Great American Classic Set for Saturday
The East Central University football team will play the final game of the 2017 season, Saturday, Nov. 9 at 2 p.m in Durant, Okla., against arch rival Southeastern Oklahoma State. The game is the annual Great American Classic presented by Landmark Bank.
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The Broadcast: ECU's radio home for Tiger football is Ada's KXFC, 105.5, FM 'The X-Factor'. Mike Manos returns to broadcast the games for his 21st consecutive season. Manos has worked 220 Tiger games since taking over the play-by-play duties in 1997.
This year fans in the stadium will have a chance to rent or buy a Smart Bug. The Smart Bug will let you listen to The X-Factor radio broadcast from the stands, through the post-game show, and for a chance for exclusive content during broadcast breaks. Cost is $15 to purchase and use for the entire 2017-18 season at football and basketball, or $10 to rent with a $5 return when the unit is checked back in after the game.
The Series: The all-time series with the Savage Storm dates back to 1909, with the Tigers trailing 48-46-6 overall after dropping the last three meetings. The series is currently knotted at 11-11 when playing on the road.
Last Meeting: ECU was on the wrong side of a 34-27 decision to arch rival Southeastern Oklahoma State in the final game of the 2016 season.
Camnik Campbell set a new single season total tackles record after recording 17 (11-6) in the game. Campbell ended the season with 125 total tackles (53-72), breaking the record of 113 set by
Jameel Whitney a season ago.
The Savage Storm were the first to strike, recording a touchdown run in the first quarter.
The Tigers tied the game on the first play of the second quarter, with a seven-play, 62-yard drive with a 29-yard TD pass.
SE responded with two touchdowns through the rest of the second quarter to push the lead to 17-7.
ECU kept fighting hit a 45-yard field goal as time ran out in the half to cut the deficit to seven (17-10).
The Savage Storm were again the first to score in the second half, getting a field goal.
ECU then added a rushing TD for 58 yards, but the extra point was missed to put the score at 20-16.
SE added a touchdown, with 3:07 left in the quarter, to end the third stanza with a 27-16 advantage.
The Tigers pushed back in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to three on a two-yard rush and then
Dezmon Jackson rushed in for the two point conversion.
The Savage Storm added a TD to push the lead back to 10 (34-24).
ECU would score one more time in the game, but it was not enough to claim the win. The final points came on a 37-yard field goal.
Douglas Set for 1,000 Yard Mark: Freshman Ontario Douglas is set to break the 1,000 rushing yards mark in the final game of the year. Douglas is sitting at 999 rushing yards, which is the most by a single ECU players since 2014. In 2014
JoJo Snell recorded 790 yards rushing.
Douglas Turns Up the Intensity: Freshman Ontario Douglas had the game of his short career against Southwestern. Douglas finished the game with 280 all-purpose yards, 206 rushing and 74 receiving and all four of ECU's offensive touchdowns.
Benson Bringing in Passes: Junior Trinity Benson has been a bright spot for the Tigers, despite the losing record. Benson has recorded 671 receiving yards on 49 passes, with three TDs this season. His 67.1 reception yards per game average and 4.9 receptions per game rank him in the top-5 in the GAC standings.
Holle Named GAC Offensive Player of the Week: After his first game of the 2017 ECU football season, junior quarterback Noah Holle was named the Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Week for Sept. 4.
Holle, went 20-of-27 in his debut in an orange and black uniform, throwing for 351 yards and five touchdowns. He used seven different receivers and connected for touchdowns with five of those receivers.
Holle also set up two more touchdowns on the rush, helping the Tigers to 546 total offensive yards, the most since Sept. 19, 2015.
Williams Starts Off Season on High Note: Senior Devyn Williams gave the Tigers a great start to the 2017 season, by returning the opening kickoff of the first game of the season (Sept. 2) 91 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time since Sept. 14, 2013 that any kickoff during a game had been returned for a TD. The last time was when
LaQuan Harper returned a kickoff, in the middle of the game, 94 yards for TD against Southern Arkansas.
