ADA, Okla. — A fairly stagnant first half turned into second half fireworks for Southern Nazarene as they exploded for 20 third quarter points, leading to a 27-13 victory over host East Central.
Struggling with a a three-game losing skid, The Storm (4-4, 4-4 GAC) got back in the win column Saturday afternoon after dominating the ground game with almost 400 yards of rushing. SNU nearly doubled the Tigers (3-5, 3-5 GAC) in total offense yards as East Central only recorded 228 yards total. After trailing by a touchdown in the first half, SNU ignited for three touchdowns in the third quarter alone which eventually propelled them to their fourth victory of the season.
Both squads struggled to channel any offensive energy to begin the game. The entire first quarter featured multiple possession changes without either team seeing any action in the end zone. With nine minutes remaining in the first quarter, Southern Nazarene built a lengthy drive of 15 plays for 68 yards that had the ECU defense moving further and further into their own territory. The Storm were unable to get anything out of that eight minute drive and ECU was able to keep possession moving into the second quarter.
The Tigers finally woke up their offense in their opening drive of quarter two, marching down the field from their own 25 yard line for a hefty 18-play, 89-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass. Now with seven minutes left in the second quarter, SNU looked for their first score of the game. The Storm offense pushed their way down to the ECU 12-yard line, but Gage Porter got picked off and the Tigers took back possession with just eight seconds left before the half. There was not enough time for ECU to see any action and they remained up by a touchdown going into halftime.
Southern Nazarene began their third quarter explosion when Nick Blanchard found an opening in the ECU defense and zipped up the middle for a 47-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Southern Nazarene searched for an edge over the Tigers and earned one quick after an ECU fumble at their own 10-yard line. Smith Nave recovered the ball and trotted his way into the end zone for another SNU score, getting the one-touchdown lead over the Tigers.
East Central wasted no time answering the Storm, piecing together four plays for 67 yards, capped off by a big 58-yard run for the touchdown. With just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter, SNU went to work on the offensive end from their own 15-yard line. Porter earned SNU the lead once more after escaping the Tiger defense, dancing his way into the end zone for the 66-yard score. Porter's huge run put SNU ahead 20-13 moving into the final quarter.
Both offenses struggled early in quarter four with both SNU and ECU trading punts and failing to convert. With just under four minutes left in the game, Southern Nazarene decided to grow the gap more when Porter caught fire again on the ground and rushed up the right side for a 41-yard score.
Ahead by two touchdowns now, the Storm were in good spirits with two and half minutes left in the game. The Tigers felt the pressure from the SNU defense in what was their final drive of the quarter as SNU's Hiram Flores intercepted an ECU pass from the SNU 22-yard line and called the game at 27-13.
Porter led the offensive front with 264 yards of total offense and recorded two touchdowns.
Carter Brock had quite the day on the defensive side with 10 total tackles.
Up Next
Southern Nazarene returns to Bethany to host Ouachita Baptist who is 7-1 on the year. SNU has yet to claim a win over the Tigers since the two teams first met in 2013. Kickoff is October 26th at 6 p.m.
