Improving at stopping the run was a big need for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff this offseason, and UAPB will need to show its progress on Saturday.
The UAPB football team will face Central Arkansas at 6 p.m. at Estes Stadium in Conway.
UCA (0-1) rushed for 309 yards last year when it defeated UAPB 56-17 in Pine Bluff. Former Bears running back ShunDerrick Powell contributed much of that, finishing with 148 yards and two touchdowns. Powell is gone as he seeks to earn his spot on an NFL roster, but UCA should still be a threat in the run game.
UAPB (0-1) Coach Alonzo Hampton said the Golden Lions will need to load the box with defenders to stop the Bears.
“They’re not as explosive as last year, but they’re just as good,” Hampton said. “The big back (Landen Chambers) is running the ball tough inside. Then they got a change of pace running back. They bring in a couple of guys that can get to the edges. … Their O-line is doing a really good job, so we’re going to have to fit up the run pretty well.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Chambers, who added 102 yards and a touchdown against UAPB last year, now leads the Bears’ ground attack. The sophomore rushed 15 times for 63 yards last week in UCA’s 61-6 loss at Missouri.
He and quarterback Luther Richesson were among six Bears to carry the ball against the Tigers as UCA finished with 154 rushing yards against an SEC defense.
UCA Coach Nathan Brown said Monday on his radio show the Bears’ offense is built around establishing the run.
“The run game is going to set up everything else,” Brown said. “It’s going to set up our play action game, which in turn is going to set up our shot game. So, those three marry together, and it starts with our run game. It starts with, one, the running backs, but also the quarterback run. We saw a little bit of that last week with Luther and what he can be.”
Richesson rushed eight times for 32 yards while completing 13 of 23 passes for 73 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His running ability will bring a different element to Saturday’s game than last year’s matchup, when then-UCA quarterback Will McElvain carried the ball once for a loss of 4 yards.
UCA is having to lean on Richesson after expected starter Austin Myers, who relieved McElvain late in last year’s game, was injured prior to the Missouri game. Brown said he hopes to get Myers back soon, but it won’t be this week. Still, he said he liked what he saw from Richesson against the Tigers.
If the Golden Lions load the box to stop the run as Hampton said they will, the UAPB secondary will need to hold up in one-on-one coverages against the UCA receivers.
True freshman cornerback Zay Stribling was UAPB’s leading tackler against Texas Tech with six. He also recorded the team’s only tackle for loss. Fellow defensive backs Kyle Knox, Na’il Johnson, Ja’Marlin Green and Kristian Gammage rounded out the Golden Lions’ top five tacklers. They and others will need to be ready for the Bears’ downfield shots.
Another defensive back, Tavon Hardwick, appeared to sack Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton last week, but it was overturned by a roughing the passer flag for hitting Morton low. It would have been UAPB’s first sack of the season after the Golden Lions tallied seven total last year.
On the other side of the ball, UAPB starting quarterback Christian Peters completed 17 of 33 passes for 123 yards with a touchdown and an interception against Texas Tech.
Hampton said Peters executed the game plan well, but the Texas Tech pass rush forced him to get the ball out quickly.
“This week here will be more to our liking,” Hampton said. “He’ll be able to do a little more than he was able to do last week. And then our receivers, I thought they did a really good job of getting open. We just didn’t have the time to be able to sit back there and throw it.”
Texas Tech sacked Peters twice, an improvement from the four sacks UAPB allowed last year against Arkansas. UCA tallied three sacks last season in Pine Bluff.