UAM shaking off loss to focus on Ouachita

Cliche as it may be, the University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils are determined not to let a 60-point loss to the No. 1 team in Division II football turn into another loss to a ranked opponent.

“If we continue to worry about Harding, it would compound things that make us very average,” UAM Coach Hud Jackson said, a week after defending NCAA champion Harding University beat the Weevils 63-3 in Monticello.

With several new faces on the Weevils’ roster, Jackson remarked last week the speed of the game may have caught the team by surprise, aside from the Bisons’ rushing prowess and staunch defense. It’s been a focus during this extended practice week for the Weevils to work out at the speed in which Jackson demands they play.

“That’s what we’ve been doing in practice, moving fast and everybody getting to it,” said junior running back Tyler Reed. “Some people that we have, they’re not used to the speed of the game. They’re new to college football. I’m a JUCO transfer. I’m used to playing the game and getting off really fast. For some players, it was definitely eye-opening.”

Jackson said the Weevils (2-1 overall and Great American) turned the page from that bad loss to another playoff contender, 16th-ranked Ouachita Baptist University (3-0). Kickoff between the Weevils and Tigers is set for 6 p.m. Saturday at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia, with KHBM-FM 93.7 carrying the game.

Like the Bisons, the Tigers held pat in their D2football.com ranking after surviving Southern Arkansas University 25-20 last Saturday in Magnolia. Next-door neighbor Henderson State University is ranked No. 17.

Ouachita is a distant second from Harding in Great American Conference scoring (41.3 per game to Harding’s 60), but both teams are the only ones in the 12-team league to average 200 or more yards rushing per game. Ouachita quarterback Eli Livingston is second in the conference with 92.3 rushing yards per game, trailing only Jeremiah Davis of Henderson State (98).

“You’re not going to play the same offense when you play Harding,” Jackson said. “When you go into a game, you have an idea of how to stop it and you change up. Everyone has a specific job in defending Harding. When you don’t do that, you have problems. Our players understand what occurred (last) Thursday night. With Ouachita, they love to run their quarterback, and we’ve got to be able to match up with their offensive line.”

Livingston, a senior from Batesville, completed nine of 18 passes for 133 yards and rushed 21 times for 120 yards against SAU. He scored a touchdown each rushing and passing.

“Eli’s a well-balanced quarterback,” said Todd Knight, the Tigers’ 24th-year coach who grew up in Star City. “He’s got a good arm and good legs, too. He’s a solid performer. He can do both well.”

Ouachita’s Kendel Givens is the fourth-leading rusher (81.7) in the conference, and Carter McElhany is seventh in receiving (124 yards on 6 receptions). UAM’s Isaiah Cross, the fifth-leading receiver, has 27 more yards than McElhany on the young season.

Jackson believes the Weevils have addressed their defensive shortfalls after Harding totaled 578 yards last week, including 433 rushing.

“Ouachita has good receivers, and they can throw the ball as well,” Jackson said. “Ouachita definitely wants to run the football. … On the back half (of our defense), guys are intelligent. They know their shortfalls. We have to do what we think is the most productive on our side.”

To beat the Tigers, which UAM last did in 2016, the Weevils must take advantage of any opportunities, Jackson stressed.

Ouachita has held teams to 81 rushing yards per game. Against SAU, the Tigers totaled six tackles for losses, two sacks and an interception.

Reed issued a reminder he averages nearly that many yards alone (76), placing eighth in the conference.

“All I heard, they’re a good team,” Reed said of Ouachita. “We’re going to go down there and hit them in the mouth first.”

The Weevils plan to put their sixth-year quarterback, Demilon Brown, in a better position to make plays after the Rivercrest High alumnus threw three interceptions for the second game in a row, Jackson said. This season Brown has thrown for 494 yards, two touchdowns and seven picks, and rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns.

Knight isn’t taking the GAC’s 2019 Freshman of the Year lightly.

“Demilon Brown is as good as anybody in the league,” he said. “Sometimes games like that happen. Second half last year, those guys got after us.”

UAM lost 45-25 to Ouachita last season but responded after a 21-0 first-quarter deficit.

“We have a great deal of respect for Monticello. I grew up in Star City,” Knight said. “I have a lot of respect for Monticello, Demilon Brown, Hud Jackson and what they do. They play at a high level. We have to play our best game to win.”

BYRD WINS HALL OF FAME SPIRIT AWARD

Longtime UAM head athletic trainer Shellye Byrd was named the recipient of the 2024 Spirit Award, presented annually at UAM’s Athletics Hall of Fame banquet.

This year’s ceremony is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 10 at the University Center Green Room.

“We are really excited about honoring Shellye Byrd as our spirit award winner this year,” Jackson said in a news release. “Shellye has been at UAM for a very long time and has sacrificed so much for our athletic department, specifically, our student-athletes. She continues to work extremely hard, making sure all of our athletes are prepared week in and week out. Most importantly, Shellye is an unreal human being that is dedicated to her work and our great university.”

Byrd joined UAM athletics in 2002 and can be found at every home and away sporting event, according to UAM. Off the sideline, she is credited with serving student-athletes, coaches and administration in the training room, “providing them with the care, support and ice baths they so truly desire,” according to the release.

“It’s for her love and dedication to the university, each team and every student-athlete that the UAM Athletics Department is proud to present this year’s Spirit Award to her,” the release reads.

The award was first presented in 2006.