Sometimes, football players contribute in ways that don’t stand out in the statistics.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Coach Alonzo Hampton said Johness Davis had such a game in Saturday’s 35-21 homecoming win against Mississippi Valley State at Simmons Bank Field.
“He changed the momentum of the football game,” Hampton said. “He made four tackles on the kickoff team, and he was the first one off that field that was fired up. Everybody fed off his energy.”
Davis was UAPB’s (3-5, 2-2 SWAC) leading rusher last season but dealt with nagging injuries. This year, he had 55 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas Baptist and 27 yards against Tennessee State before missing the Central Arkansas game with an injury.
Since then, he has had one carry and one reception in four SWAC games. He rushed once for no gain against Alcorn State, then caught a 19-yard pass Saturday against MVSU (0-8, 0-4).
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
He has found a new way to contribute: kickoff coverage. He made three solo tackles and two assisted tackles against Valley. On two kickoffs, he made big hits on the returner before sprinting to the sideline without hiding his excitement.
Davis said he wants to help the team any way he can.
“Put me on special teams, anything, (to) try to help the team,” Davis said. “You always gotta be fired up, because if we get too quiet on the sideline, we gonna go down in a drought. Always gotta keep energy, always gotta be positive.”
Hampton said the rest of the team respects Davis because of his work ethic, both on the field and in the classroom. He said he wants a player-led team, and Davis is a great example of that.
Davis recently joined the team captains, and Hampton said he has developed into a leader. Davis isn’t afraid to tell his teammates what they need to hear, whether it is congratulating them for a good play or correcting them after a bad play.
Hampton said Davis isn’t afraid to tell him what he needs to hear, too, and recalled an interaction they had on the sideline during the game at Grambling State.
“It was a fourth-and-two,” Hampton said. “He looked at me. He said, ‘Go for it!’ I said no. He said, ‘You scared?’ But see, this is what I need. I said, ‘Johness, I don’t feel it.’ He said, ‘Coach, you been talking about this is what we about.’
“So, I told him, ‘Man, you’re my guy.’ Me and him meet, I said, ‘Man, you can tell me. You’re the assistant head coach, man. So, whatever you feeling, you let me know.'”
Stevenson shines in cameo
Saturday’s game featured a delay of just over 40 minutes early in the second quarter due to weather.
The delay occurred with 10:56 to play in the first half with UAPB and MVSU tied at 7. The Golden Lions faced a third down and 11 from their own 13.
Backup quarterback DJ Stevenson took the field in place of starter Mekhi Hagens. He kept the ball for a 10-yard gain but was stopped one yard short, forcing a punt.
MVSU muffed it, and Jaden Kelly recovered it for UAPB. Stevenson stayed on the field and led a drive he capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run. He completed 2 of 3 passes for 17 yards and rushed three times for 23 yards and a score. Hagens returned on the next drive and finished the game.
Hampton said Hagens has been banged up and wanted him to sit out a drive to refocus before returning to the game. Hampton said he was glad to see Stevenson take advantage of the brief opportunity.
“It was so great to watch this young man every day in practice,” Hampton said. “He’s a coach. He never complained. He’s playing behind (Hagens), but he ain’t never said a word. And then we put him in the game, and what he do? He take us down the field and score a touchdown. This is a football team.”
Hampton explains not taking a knee
Late in the game, UAPB took over on downs at its own 35-yard line with 2:42 remaining, leading 35-21.
Running back BJ Curry gave UAPB a first down with a 16-yard run, leading to the two-minute timeout. Two plays later, a pass interference flag on MVSU gave UAPB another first down at Valley’s 30.
The Delta Devils had three timeouts, so UAPB called a run play for Za’Marion Webber, who gained one yard. MVSU didn’t call a timeout, so the Golden Lions could have taken knees to end the game.
Instead, the Golden Lions ran three more offensive plays, including a pass intended for JaVonnie Gibson which drew a flag on MVSU.
On the final play, Webber fumbled. Hagens recovered for UAPB but took a hit and was slow to get up. The clock expired, nonetheless, but the hit on Hagens could have been avoided had UAPB knelt.
Hampton said the decision to keep running plays wasn’t about running up the score but developing a killer mentality.
“Nobody said anything last year when they scored 42 points on us,” Hampton said. “Nobody said anything last year when the altercation happened, when their players did some things they shouldn’t have. It wasn’t about anything other than I want our players to have the mentality, OK, we’re going to kill an ant with a sledgehammer. So, that’s the mindset that we we’re trying to lay down. It wasn’t about them. It’s about us.”