A change in venue will not change the opportunity for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football team to continue its winning ways on Saturday.
Texas Southern announced this week its home football game against UAPB, scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday on SWAC TV, will be played at Husky Stadium on the Houston Christian University campus.
TSU (1-3, 1-1 SWAC) typically plays its home games at Shell Energy Stadium, which is also home to Houston Dynamo FC of Major League Soccer. The Dynamo have a home game against San Diego FC at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, forcing the Tigers to relocate their game against the Golden Lions.
While Shell Energy Stadium can hold 22,039 spectators, Husky Stadium lists a capacity of 5,000. It features one set of stands with the far sideline squeezed in behind off-campus businesses. The last time UAPB played Texas Southern in Houston, the Tigers announced 3,482 fans had attended the game at Shell Energy Stadium in 2023.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Regardless of location, UAPB (2-2, 1-0) is looking to extend its current two-game winning streak. The Golden Lions defeated Lincoln (Calif.) 34-8 at home on Sept. 13 for their first win of the season. After a bye week, they came from behind in the fourth quarter to knock off Alcorn State 24-20 this past weekend in the Southern Heritage Classic in Memphis.
UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton said the Golden Lions aren’t talking about winning streaks, choosing instead to focus on winning each day.
“When you’re building a program, every single day has its own issues, its own challenges,” Hampton said. “So, when we walk in this building, I tell the coaches, ‘Man, don’t worry about what happened yesterday. Let’s just win this day, put one foot in front of the other.’ You can tell our players, man, they’ve done a really good job.”
The last time UAPB won back-to-back games was in 2022, when the Golden Lions started the season 2-0 against Lane College and North American University.
A win this Saturday in Houston would give UAPB its first three-game winning streak since the abbreviated spring 2021 season, which saw the Golden Lions go 4-0 in the regular season against an all-SWAC schedule to earn a spot in the SWAC championship game.
That season was also the last time UAPB won its SWAC opener as it did this year and was the last time the Golden Lions won consecutive SWAC games, something UAPB hopes to do Saturday.
Hampton said the coaching staff is trying to build the players’ confidence so they believe they can continue winning.
“We’re telling the kids how good they are,” Hampton said. “We’re telling them to visualize yourself making plays, visualize yourself making A’s in the classroom, visualize yourself being a leader in the community. So, what we’ve been able to do is to do that consistently. Now, as you win a game, you win two games, now that’s the expectation.”
Four games into this season, UAPB has already matched its win total from Hampton’s first season in 2023 and is one win away from matching last year’s three wins.
UAPB quarterback Christian Peters has been a big part of that. He threw for 323 yards and a touchdown against Alcorn State on Saturday before rushing for the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Peters was named Southern Heritage Classic MVP, BOXTOROW HBCU Player of the Week and SWAC Newcomer of the Week for his efforts.
He completed passes to seven receivers, with four catching multiple passes. Kareem Burke led with six catches for 102 yards, while true freshman Ellis Stewart caught six for 55 yards and a touchdown.
Hampton gave credit to new wide receivers coach Pierre Ingram, who he called one of the best hires he has made.
“What you’re seeing is all the work that he’s putting in behind the scenes with these young men,” Hampton said. “I’ll be honest, we got a couple more guys we’re probably fixing to get ready to give them an opportunity in the next couple weeks, because they’re earning the trust in practice.”
Two Texas Southern players joined Peters in receiving weekly honors from the SWAC this week. Defensive end Michael Akins was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week, and kick returner Chaunzavia Lewis was named Special Teams Player of the Week.
Akins collected one sack, four tackles for loss and forced a fumble in TSU’s 23-20 comeback win at Mississippi Valley State, while Lewis returned four kicks for 164 yards with a long of 52.