The disappointment of last season’s collapse after a 2-0 start was something the University of Arkansas at Monticello football team has been determined to avoid repeating.
It was no secret beating Harding and Ouachita Baptist were going to be tough tasks, but losing by 25 points to previously winless East Central was a gut punch to a team trying to reestablish its winning ways.
“The common theme has been not taking advantage of opportunities,” Weevils Coach Hud Jackson said. “We had six opportunities offensively. We got behind their defensive backs on six occasions. Literally got behind them. We couldn’t make the throws or catches.”
The Weevils’ offense was stagnated a third straight week. They were forced to punt from their own territory on the first three drives and turned the ball over on downs before finally scoring in a 42-17 loss last Saturday in Ada, Okla.
UAM (2-3 overall and Great American) is in the middle of the conference pack and will try to remain in the top half of the Division II league race with a win over Southeastern Oklahoma State (2-3) on homecoming Saturday. The two teams are tied with Southwestern Oklahoma State, which UAM defeated Sept. 14, for sixth place.
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Kickoff at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium is set for 2 p.m., with the game airing on KHBM-FM 93.7 and streaming at youtube.com/weevilnation.
Jackson suggested last year’s finish in Durant, Okla. – a 2-yard pass on the game’s final play to give the Savage Storm a 22-21 win – is no more a motivating factor for the Weevils than the present three-game slide.
“Last year’s game does not stick out in memory,” he said. “The (NCAA transfer) portal sort of has taken that misery away. Guys who were here last year are not here this year. Albeit that game was tough to swallow, we had opportunities last year where we could have done better. Our guys continue to work hard. We make corrections. We focus on Southeastern.”
The Savage Storm’s season, under second-year coach and alumnus Bo Atterberry, had started in the reverse direction of the Weevils with losses to Southern Arkansas and Henderson State. They righted the ship by decisively beating Oklahoma Baptist and Northwestern Oklahoma State before taking a 25-9 hammering at home last Saturday against Ouachita, which has since moved up two spots to No. 12 in the D2football.com poll.
The Savage Storm (22.6 points per game) and Weevils (21.4) are sixth and seventh in the conference in scoring, although UAM (340.6 to 318.6) has the upper hand in total yards per game. UAM quarterback Demilon Brown is the third-ranked passer in the Great American at 190.2 yards per game, but he has 9 interceptions against 5 touchdowns.
Sophomore backup Buddy Taylor gave the sixth-year quarterback a spell against East Central, even as Brown completed 23 of 41 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown with 2 interceptions. Taylor completed 5 of 11 for 55 yards and a pick.
“That was a time in that game we felt we needed to allow (Brown) to take a little bit of a breath,” Jackson said. “I’m not going to ask my quarterbacks to understand if I haven’t been in that position. I played it. Brown was locked back in. I don’t regret making that decision. He totally understood.”
Still, Jackson stressed, Brown is the Weevils’ QB1.
“Demilon Brown is our guy. He’s going to have a great second half of the season, but I will tell you Buddy Taylor is a smart quarterback, very capable,” Jackson said.
Southeastern’s D.J. Brown averages 63.8 rushing yards per game, just ahead of UAM’s Tyler Reed (61.4). The two rank among the top 10 rushers in the Great American.
UAM also is having to find solutions quickly on defense. Opponents have averaged 37.8 points per game against the Weevils, placing them 11th in that category (only Oklahoma Baptist ranks lowest at 43.2), but the Weevils are eighth in total defense (361.2 yards per game allowed), trailing sixth-placed Southeastern (332.6).
UAM is not plagued with as many injuries to key playmakers as it was a year ago, adding to the mental toll the Weevils suffered during the slide. But Jackson is relying on leadership in the locker room to try and stop this year’s struggles.
“Last year and this year, we’ve had people in leadership roles who continue to stress that point like we do,” he said. “We try not to lose the importance of it. You can’t say it one time. You have to continue to stress it multiple times.”