Storm Hold on For 36-31 Win Over ATU

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern had a pair of 100 yard rushers and piled up 525 yards of total offense en route to a 36-31 win over Arkansas Tech on Saturday afternoon at Paul Laird Field.
 
The win lifts the Savage Storm to 5-3 overall and in the Great American Conference on the season heading into an Oct. 29 matchup with Southern Arkansas in Magnolia, Ark., at 2 p.m.
 
Ronnie Green finished the contest with 168 yards on 29 carries but was kept out of the endzone, while Devlon Wortham tallied exactly 100 yards on 24 carries for a pair of rushing scores.
 
In all the Storm racked up 268 yards rushing as a team.
 
CB Cantwell finished his day hitting 24-of-38 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
 
He hit Bryce Steele six times as Steele recorded his first 100 yard receiving game, finishing with 102 yards and a touchdown.
 
Ty Miller hauled in six catches as well for 60 yards, while Kaymon Farmer snagged seven receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.
 
Wortham reeled in the other passing touchdown as his only catch going for 10 yards.
 
Troy Parker logged a team-high seven tackles, while Brickey Reed added five.
 
Andrew McBeth logged a pair of tackles for loss as the Storm was held without a takeaway in the contest, while breaking up five passes in the secondary and scoring four QB hurries on the line.
 
Joel Carlos connected on his 11^th field goal of the season, this one from 27 yards out just before the end of the first half, and finished the day averaging 41.5 yards per punt on four punts, with two of them going inside the 20 and one for 50 yards.
 
The first Storm drive moved the ball 53 yards on just four plays before ATU's Nick Akins picked off a ball at the line of scrimmage and returned it 70 yards before Cantwell would tackle him at the four yardline.
 
The Wonder Boys would take a 7-0 lead a play later with a rushing score.
 
SE found its answer on the ensuing drive when it trekked 75 yards on 12 plays for Cantwell to find Farmer for a five yard score to even the game at 7-7 with 8:07 to play in the quarter.
 
On the second play of the second quarter Cantwell would hit Steele for a 17 yard juggling catch to open up a 14-7 lead and cap a 14 play drive which covered 83 yards.
 
ATU would tie the game with a nine play, 75 yard drive on its ensuing possession to knot the game at 14-14 with 9:57 to go in the half.
 
Wortham would cap SE's next drive with his first career touchdown reception, taking an impromptu Cantwell shovel pass 10 yards for a score, ut a missed PAT would leave the lead at 20-14 with 6:02 to play in the half.
 
The Wonder Boys answered by going 63 yards in six play to take a 21-20 lead after a Jabyes Cross nine-yard pass to Jackob Dean with3:42 on the first half clock.
 
The Storm would close the first half out with a 13 play drive that covered 62 yards before Carlos connected on a 27 yard field goal with five seconds on the clock to give SE a 23-21 lead at halftime.
 
The Wonder Boys cashed in their first drive of the third quarter for a 19 yard Eric Perez field goal to go up 24-23.
 
ATU would stretch its lead to 31-23 at the 6:19 mark of the quarter with a five play, 91 yard drive.
 
SE answered on its next drive by taking the ball 65 yards on eight plays for Wortham to score form a yard out and close the gap to 31-30 with 3:26 to go in the third.
 
Wortham would add another one yard run in the fourth at the 8:07 mark to put the Storm in front, but a missed two-point conversion would leave that lead at 36-31.
 
The Southeastern defense would stop ATU on its next drive after five plays and then drain 5:33 off the clock with 12 plays before Carlos punted the ball down to the Wonder Boy 16 yard line with 1:27 to play.
 
After Cross scrambled for 12 yards on the first play, the Storm defense stood firm as they forced four-straight incomplete passes to turn them over on downs and preserve the 36-31 victory.