September 4th, 2025 11:00pm
ADA, Oklahoma – East Central took advantage of big plays and opponent miscues to beat 15th-ranked Ouachita on Thursday night in the 2025 season opener by a final score of 24-22.
A 24-yard field goal from ECU's Gabriel Ogura in the final seconds of the game gave the orange Tigers the victory.
ECU was first to strike by taking advantage of a fumbled punt return by Ouachita to score three players later on a 31-yard touchdown run by Cade Searcy. That came after both teams stalled on their first two drives and was the only score of the opening quarter.
Ouachita outscored ECU 16-0 in the second quarter to rally back to take a 16-7 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second quarter scores came on a 30-yard field goal from Dax Jaggers, a 95-yard touchdown run from Lyric Tredwell, and a 10-yard touchdown run from quarterback Nate TenBarge. Tredwell's score marked the longest rush for the Tigers since Daniel McGee had an 89-yard scamper for a score against Southern Arkansas in 2010 and the longest rush for the Tigers in the NCAA era.
ECU again held Ouachita scoreless in a quarter with no points allowed in the third. Ouachita was limited to just 29 yards in the third frame. Meanwhile, ECU capitalized on a 31-yard third down play to later score on a 14-yard pass to pull to within two at 16-14 at the 10:31 mark.
Early in the fourth quarter, Ouachita came up short on a fake punt attempt, which was immediately followed by another ECU big play, this time a 47-yard touchdown run on first down to give the orange Tigers a 21-16 lead.
Ouachita regained the lead on the ensuing kickoff when Carter McElhany broke multiple tackles to scamper 99 yards for a touchdown. A failed two-point attempt put the purple Tigers up 22-21 with 12:49 remaining in regulation.
The Ouachita defense came up strong on ECU's next two drives, forcing a fumble on the first drive followed by Gabe Bonner coming up with an interception on the second drive. However, ECU's defense forced a pair of Ouachita punts to keep the game at a one-point difference.
ECU's eventual game-winning drive started with 2:08 remaining in the game. Big plays of 19 yards, 17 yards, and two plays of 20 yards put the orange Tigers deep into Ouachita territory to set up the game-winning field goal by Ogura as time expired.