The Crimson Storm hoped to get back into the winning column with their away matchup in Ada, Oklahoma against the East Central Tigers. After a three-game losing streak, The Storm was hungry for a win. Their 27-13 victory over the Tigers came in dominating fashion, thanks to the Storm owning the ground game with 400 yards of rushing and an explosive 20-point third quarter.
The game began very stagnant as neither team was able to put points on the board in the first quarter. The Tigers were the first to tag in a touchdown on their opening drive of the second quarter. The Storm was able to charge back down the field to the ECU 12-yard line, but the drive ended with quarterback Gage Porter getting picked off, and the Tigers were able to regain possession of the ball with 8 seconds left in the half. The first half ended with the Storm being down 7-0 to ECU.
The Storm began their incredible third quarter with a fake punt orchestrated by defensive lineman, Nick Blanchard, who ran it to the house for a 47-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 and give the Storm some much-needed momentum. With this momentum, SNU was able to force ECU into a fumble on their own 10-yard line that was scooped up by defensive back, Smith Nave. Nave ran in for back-to-back touchdowns, giving the Storm the lead at 14-7. East Central was able to answer back with a four-yard drive to lead to a touchdown, but due to a missed extra point, SNU still held the lead at 14-13. With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the SNU offense got to work. Porter was able to run out for a 66-yard rushing touchdown, to put SNU ahead 20-13 as they moved into the final quarter.
Linebacker Jamauri Johnson was extremely pleased by the performance of the Crimson Storm in the third quarter. “Our grit and ‘no-let-up’ attitude in that third quarter was a big part of our win. We were all making plays and doing our jobs.”
Both offenses were unable to bring any more points on the board for most of the fourth quarter as the game stayed at 20-13. With under four minutes left in the game, SNU was able to score on another Gage Porter rushing touchdown, as Porter rushed 41 yards to the house to help put the Storm up 27-13. Now ahead by two touchdowns, the pressure was all on the Tigers to make something happen with less than three minutes to go in the game. Defensive back, Hiram Flores called the game with an interception on the SNU 22-yard line, and the Storm was back in the win column with a 27-13 victory over the Tigers.
The SNU offense was led by Porter who ran for 264 yards and two touchdowns. The defense was led by linebacker, Carter Brock, who had ten total tackles, followed by Emmanuel Obinna, who had six tackles.
Linebacker Emmanuel Obinna has high hopes going into future games as this past game with the Tigers will continue to fuel the team’s momentum through the end of the season. “We needed this win, and we worked hard for it. My goal is that we use this game as fuel and fire to get some more wins and finish out the season as good as possible.”
Students can encourage the Crimson Storm by coming out to their games and being loud and proud!
Photo by SNU Creative