HOUSTON – Nothing went right for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff on Saturday.
Texas Southern defeated UAPB 51-7 at Husky Stadium on the Houston Christian University campus. The game was moved to HCU due to a scheduling conflict with Texas Southern’s normal home stadium.
UAPB Coach Alonzo Hampton said everyone on the team must take accountability for what was UAPB’s most lopsided defeat in SWAC play since a 59-3 loss at Southern University on Oct. 1, 2022.
“I never saw this one coming,” Hampton said. “It’s heartbreaking, but it’s part of the game when you got some young guys that haven’t played a lot. They gotta understand how important every day is, and I really thought that we would come out here and have a better showing with what was in front of us.”
UAPB (2-3, 1-1 SWAC) muffed a kickoff, fumbled another and missed two field goals. The Golden Lions finished with 253 yards of offense, their fewest since the season-opening loss at Texas Tech. UAPB didn’t score until there was 5:11 remaining in the game.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Starting quarterback Christian Peters completed 14 of 26 passes for a season-low 116 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Tight end Tyreke Jinks had the touchdown catch, one of his four grabs in the game for 24 yards. Wide receiver D’Avery Robinson also caught four passes for a team-high 35 yards.
The Golden Lions rushed for 137 yards, led by Bryant Sanchez’s 57 yards on 11 carries.
Hampton said he knew Texas Southern (2-3, 2-1) played good defense, but he never expected the Tigers would shut down UAPB’s offense.
“They did what they wanted to do, and I think that kind of probably shocked us all,” Hampton said. “Shocked the players we wasn’t able to move the ball on them, and then, you had guys doing things they wouldn’t normally do. Missing simple tackles, not blitzing the right gap, gap integrity, using the right leverage and things of that nature.”
Texas Southern rushed for a season-high 350 yards, led by Athean Renfro’s 22 carries for 133 yards. Renfro didn’t score, but three other Tigers each scored one rushing touchdown.
Redshirt junior quarterback KJ Cooper completed 16 of 23 passes for a season-high 197 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. He left the game late in the third quarter with the Tigers leading 44-0, giving way to backup Jordon Davis.
Texas Southern took a 10-0 lead with 11:10 remaining in the first half on a Cooper touchdown run. UAPB misplayed the ensuing kickoff, and the Tigers recovered it at the UAPB 15-yard line.
Cooper then found Roriyon Richardson in the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown just 58 seconds after his rushing score, quickly turning what had been a 3-0 game into a 17-0 lead. The Tigers scored a touchdown on their next drive, then kicked a 39-yard field goal to take a 27-0 lead into halftime.
Hampton said the muffed kickoff in the second quarter changed the game.
“They scored, and then we had a third and six,” Hampton said. “We have the right leverage. One guy’s got bad eyes to go inside, and they score on third down. What happened is, it just kind of snowballed on us. You kept thinking, alright, we’re going to be able to score one on offense to kind of get back in the game, but they did a really good job defensively, and we had no answers for them.”
UAPB received the second half kickoff, but true freshman Ellis Stewart fumbled during the return, allowing Texas Southern linebacker Donovan Jones to return it for a touchdown.
After the Golden Lions held Texas Southern to 3 points on its first three possessions, which included an interception by UAPB defensive end Elijah Jenkins, the Tigers scored on each of their next seven drives. The streak ended with the first drive after Texas Southern pulled Cooper.
UAPB declined to make players available to the media after the game.