North Alabama Holds Off Central Arkansas 14-9 With Two Fourth-Quarter Goal Line Stops

Central Arkansas spent the fourth quarter on Saturday knocking on the door. North Alabama never let the Bears in.

The Lions' defense stopped Central Arkansas twice inside its own 10 in the final 13 minutes, and North Alabama held on to beat Central Arkansas 14-9 at Estes Stadium in Conway. Destin Wade threw two second-quarter touchdown passes, and that was all the scoring the Lions needed on a day when the Bears' only touchdown came on a fumble return.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak for North Alabama, which moved to 5-4 overall and 2-2 in the United Athletic Conference. It was also the Lions' first win over Central Arkansas since the programs moved to Division I, after the Bears had taken all four of those meetings. Central Arkansas fell to 2-7 and 0-4 in league play on its homecoming afternoon.

The backdrop

Both teams came into the day needing a win. North Alabama was 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the United Athletic Conference after losing its last two league games at home by a combined nine points, 31-28 to Abilene Christian and 27-21 to Austin Peay. Central Arkansas was 2-6 and 0-3 in the UAC, and its last outing was a 30-27 overtime loss to UTRGV a week earlier.

The series between the schools dates to 1951, and North Alabama came in leading it 15-9. Central Arkansas, though, had won all four meetings since both programs moved to Division I. Saturday was homecoming in Conway, the second of three straight home games for the Bears under ninth-year coach Nathan Brown. Brent Dearmon is in his fourth season leading North Alabama.

How the first half unfolded

Central Arkansas scored first. The Bears put together a nine-play, 77-yard drive late in the first quarter, and Caleb Jones kicked a 21-yard field goal with 1:05 left in the period for a 3-0 lead.

North Alabama answered quickly. Wade capped a five-play, 52-yard drive early in the second quarter with a 27-yard touchdown pass to KJ Fields at 13:38, and Ian Vachon's extra point put the Lions ahead 7-3.

The Bears had a chance to answer midway through the quarter, but their drive ended on a turnover on downs at 6:18 when the North Alabama defense sacked Donovyn Omolo. The Lions then went 59 yards in 11 plays and used 4:35 of clock. Wade finished it with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Noah Gregg with 1:39 left in the half. The officials reviewed the play to check whether the pass was forward, and the touchdown stood. North Alabama took a 14-3 lead into the break.

A third quarter of missed chances

Central Arkansas opened the second half with its best drive of the day to that point. The Bears went 75 yards in 13 plays and held the ball for 5:56, but the march ended in the end zone. Omolo's pass was intercepted by Dallas Johnson at the goal line for a touchback at 5:00 of the third quarter.

North Alabama could not make the Bears pay. The Lions punted on each of their two possessions in the quarter, and the second one turned into a scramble when the Central Arkansas return man muffed the kick. The Bears recovered their own fumble at the UCA 35, and the score stayed 14-3 heading to the fourth.

The fourth quarter turns

The fourth quarter opened with a trade of punts, and Charles Mulcahy's 52-yard boot pinned Central Arkansas at its own 3 with 12:18 left. The Bears needed only one play to get out of trouble. Jalen Washington broke loose for 92 yards, all the way to the North Alabama 5. Four plays later, they still had not scored. Cameron Young was stopped for no gain, Kamore Harris stopped Omolo after a 1-yard gain, a third-down pass for Tyrell Pollard was broken up in the end zone, and a fourth-and-goal run from the 4 lost 9 yards. North Alabama took over on downs and began its next possession at 10:11.

Then the game flipped. Roderick Taylor Jr. ran for 8 and 7 yards to move the Lions out to their own 31, but on the next snap Wade fumbled. Kaydin Thomas picked up the loose ball at the UNA 26 and ran it back for a touchdown at 7:53. The Bears went for two to make it a field goal game, but the try failed, and North Alabama's lead was down to 14-9.

North Alabama gave the ball right back. On the ensuing possession, Xavier Johnson broke a 13-yard run near midfield but had the ball punched out by Jacob Sekiyoba, and Marcus Washington recovered for Central Arkansas, returning it to the North Alabama 48 with 5:25 to play.

One more stop

The Bears marched right at the North Alabama defense again. Enoch Assan ran for 13 yards to the UNA 23, Omolo picked up 6 more, and Jalen Washington moved the chains with a 5-yard run to set up first-and-goal at the 10. Central Arkansas used a timeout with two minutes left, and Omolo's first-down pass for Arlie Lee fell incomplete in the end zone.

Then the Bears lost the ball for the final time. Omolo fumbled on the next snap, and North Alabama took over at its own 20 with 1:50 to play. Wade ran for 7 yards twice to earn a first down, a facemask penalty on the Bears gave the Lions another, and Wade took two knees to finish it.

Who stood out

Wade completed 10 of 17 passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, and he carried 21 times for 45 yards. Xavier Johnson, North Alabama's leading receiver coming in with 43 catches for 814 yards, led the Lions again with four catches for 66 yards. Roderick Taylor Jr. carried the load on the ground with 58 yards on 10 carries.

Central Arkansas's biggest weapon was Jalen Washington, who ran for 140 yards on just eight carries, 92 of them on one play. Omolo completed 15 of 29 passes for 159 yards with an interception, and Dakarai Anderson was his top target with seven catches for 71 yards.

Defense carried both teams for long stretches. Kaydin Thomas had two sacks to go with his fumble return touchdown for the Bears, and Ashtyn Williams, who came in fifth in the FCS in tackles per game, led the Bears in tackles again. For North Alabama, Kamore Harris had a sack and made one of the key stops on the first goal line stand, and Dallas Johnson's goal line interception took points off the board.

What it means

For North Alabama, the result ends a frustrating stretch. The Lions had dropped back-to-back UAC games at home by a combined nine points, and this one looked headed for the same kind of finish after two fourth-quarter fumbles. Instead, the defense made the plays that the offense could not, and Dearmon's team is back to .500 in league play with three games left.

Central Arkansas will look back at the goal line. The Bears outgained North Alabama 352 yards to 256, matched North Alabama with two takeaways and had the ball inside the Lions' 10 twice in the final 13 minutes, but came away with nothing on either trip. It was another one-score loss for Brown's team a week after the overtime defeat against UTRGV.

North Alabama returns home to face West Florida on Nov. 7, then visits West Georgia on Nov. 14 and hosts Tarleton State on Nov. 21. Central Arkansas stays in Conway for the final game of its homestand against West Georgia on Nov. 7, then plays at Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 14 and closes at home against Austin Peay on Nov. 21.

Sources: ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play, and the Central Arkansas game preview (opens in a new tab). More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: Central Arkansas Athletics.