The game plan for the Boll Weevils on Saturday is simple.
“Don’t turn the ball over and create a couple of turnovers, and everything’s great,” University of Arkansas at Monticello football Coach Hud Jackson said. “Just, we can’t turn the ball over, man. That’s a killer.”
Turnovers have bedeviled the Weevils (0-2 overall and Great American), who showed glimpses of week-to-week improvement in last Saturday’s loss to Oklahoma’s East Central University. Late miscues, including one that led to a short field for East Central, allowed the Tigers to open up a 17-13 lead and score 21 unanswered points in the final 7½ minutes.
If the Weevils — who’ve lost four straight — are to pick up their first win since last Nov. 2, they must organize their strongest 60-minute performance of the early season against perennial conference contender Henderson State University (2-0) this Saturday. Kickoff at UAM’s Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m., the last evening kickoff at home for the Weevils this season.
“It comes back to the basics of football — be good on third down on both sides of the football, be good in the red zone on both sides of the ball. You’ve got to control the turnover margin, and you’ve got to keep penalties intact. We did better from one week to the next in all those categories except turnovers.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAM is just 9 for 23 on third-down conversions and has held opponents to 12 for 28. Opponents have dominated UAM in the red zone, scoring on 10 of 11 opportunities (including 7 touchdowns), while the Weevils are 1 for 3 inside the other team’s 20 through two games.
Penalties have been unsightly for the Weevils, who have lost 115 yards on 13 flags. They’ve also committed four turnovers each game.
Jackson acknowledged, without being prompted, that he put the Weevils in a bad position when he opted to go for a first down on fourth-and-21 from their own 15, with East Central already leading 24-13 after scoring off a fumble. Quarterback Tavion Faulk was strip-sacked and ECU recovered the ball at the 12, scoring two plays later. UAM had not fumbled until the last 8:11 of the game.
“Just trying to generate some momentum,” Jackson explained. “We created a short field on two occasions during that game. Look, we’ve got to fix it. It’s on us. … It starts with me. Everybody has a responsibility on what they should do, and everybody’s got to do their job.”
The Reddies, who have won five straight over UAM, will bring the Great American Conference’s second-leading offense at 499.5 yards per game to Monticello. And two big reasons for that are quarterback Andrew Edwards (640 yards and 5 touchdowns on 43-for-76 passing) and Maddox Davis (228 yards and 1 touchdown on 11 receptions). Both lead the conference in yardage at their positions.
Davis’ yardage was the most for a Great American receiver since L’Liott Curry went for 228 yards against UAM in 2021.
Henderson defensive lineman Ryan Vollmer is the conference’s leading tackler with 30 and leading sack man with 4.5.
UAM’s defense, which has given up 164.5 yards per game (seventh out of 12 teams in the Great American), must continue to improve at getting to the backfield.
Although the Weevils have scored just 13 points in each of their first two games, their passing attack led by Tavion Faulk ranks third in the conference at 217.5 yards per game.
Faulk, at 358 yards this season (29-of-48 passing), ranks third among quarterbacks. Edwards has accounted for all of Henderson’s passing totals.
Great American Conference football standings
NOTE: Each game counts toward standings; number in parentheses indicate ranking in American Football Coaches Association Division II poll.
Team;Record
Arkansas Tech;2-0
East Central;2-0
(2) Harding;2-0
Henderson State;2-0
Southern Arkansas;2-0
Ouachita Baptist;1-1
Southeastern Okla. State;1-1
UA-Monticello;0-2
Northwestern Okla. State;0-2
Oklahoma Baptist;0-2
Southern Nazarene;0-2
Southwestern Okla. State;0-2
Saturday’s games
Southwestern Okla. State at Southeastern Okla. State, 6 p.m.
Harding at Southern Arkansas, 6 p.m.
Southern Nazarene at East Central, 6 p.m.
Henderson State at UAM, 6 p.m.
Arkansas Tech at Ouachita Baptist, 7 p.m.
Northwestern Okla. State at Oklahoma Baptist, 7 p.m.