McElvain, Hale lead Central Arkansas to 27-14 victory over North Alabama

FLORENCE, Ala. — Will McElvain passed for 248 yards, Darius Hale had 70 yards rushing, and Central Arkansas defeated North Alabama 27-14 on Saturday.

The Bears (6-3, 3-1 United Athletic Conference) got first-quarter touchdowns on a 17-yard touchdown pass from McElvain to Jarrod Barnes and a 14-yard scoring run from Hale for an early 14-0 lead.

Kylin James added a 65-yard touchdown run for a 21-0 halftime lead and Jake Gaster's 43-yard field goal put the Bears up 24-0 in the third quarter.

North Alabama's Noah Walters threw TD passes of 28 and 3 yards to Takairee Kenebrew but the Lions (3-7, 1-5) never got closer than the final score.

Walters was 21-of-36 passing for 212 yards and Kenebrew caught seven passes for 107 yards. Walters led the Lions with 55 yards rushing but no teammate had more than 7 yards on the ground.

McElvain completed 22 of 33 passes, with the one touchdown to Barnes, who caught nine for 113 yards.

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