halftime, but were unable to sustain their success from the first half. SNU punted on their first five drives of the second half, while Arkansas-Monticello (5-2, 5-2 GAC) scored touchdowns on three of their first four second half drives to wrestle away control of the game from Storm. The third quarter struggles were not a new thing for SNU. Even in last week's 41-24 win over Arkansas Tech, the Storm only had one second half drive out of seven that didn't end in a punt or turnover.
After SNU lost 12 yards on their first second half possession, Arkansas-Monticello took five plays to go 44 yards, drawing to within 20-14 on a 21-yard Devontae Dean touchdown run. After an SNU punt, the Weevils marched 80 yards in 10 plays, with Dean finding the end zone again, to take a lead they would not relinquish. Officially, Monticello did not attempt a pass in the second half. They did run one pass play late in the fourth quarter, but it was wiped out by penalty.
SNU finished the game with 265 yards, 160 on the ground and 105 through the air. Gage Porter led the way offensively with 79 rushing yards and was 9-of-19 for 105 yards through the air with two interceptions. Both interceptions came on deflected passes in the second quarter. Demilon Brown, the Weevils' freshman quarterback, rushed for 146 yards and one touchdown, a 74-yard sprint that pushed the Monticello lead to 28-20 with 12:07 remaining in the game. Dean finished with 107 yards and three touchdowns. For the game, Monticello rushed for 363 yards and had 441 yards of total offense.
SNU got off to a very fast start as Arkansas-Monticello's first possession ended in a bad snap on a punt that punter Josh Marini fell on at the 8-yard line. Two plays later, Nate Walker took the pitch from Porter and scampered into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. The second quarter was wild and weird. Monticello tied the score after the first of Porter's deflected interceptions. SNU limited the damage by forcing a three-and-out, but Reid Roelofs muffed the punt, giving the Weevils the ball at the SNU 39-yard line. It took Monticello only two plays to punch it into the end zone and knot the score at 7.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jakel Davis took the ball at the 4-yard line, started right and then cut across the field and outran the entire Monticello coverage team for a 96-yard touchdown.
Davis came up with an interception on the next Weevils' possession, halting a Monticello drive deep in SNU territory. The long return was wiped out due to a targeting penalty on SNU safety Josh Jordan for a hit on Monticello receiver DeAndre Washington. SNU maintained possession, but Jordan was disqualified for the penalty and Washington didn't return to the game because of the injury he sustained. SNU tacked on a field goal at the end of the drive to push the lead to 17-7.
The teams traded interceptions at the end of the half, with SNU's Dylan Meador returning a deflected Caleb Canady pass 84 yards to the Monticello 11-yard line with 25 seconds left. SNU was unable to generate a touchdown at the end of the half, and settled for a 19-yard Ryan Reid field goal as the half expired.
SNU cut the deficit to 31-28 in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run by Walker and then the Crimson Storm converted the two-point conversion on a reverse pass from Walker to Porter. SNU needed to get a defensive stop to have a chance to tie or win the game, but the Weevils were able to convert four first downs to bleed the final 3:29 off the clock.
The Crimson Storm are back in action at 6 p.m. on Thursday night when they host Ouachita Baptist at SNU Football Stadium.
