A second-half comeback effort required one more defensive stop than the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff could muster on Saturday.
Florida A&M spoiled senior day at UAPB by defeating the Golden Lions 31-28 at Simmons Bank Field in Pine Bluff.
UAPB Coach Alonzo Hampton said the Golden Lions made mistakes at critical moments.
“Defensively, guys just, for whatever reason, just had bad eyes, wouldn’t fit the gap,” Hampton said. “That’s a tough one, because, you know, offense played well enough for us to win the game. So, that’s frustrating.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAPB (4-6, 2-4 SWAC) scored touchdowns on each of its final three drives of the game as the Golden Lions tried to overcome a 17-7 deficit.
Starting quarterback Christian Peters found true freshman wide receiver Ellis Stewart on a 31-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 24-21 with 2:43 remaining. The Golden Lions had three timeouts available, so they elected to kick the ball deep rather than attempt an onside kick.
UAPB took its first two timeouts after a pair of Florida A&M (4-5, 3-2) runs. The Golden Lions needed their defense to hold on third down and 3 to get the ball back, but Rattler quarterback RJ Johnson III found wide receiver Kenari Wilcher for a 4-yard gain and a first down.
Two plays later, FAMU running back Thad Franklin Jr. broke free on a 47-yard touchdown run. Had he gone down after passing the line to gain, FAMU could have taken knees to run out the clock, but the touchdown gave UAPB the ball back with 1:40 remaining.
Peters marched the Golden Lions down the field. Backup quarterback DJ Stevenson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jaxson Isaac to cut the deficit to 3 with 24.7 seconds remaining, but the Rattlers recovered the onside kick and took a knee to end the game.
Peters completed 25 of 35 passes for 332 yards and two touchdowns, a season high in yardage for the graduate transfer from Shaw University. Stevenson completed both passes he attempted for touchdowns.
Hampton said though Peters is the clear starter, the Golden Lions believe in both quarterbacks and aren’t afraid to use Stevenson when needed.
“The standard is to execute, and those guys did that today, and I’m proud of them,” Hampton said. “I think if we’d have had a couple more guys executing at the critical moments, we’d all be in here celebrating a senior day. I hate it for our players, hate it for our coaches. I hate it for our fans. We’re right there, but we gotta be able to get over the hump.”
UAPB led 7-0 in the first quarter after a 33-yard touchdown pass from Peters to D’Avery Robinson, but the Rattlers scored the game’s next 17 points. The Golden Lions moved the ball well throughout the first half but were stopped on fourth down three times.
After punting on their first drive of the second half, the Golden Lions faced a third down and 13 at their own 17-yard line early in the fourth quarter and were in danger of a quick three-play drive. Instead, Peters connected with FAMU transfer wide receiver Kareem Burke for a 43-yard gain into Rattler territory.
UAPB went on to score a touchdown on that drive to begin its stretch of three straight scoring drives to end the game. Peters got UAPB to the 12-yard line but lost his helmet after taking a big hit, so Stevenson entered the game and threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Jennings.
Peters said the big pass to Burke got the offense back into rhythm.
“It was a different play at first,” Peters said. “We liked the alignment that the corner was playing. Once we saw the alignment we liked, tagged him on a go route. (Burke) beat him, and after that, we noticed we could beat them over the top, really the rest of the game. We started moving the ball from there.”
Johnson completed 17 of 25 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns but threw his first interception of the season. UAPB freshman Zay Stribling intercepted a pass in the end zone in the second quarter. It was his team-leading third pick of the season.
Franklin carried the ball 26 times for FAMU for 122 yards and a touchdown. The Rattlers rushed for 206 yards, with 102 of those coming in the fourth quarter.
UAPB will finish the season 3-2 at home, 1-2 in SWAC games.
