SURPRISE, Ariz. – The inaugural season for the OUAZ football team came to an end of Friday night in the 2018 Haydon Building Corp NCCAA Victory Bowl that was held in front of a standing room only crowd at Spirit Field. The game saw the teams combine for over 1,000 yards before Oliver Nazarene pulled out a 38-35 win over the Spirit.
 
OUAZ sees its first season end with a 7-4 overall record and with a taste of what postseason football is all about.
 
Things started quickly for the Spirit on Friday as they raced out to a 14-0 lead on a pair of touchdown passes from Austin McCullough to Brandon McLaughlin. The duo helped OUAZ gain 200 yards of offense in a first quarter that had them ahead by two scores.
 
Olivet Nazarene (6-5) started to gain some rhythm in the second quarter and when Jayvion Daniels went 90 yards for a rushing touchdown the Tigers had taken a 17-14 lead with 6:02 to play in the second quarter. They made it 24 straight points when Daniels scored his second TD of the game midway through the third quarter.
 
Down 10 points for the first time since September 29, OUAZ had an answer for the ONU run with a TD pass from McCullough to Jeremiah Greylock to cap a 10 play, 69 yard drive at 4:28 of the third quarter. The teams would then trade touchdowns and the Spirit were within 31-28 and had the ball with 13:25 remaining.
 
That drive ended with a McCullough interception at the 11:02 mark and was followed by ONU going 58 yards on 16 plays and chewing up 9 minutes, 10 seconds for their final touchdown and a 10-point cushion. OUAZ was able to get that score back when McCullough found Ronnie Martin with 47 seconds on the clock, but the ensuing on-side kick went out of bounds before traveling 10 yards and the Tigers were able to kneel out the clock.
 
OUAZ finished the game with 477 yards of offense, including 402 yards through the air. They allowed ONU to total 549 yards of total offense with 317 coming on the ground. The Spirit recorded 23 first downs and committed two turnovers with only one takeaway.
 
McCullough's night ended 33 of 50 for 402 yards and five touchdowns. After starting the game with seven straight completions and hitting 12 of his first 13, McCullough ended with completions to nine different receivers. Greylock led the group with nine catches for 91 yards and one score while McLaughlin had eight grabs for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Marcelous Chester-Riley led the rushing attack for OUAZ with 69 yards on 13 carries. Shamar Moreland gained 23 yards on eight attempts.
 
OUAZ's Kenneth Steele Jr. was tabbed the Victory Bowl's Most Outstanding Defensive Player after leading the team with 11 tackles while adding a tackle-for-loss and a forced fumble. Da'Shawn Holcombe and Marcos Garcia also had 11 tackles apiece in defeat.
 
The game's Most Outstanding Offensive Player went to Dixon of Olivet Nazarene after the running back gained 260 yards on 22 carries with a pair of scores.