East Central University’s Tiger football team has its sights set on Arkansas Tech in a football matchup Saturday in Russellville.
Both teams enter the game after losing their season opener last week. ECU fell 29-12 to Great American Conference powerhouse Harding while the Wonder Boys lost 41-34 in double-overtime at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant.
ECU Interim head coach Kris McCullough and his staff found bright spots in the loss to Harding.
“Kenny Hrncir played really well. He got several receivers involved in the passing game,” McCullough said. “Defensively, we did a good job of stopping Harding’s rushing attack. We did better than anyone in the last three-to-four years at keeping them contained.”
Former ECU quarterback Taye Gatewood — who served in a backup role for the Tigers last season — leads Arkansas Tech. Gatewood appeared in six games and was 13-of-17 for 127 yards and two touchdowns in 2021. Against Southeastern, Gatewood completed 15-of-25 passes for 218 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for a score.
“Taye is obviously a player that we are very familiar with,” McCullough said. “He is also very familiar with us, so it cancels out. He was an important part of our team and was on our leadership council for three years.”
McCullough knows his team must start fast playing its first game in a road environment.
“We have to take care of the football and run the ball better. On defense, we need to continue to force turnovers. We had three takeaways against Harding. Those are the type of numbers that will help us win ball games.”
THE SERIES
This will be the 24th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and East Central in a series that dates back to 1926. The series has been played in earnest since 2011 as both ECU and Tech were charter members of the GAC. Since 2011, ECU leads 7-3. Overall, ECU holds a 14-9 advantage in the all-time series. This will also be the 14th game played between the two in Russellville and ECU has a lead in those games, 8-5.
