One more touchdown, and the season-ending Battle of the Timberlands would have held more than a trophy at stake for the University of Arkansas at Monticello football team.
UAM (4-6 overall and Great American) had seemingly mastered the art of fourth-quarter comebacks and had an opportunity to pull off another one this past Saturday at Southern Nazarene University. Instead, 14 penalties hindered the Boll Weevils in a 24-21 loss in Bethany, Okla., after they had trailed 24-14 in the final quarter. That loss denied the Weevils a chance to finish with a winning record.
“The one thing we have to understand is that we’re not built in a way where we can overcome mistakes,” UAM Coach Hud Jackson said. “We have to grow on finishing and not thinking we can have those wins like we had against Oklahoma Baptist every week.”
A personal foul in the second quarter negated a 59-yard pick-six return by Alfernee Hankins in the second quarter. On the Weevils’ last possession, quarterback Demilon Brown was flagged for an illegal forward pass to scratch a 26-yard completion to J’Waun Turner at the Southern Nazarene 27 with 3:12 remaining.
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“You get frustrated with that part of it,” Jackson said. “You can’t have that against a team like SAU.”
That would be Southern Arkansas University — UAM’s traditional archrival for their 99th annual meeting (and 12th with a trophy on the line), set for a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Monticello’s Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium. KHBM-FM 93.7 and youtube.com/weevilnation will carry the game live.
SAU, which has a 60-37-1 all-time record against UAM, has won 20 of the past 26 meetings since the Weevils won five straight from 1992-96. UAM last beat SAU 73-37 in 2021.
Heading into the final regular-season weekend, SAU (8-2) can make a last-ditch case to be considered for an NCAA Division II playoff berth. It’s an outside shot the Muleriders are taking, given they are not ranked and stand a game behind both Harding and Ouachita Baptist in the Great American Conference championship race.
“We’re going to prep like we do normally,” Jackson said. “The one thing we have to continue to stress, in several ball games, some games we finished, some we didn’t. Against SAU, you have to be consistent and do things right on both sides of the ball. We’re trying to win this game to build some momentum. Our guys understand the importance of this.”
Saturday is also senior day, meaning the close of a career for 15 Weevils including sixth-year starting quarterback Brown and wide receiver Isaiah Cross.
Brown wrapped up his first season as the Great American Conference’s Freshman of the Year, but had to deal with the lingering effects of a season-ending hand injury from 2023. Despite this, he ranks fourth in UAM history for most passing yards with 7,267, needing 597 to tie Kevin McCarn (1997-2000) for third, and became just the third Weevil to run for 3,000 or more yards last week. He would need 108 rushing yards to tie Terry Alexander (1975-78) for second with 3,137.
Scott Buisson (9,616 passing yards from 2007-10) and Corwin Elliott (3,820 rushing yards from 1999-2002) are the record-holders.
“Here’s the thing about Demilon: He is beat up, like he is all the time,” Jackson said. “He’s coming off hand surgery. That hand was still bothersome. Turf toe. A lot he’s had to overcome. A couple games he put us on his back and we’ve won.
“He understood what he had to do to overcome. Most of his teammates see that. (I have a) strong relationship with that young man. He’s been very loyal, and I’m grateful for that.”
Cross said he came back for a sixth season in Monticello after learning Brown would do so. Cross’ career stats are nothing to sneeze at: 119 receptions, 1,662 yards (10th all-time at UAM) and 9 touchdowns. His 37 catches this season match a single-season high.
The Muleriders will ride into Monticello with a possible record-holder of their own in the making. Junior Judd Barton won his fifth Great American Offensive Player of the Week award this year and is one away from the record held by Henderson State’s Andrew Edwards (2012). Barton threw 15 of 19 for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns, and carried 9 times for 44 yards and 2 more TDs, all in one half of a 78-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State last Saturday.
Senior running back Jariq Scales, who has 685 yards and 12 touchdowns in 10 games this season, also powers the Muleriders’ offense, second-best in the conference at 469.7 yards per game. Brown, who like Scales prepped in Mississippi County, has 605 yards and 7 TDs in 2024.
One man who will relentlessly pursue Brown is SAU senior defensive end Dawson Scott, tied for 10th in Division II with 8.5 sacks.
On UAM’s side, Jackson is hopeful his seniors and graduate players will “experience something special” with a rivalry win Saturday.
“It keeps us going forward,” Jackson said, his Weevils having doubled last year’s number of wins. “We’ve done things facility-wise. We’re going to keep growing that because we have to. We’ll have to look at things differently and be committed to doing it. We can’t look at this as a game that’s not important to us.”
Great American Conference
Football standings
NOTE: Each game counts toward conference standings.
School; Record
Ouachita Baptist; 9-1
Harding; 9-1
Henderson State; 8-2
Southern Arkansas; 8-2
Arkansas Tech; 5-5
SE Oklahoma State; 5-5
UA-Monticello; 4-6
East Central; 4-6
NW Oklahoma State; 2-8
Oklahoma Baptist; 2-8
Southern Nazarene; 2-8
SW Oklahoma State; 2-8
Week 10 scores
Henderson State 35, SW Oklahoma State 17
Arkansas Tech 6, SE Oklahoma State 0
Harding 34, East Central 7
Ouachita Baptist 55, Oklahoma Baptist 0
Southern Arkansas 78, NW Oklahoma State 0
Southern Nazarene 24, UA-Monticello 21
Saturday’s games
Ouachita Baptist at Henderson State, 1 p.m.
SE Oklahoma State at East Central, 2 p.m.
Arkansas Tech at Harding, 2 p.m.
Southern Arkansas at UA-Monticello, 2 p.m.
Southern Nazarene at Oklahoma Baptist, 2 p.m.
NW Oklahoma State at SW Oklahoma State, 3 p.m.