Six times the University of Arkansas at Monticello defense sacked Northwestern Oklahoma State’s quarterbacks.
Not only did that help UAM start the football season off with a blowout victory Sept. 5, but it also put the Boll Weevils (1-0 overall and conference) atop the Great American Conference chart in sacks made. Defending Division II national champion Harding is second with 5 after its 59-0 shutout at Southern Nazarene.
Senior defensive lineman Tevontae Bond collected 1.5 sacks for the Weevils, who held Northwestern to 162 total yards in their 34-7 win.
“Between him and Yogi (senior end Alfernee Hankins), they both are very similar players,” Weevils Coach Hud Jackson said. “They bring an energy to the D-line that picks everybody up.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Bond starts as a “buck” linebacker in the Weevils’ 4-2-5 alignment. A buck in football is a hybrid of linebacker and defensive end who plays on the weak side, opposite of the “bear” linebacker in UAM’s scheme.
Bond likes to play defensive end but can play on the interior of the line or attack from the outside.
“I like the outside more better because I’m faster off the edge,” he said.
Bond was one of seven Weevils who made at least a half-sack last Thursday. It was a strong start to the season for the East Mississippi Community College transfer who played in eight games at UAM last season, finishing with 1 sack and 14 tackles.
“This guy is very, very detail-oriented,” Jackson said. “He’s been able to overcome a change in regards to coaches, getting used to a new environment, getting used to expectation. He has done unreal things. If you were to give somebody an award that would be called ‘Buying In,’ he would be the MVP of it. He changed his body and some of his mentality. He understands the importance of school. He wants to get a degree. He’s very humble. We need him to be successful, and we need him to be a guy to put real productive numbers inside and out.”
Bond, of Starkville, Miss., is listed as 6-feet-2 and 235 pounds but said he picked up 10 to 15 pounds of muscle during this offseason.
“It kind of started like working hard and doing a little extra stuff after practice, getting extra reps and more conditioning, taking steps slow by slow until we get them perfect so we can perform on the field,” Bond said. “When the time comes, we’re on the field ready.”
Despite the defensive efforts against Northwestern, UAM needs to show improvement going into its first road game of the season at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (0-1), Jackson said. The Bulldogs, who lost 42-3 to Ouachita Baptist University, will host the Weevils for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Flex-Chem Field at Milam Stadium in Weatherford. UAM won last year’s meeting, 58-21.
“A lot of things we got to get better at, at every phase, from extra points all the way to the schemes our guys offensively and defensively will be asked to improve on,” Jackson said. “We want to control the game. We want to dictate to them. We don’t want them to dictate to us.”
The Weevils have emphasized cutting down on penalties after being flagged 11 times for 114 yards, most of all GAC teams last week.
A win will give UAM its third straight 2-0 start, but the Weevils have not posted a winning record in the regular season since 2018. It won’t get easier following the Southwestern game, as the Weevils host Harding for another Thursday night special Sept. 19.
Southwestern, which went 0-11 last year, avoided a shutout in the debut of Coach Andrew Rice. The Bulldogs grinded out 247 total yards and allowed 334 to Ouachita — sixth-fewest in the 12-team GAC.
UAM’s total defense Sept. 5 placed it second only to Harding’s 49 yielded to Southern Nazarene.
“We won’t take anything for granted,” Jackson said. “Any opponent we face is tough. Southwestern Oklahoma is no different. They have a new coach, new culture. They have big, strong guys in key positions playing fast. We’ve got to be a team on point.”
Tevontae BondGreat American Conference football
NOTE: All games count toward conference standings
Team Record
Ouachita Baptist: 2-0
Harding 1-0
Henderson State 1-0
Southern Arkansas 1-0
UA-Monticello 1-0
Arkansas Tech 1-0
East Central 0-1
SE Oklahoma State 0-1
Oklahoma Baptist 0-1
Southern Nazarene 0-1
SW Oklahoma State 0-1
NW Oklahoma State 0-2
Week 1 scores
Henderson State 41, East Central 17
Southern Arkansas 36, SE Oklahoma State 31
UA-Monticello 34, NW Oklahoma State 7
Harding 59, Southern Nazarene 0
Ouachita Baptist 42, SW Oklahoma State 3
Arkansas Tech 44, Oklahoma Baptist 41 (OT)
Thursday’s score
Ouachita Baptist 56, NW Oklahoma State 2
Saturday’s games
SE Oklahoma State at Henderson State, 6 p.m.
UA-Monticello at SW Oklahoma State, 6 p.m.
East Central at Southern Arkansas, 6 p.m.
Arkansas Tech at Southern Nazarene, 6 p.m.
Harding at Oklahoma Baptist, 7 p.m.