Presbyterian Ousted From NCAA Football Playoffs, Central Arkansas Prevails 52-28
November 19, 2005

Courtesy Presbyterian College Sports Information Office

CLINTON, S.C. - Central Arkansas' redshirt freshman quarterback Nathan Brown (Russellville, AR) threw for 495 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Bears, seeded No. 5, to a 52-28 upset of top seed Presbyterian College in the Southeast region semifinals of the 2005 NCAA Division II playoffs held at Bailey Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Brown, the 2005 Gulf South Conference Freshman Offensive Player of the Year, tied the school record with six touchdowns in a single-game and was only one yard shy of tying the program's single-game record for passing yards as he completed 23-of-32 completions on the day. Brown improves to 7-0 as a starter while the Bears advance to the NCAA Division II Southeast region finals where they will face a familiar opponent in No. 6 seed the University of North Alabama, who defeated the No. 2 seed North Carolina Central University 24-21 today.

The Blue Hose entered today's game on a seven-game win streak and ranked No. 5 in the final AFCA NCAA Division II poll while the Bears, ranked No. 15, extended their win streak eight straight with the victory. PC wraps up the season at 10-2 and post their first 10-win season since 1979, while the Bears (11-2) win their 11th game for only the third time in school history, and first since 1987.

UCA (11-2) took a 21-14 lead after the first quarter behind three touchdown passes from Brown, two of which were completed to junior wideout Aaron Fairooz (Mansfield, TX) for 22 and 69 yards.

The Blue Hose (10-2) countered with two scores from senior quarterback Zach Ellis (Tiftuon, Ga.) who hit fellow senior Kip McAlister (Richburg, S.C.) for a 27-yard TD strike to open the game and later when he scored on a QB keeper from one-yard out. The Bears extended their lead to 35-14 in the second quarter as Brown found senior wideout Ben Faires (Springdale, AR) for an eight-yard TD strike and fellow senior, running back Kentrel Rogers (Fordyce, AR) scored from two-yards out.

The Blue Hose defense responded in the third quarter as freshman cornerback Antoine Carter (Lawrenceville, Ga.) picked off a Brown pass and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 35-21.

On the following possession, the Bears' Brown found redshirt freshman wideout Che Jones (Conway, AR) for a 63-yard TD strike to extend the lead to 42-21. PC's freshman tailback Chetyuane Reeder (Clinton, S.C.) found the endzone from six-yards to trim the lead to 42-28 later in the third, but UCA tacked on a 39-yard field goal and Brown found Faires for their second TD connection of the day in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

For the game, UCA outgained the Blue Hose 648 to 233 in total offense and held a 39:06-to-20:54 advantage in time of possession.

Jones led all Bear wideouts with five receptions for 144 yards and one TD while Faires added six catches for 53 yards and two scores. Defensively, the Bears were led by junior defensive end Jeremy Pittman (Summit, KS) who tallied five total stops, 2.5 tackles for loss (-10) and one QB hurry.

The Blue Hose were led on offense by Ellis who completed 17-of-44 passes for 231 yards and one TD. He also found the endzone himself on a QB keeper. Sophomore wideout Justin Durant (Florence, S.C.) led PC with five receptions for 85 yards while McAlister added three receptions for 62 yards and one score. Defensively, junior strong safety Chad Burgess (Kingstree, S.C.) led all defenders with 14 total stops including 10 solo tackles.