The growth Oklahoma’s East Central University is seeing within its football program gives University of Arkansas at Monticello Coach Hud Jackson hope of a similar resurgence this season.
East Central started last season 0-4 but finished winning 4 of 5 in John Litrenta’s first full season as head coach. Sandwiched between the cold start and hot finish were a 42-17 beating of UAM on ECU’s homecoming and a 40-0 loss at Ouachita Baptist.
East Central’s Tigers (1-0) started this season stunning the 15th-ranked Ouachita Tigers 24-22 in Ada, Okla., on Gabriel Ogura’s 24-yard field goal as time expired. Ouachita, now unranked, had led since Carter McElhany returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and 22-21 lead with 12:49 left.
“They’ve been fortunate to stay healthy,” Jackson said. “That is the key, man. You stay healthy, and all of a sudden your team becomes better. They’re well coached and we have a lot of respect for them. And, look, they’re coming off a big win over Ouachita Baptist. That’s got to be unbelievable for their psyche, and we understand that.”
UAM (0-1), trying to improve on a 4-7 record from 2024, endured key injuries during and before its 44-13 season-opening loss to East Central’s archrival, Southeastern Oklahoma State. Two running backs could not go due to hamstring injuries, and two linebackers sustained concussions within the first two defensive series.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
If luck makes a 180-degree turn, the Boll Weevils (0-1) will be at full strength for Saturday’s home opener against East Central. Kickoff at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium is set for 6 p.m., with KHBM-FM 93.7 broadcasting the game and the UAM Sports YouTube channel streaming live.
“When we’re healthy, you see more of that growth,” Jackson said. “You see an underlining growth with guys who are normally in backup or even third on the depth chart. They get plays that give them that experience in the speed of the game. That is very helpful.”
Boasting a roster including many new additions, UAM found a passing rhythm once junior-college transfer Tavion Faulk settled down after an 0-for-3 start last Thursday at Southeastern in Durant, Okla. Faulk, whose uncle Kevin Faulk – the former New England Patriots running back from Louisiana State – completed 16 of his next 18 attempts for 155 yards and was sacked once.
“The first half, we still felt pretty good and we lost our first two linebackers after a series or two, both of them with concussions. That was devastating,” Jackson said, adding Faulk sustained a cramp in his throwing hand.
Faulk’s mishap led to Tyler Webb’s UAM debut. On his first throw, Webb uncorked a 75-yard touchdown pass to Ahmari Cox in the third quarter.
The absence of two Division I transfers, Isaiah Broadway from Central Arkansas and Travelle Anderson from North Alabama, forced UAM to turn to starter Jaylen Sulton, Faulk’s teammate at Mississippi’s Itawamba Community College, and third-year letterman Glen Cage. But as a team, UAM was held to 49 rushing yards. Jackson said he would know by Thursday whether Broadway and Anderson can go Saturday.
Junior-college transfer Ghee Evans and true sophomore Rashaad Jackson have been cleared to return to the Weevils’ lineup.
“I feel better about how we’re going to be personnel-wise, all around,” Jackson said. “Tavion, again, he’s just a kid who’s got a really good presence about him. People really rally around him, and we need him to be in the game because, look, the guy ran the Veer when he was at Carencro (La.) High School. He ran that, but he’s a guy who wants to stay in the pocket and make those throws. We need him to be there, all the time, just so he can continue to manage the game and get in the flow he needs to get in.”
One big reason for East Central’s resurgence stands at 5-feet-8 and 193 pounds – sophomore Cade Searcy. The newly minted Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Week ran for 174 yards and 2 touchdowns against Ouachita last Thursday, as East Central outgained the GAC co-champion 488 total yards to 371. East Central also held Ouachita to 82 passing yards.
Redshirt sophomore Sergio Kennedy has become one of the conference’s top playmakers. He threw for almost half of ECU’s 429 total yards against UAM and, against Ouachita, threw for 279 yards and a touchdown.
UAM last defeated East Central 49-46 in Monticello on Oct. 5, 2019. ECU has won four straight games since then and 13 of 18 all-time against UAM since 1969, including a 27-0 win in a 1993 NAIA semifinal in Ada. ECU went on to win the national championship over Virginia’s Glenville State.
Saturday’s game is Parent and Family Day, as well as First Responders Appreciation Day. UAM will permanently retire jersey No. 24 in honor of Terry Alexander, the record-setting running back who became UAM’s first Black forestry student in the 1970s. Alexander died last month at age 68.
Great American Conference football standings
NOTE: All games count toward standings; numbers in parentheses indicate current American Football Coaches Association Division II Top 25 rankings.
Team;Record
Arkansas Tech;1-0
East Central;1-0
(2) Harding;1-0
Henderson State;1-0
Southeastern Okla. State;1-0
Southern Arkansas;1-0
UA-Monticello;0-1
Northwestern Okla. State;0-1
Oklahoma Baptist;0-1
Ouachita Baptist;0-1
Southern Nazarene;0-1
Southwestern Okla. State;0-1
Sept. 4 scores
Southeastern Okla. State 44, UAM 13
Southern Arkansas 49, Oklahoma Baptist 14
Henderson State 48, Southern Nazarene 13
Harding 49, Northwestern Okla. State 7
Arkansas Tech 32, Southwestern Okla. State 10
East Central 24, Ouachita Baptist 22
Thursday’s games
Northwestern Okla. State at Arkansas Tech, 7 p.m.
Southwestern Okla. State at Harding, 7 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Southern Arkansas at Southern Nazarene, 2 p.m.
East Central at UAM, 6 p.m.
Henderson State at Oklahoma Baptist, 7 p.m.
Southeastern Okla. State at Ouachita Baptist, 7 p.m.