SHAWNEE, Okla. – East Central University kept its foot mashed on the accelerator and took down another Great American Conference foe, beating OBU 34-20 Saturday. The win moved the Tigers (5-2) into a three-way tie for second in the league standings with Harding and Henderson State. ECU is riding a five-game win streak for the first time since 2001, a span of 21 years. The victory over OBU was the first since 2017.
"We started really fast. Our players played their tails off and had fun," ECU Head Coach Kris McCullough said. "Our offense was able to dominate up front, and our play makers continued to make plays. Defensively, we again forced turnovers and did a great job against the run."
The Tigers took control early and rolled to a 24-0 lead midway through the second quarter. ECU took the opening drive and marched 75 yards on nine plays before Jawan King scored from one yard. ECU followed with another long-distance march, moving 94 yards on 10 plays. The drive ended when Kenny Hrncir tossed a 15-yard pass to JayQuan Lincoln to put ECU ahead 14-0.
ECU then followed with a 44-yard field goal by Alexis Lopez. The Bison then fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Donovan Callis scooped up the ball and returned it to the OBU three-yard line. Two plays later, Nemier Herod scored from the one, pushing ECU's margin to 24-0 with 3:36 remaining in the second.
ECU's second-half scores were a 16-yard touchdown pass by Hrncir to Jackson Allen and a second field goal by Lopez of 27 yards.
"There are some things we must clean up in all three phases, but I'm proud of these guys. We will enjoy this win and look forward to Homecoming next week against SWOSU," McCullough said.
Hrncir shined bright again, completing 21-of-34 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. He moved into second place in the school's career passing records with 6,002 yards. He trails leader Spencer Bond (2011-15) by 237 yards.
Nemier topped the team in rushing with 120 yards on 21 carries. It was his third game with more than 100 yards rushing this season.
Devon Roush led the team in tackles with seven, followed by five each for Jalen Baldwin and Taoheed Karim.
Two Tigers, Callis and Keonte Lusk, each had interceptions.
