Scores

Final

NW St 14

(4-5, 2-3 Southland)

Cent Arkansas 35

(8-2, 6-1 Southland)

Coverage: GamePlan

8:00 PM ET, November 3, 2012

Estes Stadium, CONWAY, AR

1 2 3 4 T
NWST 7 7 0 014
CARK 14 14 7 035

Top Performers

Passing: W. Smothers (CARK) - 225 YDS, 4 TD

Rushing: W. Smothers (CARK) - 11 CAR, 97 YDS, 1 TD

Receiving: D. Croom (CARK) - 3 REC, 64 YDS, 2 TD

Cent. Arkansas 35, Northwestern St. 14

Associated Press

CONWAY, Ark. -- Wynri Smothers threw four touchdown passes and ran for another Saturday to lead Central Arkansas to a Southland Conference title and a 35-14 win over Northwestern State.

Central Arkansas (8-2, 6-1 Southland Conference) was tied atop the standings with Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana with one loss each, but the Bears owned any tiebreaker advantages having beaten both schools earlier this season.

Smothers completed 18 of 27 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns, while scrambling 11 times for 97 yards and another score. Dominiqu Croom was his favorite target, hooking up with the 6-foot, 1-inch senior three times for 64 yards and two scores.

Brad Henderson completed 18 of 35 passes for 177 yards and an interception while running 21 times for 20 yards and two touchdowns for Northwestern State (4-5, 2-3).

With the win, Central Arkansas earns the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs.

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Team Stat Comparison

 
NWST
CARK
1st Downs1818
Total Yards305423
Passing193230
Rushing112193
Penalties8-7210-69
3rd Down Conversions7-206-14
4th Down Conversions2-30-0
Turnovers23
Possession33:5326:07

Passing Leaders

Northwestern StateC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Henderson18/341775.200
Central ArkansasC/ATTYDSAVGTDINT
Smothers18/272258.340

Rushing Leaders

Northwestern StateCARYDSAVGTDLG
Taylor11655.9016
Henderson21201.0211
Central ArkansasCARYDSAVGTDLG
Smothers11978.8157
Hinton9525.8014

Receiving Leaders

Northwestern StateRECYDSAVGTDLG
Brown78311.9046
Simmons3268.7011
Central ArkansasRECYDSAVGTDLG
Croom36421.3233
Lewis56312.6142

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERNWSTCARK
TD11:28Brett Soft 20 Yd Pass From Wynrick Smothers (Eddie Camara Kick) 07
TD04:14Brad Henderson 3 Yd Run (John Shaughnessy Kick) 77
TD03:06Wynrick Smothers 57 Yd Run (Eddie Camara Kick) 714
SECOND QUARTERNWSTCARK
TD14:11Dominique Croom 33 Yd Pass From Wynrick Smothers (Eddie Camara Kick) 721
TD09:32Brad Henderson 1 Yd Run (John Shaughnessy Kick) 1421
TD00:15Dominique Croom 26 Yd Pass From Wynrick Smothers (Eddie Camara Kick) 1428
THIRD QUARTERNWSTCARK
TD04:06Dezmin Lewis 42 Yd Pass From Wynrick Smothers (Eddie Camara Kick) 1435