October 2, 2004

GAME STATISTICS

CARROLLTON, Ga. --- Arkansas Tech finally got its offensive thrust on track in the second half and eventually cranked out a hard-earned 28-14 Gulf South Conference win over West Georgia Saturday night at Grisham Stadium.

The win kept the No. 21-ranked Wonder Boys undefeated after five starts and tied with Valdosta State for first place in the league championship race with a 4-0 Gulf South Conference mark.

Valdosta State maintained its unbeaten conference streak with a wild 51-48 win over Delta State earlier in the afternoon.
It marks only the third time in the last 33 years for the Wonder Boys to come out of gate with a 5-0 start.

Tied at 7-7 at the halfway point, the Wonder Boys outscored West Georgia (0-4, 0-3 Gulf South) 21-7 over the final 30 minutes on the strength of 265 yards of total offense in the second half.

Tech broke away from the halftime deadlock on its second possession when Jason Campbell and Thomas Hosey got together on a dramatic 72-yard pass-and-run play. From the Wonder Boys' 27, Campbell tossed a soft pass on the left sideline to Hosey at the 30. Hosey turned up the field, began to cut back to his right at midfield and then patiently waited for his blockers, racing all the way down to the 1-yard line.

Two snaps later, Marcus Godfrey went through the right side for the go-ahead touchdown and after Mark Ewersmann's kick, Tech led for the first time at 14-7 with 7:34 remaining in the third.

But the Braves took advantage of a Tech fumble on a punt exchange at the Wonder Boys 27 later in the period. Quarterback Derek Boykins got them even seven plays later on his 1-yard leap over the middle at the third period's 2:40 mark

Campbell brought the Wonder Boys right back, however, taking his club 80 yards and getting the final 22 yards on a pass to Craig Gobroski in the left corner of the end zone with 14:51 still left to be played in the final stanza. Ewersmann's kick put Tech ahead 21-14.

Tech then put the wraps on this one when Campbell directed a 5-play, 70-yard drive and passed the final 17 yards to Chris Johnson, who took the toss down the left sideline and covered the final couple of steps with a diving effort into the end zone. Ewersmann's point-after zipped the Wonder Boys ahead 28-14 with 4:31 remaining.

Tech was limited to only 80 total yards during the first half and the Wonder Boys only sustained offensive charge came on their first possession of the game when Campbell directed a 49-yard march down to the Braves' 12 yard line. But on second and 9 from there, Campbell's pass was intercepted by Breon Ford in the end zone.

West Georgia cranked up its first scoring effort on its third possession after taking over on its own 44 following a Tech punt. It took the Braves only eight plays to take a 7-0 lead with Taylor slipping through the left side from a yard out for the score. Ramos kicked the point-after with 8:44 still left in the opening period.

The Wonder Boys' defense came up with the tying points win a couple of key efforts in the second quarter. With the Braves working with a first-and-10 from their own 28, safety Alex Washington sacked Boykins for a 14-yard loss. Then following an 11-yard yard run by Alexis, Boykins, under a heavy rush, dropped the football and tackle Jirey Siner scooped it up at the 14 and ran it in untouched for the score. Ewersmann's kick brought Tech even at 7-7 at the 4:39 mark.

Tech had managed to dodge a couple of first half bullets. West Georgia got as far as the Wonder Boys' 4-yard line before Cedric Flemons tackled Boykins at the 2 on a fourth-and-goal. Then after getting down to the 16, a 37-yard field goal attempt by Ramos was short.

Campbell finished this one with 181 passing yards, connecting on 11 of his 20 attempts. Vanhook rushed for 73 yards on 14 carries.

Michael Alexis set the pace for the Braves with a 132-yard effort on 22 tries. Boykin was limited to 92 passing yards (12-of-28) and was sacked four times.

Tech will host Delta State Saturday afternoon in a crucial GSC game that will have a 3 o'clock kickoff at Buerkle Field. It will be Homecoming on the Arkansas Tech campus, with pre-game tailgate festivities beginning at 11 a.m. outside the stadium.

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