Turnovers Costly as Storm Drop Road Opener

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Despite a pair of explosive touchdowns, Southeastern would fall victim to five costly turnovers as the Savage Storm dropped its road opener 41-21 versus Ouachita Baptist on Saturday night in Arkadelphia, Ark.
 
The loss drops the Savage Storm to 1-1 overall and in Great American Conference play on the season heading into a return to Spend Life Wisely Stadium to host Southwestern Oklahoma State on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m.
 
"A lot of things well within our control," said head coach Bo Atterberry, "that we've just got to focus in on and take care of. The explosives and turnovers are going to kil you every time."
 
Levay Duncan got his first career start at quarterback and finished the contest hitting 12-of-25 passes for 156 yards and tow touchdowns, both of them big plays over the top, including the season-long to Jax Sternberger for 77 yards.
 
He would add a game-high 80 yards rushing as well to finish the night with 236 yards of total offense.
 
DJ Brown was next in line with 72 yards on the ground on 17 carries with a touchdown.
 
Sternberger finished with the one catch for 77 yards and a score, while Kobe Jennings hauled in a 46-yard touchdown and finished the contest with two grabs for 48 yards.
 
In all, Duncan connected with nine different receivers on the night.
 
Andrew Grissom led the Storm in tackles for the second-straight week, tallying nine stops, while William Wallis was right behind with eight and Braeden Winters added seven.
 
Trevion Butler, Kole McKnight, Bryant Watts, Kamron Fields, and Dylan Sebock each had a pass breakup in the contest.
 
Southeastern opened the contest with a nine-play, 68-yard drive and took the early 7-0 lead when Duncan hit Jennings over the top for 46 yards and a touchdown.
 
However, the Tigers would score the next 20 points thanks to a pair of Storm turnovers and a three-and-out, leaving SE in a 30-7 hole with 11:45 to play in the second quarter.
 
The Storm would get the last word in the first half, marching 75 yards on 14 plays and burning 8:51 off the clock before Brown punched it in from five yards out to close the halftime gap to 20-14.
 
OBU extended its lead to 27-14 early in the third quarter, but Southeastern answered just over a minute later as Duncan connected with Sternberger on a 77-yard house call to again close the gap, this time to 27-21.
 
That's where the score would sit heading to the fourth quarter, but the Tigers scored a pair of touchdowns on consecutive drive to take a 41-21 lead with 9:04 to play and would hold up as the final score.