Another quality rushing offense is set to challenge the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in its SWAC opener Saturday.
UAPB will face Alcorn State at 2 p.m. at Spinks-Casem Stadium in Lorman, Miss., on HBCU GO.
Alcorn State (2-3, 1-0 SWAC) boasts the third-ranked rushing offense in the SWAC, averaging 168.2 yards per game. Although UAPB hasn’t put up those numbers, both teams have scored nine rushing touchdowns this season, tied for second in the SWAC behind Jackson State’s 10.
UAPB (1-3) has struggled to stop the run this season, allowing 309 yards to No. 8 Central Arkansas, 196 to Tennessee State and 279 to Arkansas. The team’s 215.8 rushing yards allowed per game is 10th in the SWAC, better only than Bethune-Cookman and Mississippi Valley State.
Coach Alonzo Hampton said the Golden Lions emphasized run defense during their bye week.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“When you play young guys, you tend to make a lot of mistakes because you’re trying to do a little more than you’re supposed to do,” Hampton said. “So we’ve shored up a couple of things. Just excited to get back out there with our team to battle a great team like Alcorn.”
True freshman linebacker Kyle Vocque was UAPB’s leading tackler in the first four games with 25.
Alcorn quarterback Xzavier Vaughn is the SWAC’s second-leading rusher with 62.4 yards per game and leads the conference with six rushing touchdowns.
Redshirt sophomore running back Jacorian Sewell ranks seventh in the SWAC with 50.6 yards per game. He managed only 15 yards over the Braves’ first three games, including two against FBS foes, but rushed for 74 yards against McNeese State and 164 with a touchdown last week at MVSU.
Alcorn Coach Cedric Thomas said getting Sewell going makes a big difference in the Braves’ offense and takes pressure off Vaughn.
“He had some runs earlier this year, but we just wasn’t able to run it consistently just because of the score,” Thomas said. “When you get down 21 against McNeese, it’s just hard to continue to run the football. So the thing was kind of in reach the whole time. We knew Sewell is a dynamic running back. He can take it the distance, and we just got a chance to see it in totality (against MVSU).”
Vaughn will present a different challenge for UAPB than what the Golden Lions faced against Tennessee State and UCA, since neither school featured a running quarterback. Arkansas’ Taylen Green rushed for 88 yards and two scores in the season opener.
The other side of the ball will pit UAPB’s fourth-ranked passing offense against Alcorn’s fifth-ranked passing defense. McNeese threw for 246 yards against Alcorn, while Alabama-Birmingham threw for 215. Both teams scored twice through the air.
The Braves held Vanderbilt to 100 yards and Edward Waters to 101. MVSU finished with 194 passing yards.
UAPB quarterback Mekhi Hagens threw for 123 yards against Arkansas but has thrown for 239 or more in each game since with two or three touchdowns per game. Hagens remains the SWAC’s leading passer, while JaVonnie Gibson remains the leading receiver.
Hampton said the Golden Lions are ready for the challenge Alcorn’s defense will present.
“They do a lot of moving around,” Hampton said. “They’re very active on the defensive front. The guys in the secondary, they’re physical players. … Mekhi’s playing at a high level. We got some really talented receivers. They got talented DBs. It’s gonna be a dogfight.”
Alcorn has won each of the past three meetings with UAPB. The Golden Lions’ last win against the Braves came in Lorman in 2016, 45-43.