TD in 4th quarter puts Arkansas on top 28-24
By ArkansasOnline
Arkansas running back De'Anthony Curtis carries the ball against Western Illinois during the second quarter Saturday at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
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FAYETTEVILLE — Quarterback Casey Dick ran in two touchdowns Saturday to help give Arkansas a 28-24 victory over Western Illinois in a game that exposed some Razorbacks weaknesses in new head Coach Bobby Petrino's debut.
They were Dick's first career rushing touchdowns.
Arkansas trailed Western Illinois going into the fourth quarter, but Dick was able to connect with Greg Childs for a 26-yard touchdown and then ran in a 4-yard touchdown to give the Hogs the victory.
The Leathernecks were first on the board with a field goal, and kept the lead for most of the game. Arkansas' offensive line didn't hold up as much as had been expected, and Dick was sacked four times in the first half alone.
Childs and fellow rookie Joe Adams made the only other scoring plays for Arkansas.
London Crawford was carted off the field by medical staff at the end of the game.
Elsewhere, Arkansas State University, playing football for the first time under the new Red Wolves mascot, defeated Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, 18-14.
The Red Wolves (1-0) won for the first time in 15 games against Big 12 opponents and snapped A&M’s 20-game winning streak in home openers. The Aggies (1-0) hadn’t dropped a home opener since a 17-3 loss to LSU in 1987, and this one likely will go down as one of the most embarrassing losses in school history.
ARKANSAS 28, W. ILLINOIS 24
W. Illinois 3 7 7 7 — 24
Arkansas 0 7 7 14 — 28
First Quarter
WIll—FG Rowan 42, 6:12.
Second Quarter
Ark—Adams 10 pass from C.Dick (Tejada kick), 6:10.
WIll—Donaldson 3 run (Rowan kick), 1:21.
Third Quarter
WIll—Donaldson 12 pass from Barr (Rowan kick), 9:42.
Ark—C.Dick 23 run (Tejada kick), 6:11.
Fourth Quarter
WIll—Milton 1 run (Rowan kick), 10:34.
Ark—Childs 26 pass from C.Dick (Tejada kick), 7:58.
Ark—C.Dick 4 run (Tejada kick), 1:49.
A—70,537.
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WIll Ark
First downs 17 24
Rushes-yards 46-157 21-76
Passing 105 318
Comp-Att-Int 10-26-0 25-41-1
Return Yards 0 14
Punts-Avg. 5-42.4 3-38.0
Fumbles-Lost 4-0 2-2
Penalties-Yards 8-42 4-25
Time of Possession 36:43 23:17
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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—W. Illinois, Donaldson 35-157, Gibbs 1-5, Milton 4-4, Barr 5-(minus 3), T.Speight 1-(minus 6). Arkansas, Curtis 6-36, De.Johnson 6-18, C.Dick 7-12, Adams 1-11, Team 1-(minus 1).
PASSING—W. Illinois, Barr 10-25-0-105, McEachern 0-1-0-0. Arkansas, C.Dick 25-41-1-318.
RECEIVING—W. Illinois, Senatus 3-40, Anderson 2-29, T.Speight 2-15, Donaldson 1-12, Warner 1-5, Coleman 1-4. Arkansas, Childs 6-88, D.Williams 5-45, L.Miller 3-67, Curtis 3-33, Adams 3-32, Salters 2-24, Crawford 2-17, Tuck 1-12.
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Originally published 09:04 p.m., August 30, 2008
Updated 09:46 p.m., August 30, 2008
Information for this article was contributed by The Associated Press.
Arkansas vs. Western Illinois
