Game 6 - Aggies 33 - Central Arkansas 13

DAVIS Calif. -- Wide receiver Chris Carter caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday while the UC Davis defense held Central Arkansas to just 31 rushing yards as the No. 18 Aggies beat the Bears 33-13 in a nonconference college football game played before 7,100 fans at Toomey Field.

UC Davis snapped a two-game losing streak with the win and evened its record at 3-3. Central Arkansas, which was led by receiver Aaron Fairooz's eight receptions for 107 yards and a touchdown, lost its second straight and fell to 4-3.

The game was the first home matchup for UC Davis, which started the season with six consecutive road games covering nearly 11,000 miles.

Aggie quarterback Jon Grnt completed 26 of 37 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns, running back Marcus Nolan carried the ball 11 times for 43 yards and a touchdown, and receiver Tony Kays had seven catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.

The UC Davis defense stopped the Bears' running attack, limiting them to just 31 net yards on 18 carries. The Aggies also picked off four passes by quarterback Nathan Brown as cornerback Adam Cook, strong safety Luis Amaral, defensive tackle Naveen Daftari and cornerback Jeremy Scott each posted interceptions.

Carter caught his second and third touchdown passes of the season, grabbing a 26-yard strike from Grant during the first minute of the second quarter that helped put the Aggies in front 9-6, and then added a 9-yard scoring pass from Grant with 9:26 to go in the half that made it 19-6. Carter had six catches for 92 yards in the first half.

"It's nice to get a win, first and foremost," said Aggie coach Bob Biggs, whose team is halfway to six wins which would secure a 37th straight winning season. "That was our goal. We want to try to and put something special together and see if we can put together six wins. You have to start someplace so it was just nice to get over that hump."

Central Arkansas scored first on Saturday as Brown hit receiver Preston Echols for a 9-yard touchdown pass midway through the first quarter. But the Aggies blocked the extra point which linebacker David Heckman scooped up and returned 86 yards for a two-point defensive conversion. It was the first time UC Davis scored a defensive extra point since 1998.

Leading 19-6 after Carters' scores, UC Davis added a field goal with 2:30 left in the quarter as junior Emmanuel Benjamin kicked a 32-yard field goal, marking his seventh straight game with a field goal.

The Bears got back to within 19-13 just past the midway point of the thrid quarter when Tristan Jackson's 36-yard punt return to the UC Davis 15 preceded a 19-yard TD pass from Brown to Fairooz. A 9-play, 80-yard drive - the Aggies' second 80-yard scoring drive of the game - resulted in a 6-yard touchdown run by Marcus Nolan that made it 26-13 late in the period.

Senior receiver Tony Kays then capped the scoring with 10:43 left in the game, catching a 2-yard touchdown pass from Grant deep in the corner of the endzone. It was the fourth consecutive game that Kays has caught a touchdown pass from Grant.

The Aggies' defense gave up 34 net rushing yards in the first quarter but then held the Bears' to minus-3 yards on 10 carries the rest of the way. UC Davis also intercepted all four of their passes in the second half, including Amaral's interception at the Aggies' 11 and Cook's pick in the endzone.

"I thought the defense bent a couple of times today, but they didn't break." said Biggs. "We came up with some big interceptions in the red zone and I thought that was critical."

Free safety Jonathan Barsi had nine total tackles to lead the Aggies while Heckman finished with six. Free safety Jasper Johnson had 11 total tackles for Central Arkansas while defensive end Jacob Ford had seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks.

UC Davis finished with 389 yards of total offense while Central Arkansas posted 278. The Bears had five turnovers on the day.

UC Davis returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Southern Utah in the annual homecoming game. Kickoff at Toomey Field is 1:05 p.m.

Recap courtesy UC Davis Sports Information Media Relations

Central Arkansas Game: Players Of The Week

• Offense - Chris Carter (WR)
• Defense - J J Barsi (FS)
• Special Teams - Gabe Ellis & Nero Evero
• Offensive Scout - Dean Rogers (TE)
• Defensive Scout - Justin Fibich (DT)

Return to 2006 Game Summaries