UAPB to face UCA with many new faces

Editor’s note: This story is part of a series previewing the 12 opponents the UAPB football team will play this fall.

For the third time in the past five years, Arkansas’ two FCS programs will meet this fall.

The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff will travel to Conway to face Central Arkansas at Estes Stadium on Sept. 6.

UCA (6-6 in 2024) won last season’s matchup 56-17 in what was the Bears’ first trip to Pine Bluff since 1994, but lost much of last year’s production.

Running back ShunDerrick Powell led UCA with 148 rushing yards and two touchdowns against UAPB, while Darius Hale scored three touchdowns. Quarterback Will McElvain threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns. Hale caught five passes, one for a touchdown.

All three were seniors who will not return to UCA this fall. The Bears also lost senior linebacker David Walker, a Stuttgart native who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

UCA does bring back running back Landen Chambers, who rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown in Pine Bluff, and wide receiver Malachi Henry, who led the Bears with 87 receiving yards and a score that day.

With UAPB (3-9) also losing its starting quarterback and much of its receiving corps this offseason, this year’s game will feature many new faces on both sides.

There will be a familiar face on the UCA sideline, though. Former UAPB linebacker Kyle Vocque transferred to UCA during the offseason.

As a true freshman out of Bauxite last year, Vocque made 25 tackles, including nine solo tackles, across UAPB’s first four games of the season. He was credited with half a tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

Vocque had a strong debut, tying for the team lead in tackles against Arkansas with seven. But after playing the first four games, he did not play again the rest of the season before announcing his entry into the transfer portal in late November.

Since he only played four games, last season will count as a redshirt year, leaving him with four years of eligibility after transitioning to Conway.

UCA also has a Pine Bluff High School graduate, senior defensive lineman Bradley Clark, on the roster. He collected 29 tackles with 5.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks last year.

At the time of the game in Pine Bluff, UCA was ranked No. 8 in FCS and became the highest-ranked team to ever play at Simmons Bank Field. The Bears’ win was part of a 6-2 start to the season which included a controversial last-second loss at Arkansas State, 34-31.

The Bears went on to lose their final four games of the season and finished 3-5 in United Athletic Conference play. With UAPB also losing its final four games, neither program entered the offseason with much momentum.

This will be UAPB’s first trip to Conway since the Bears won 45-23 in 2021. That was the first meeting between the teams since 2008. UAPB won the first two meetings in this series in 1970 and 1971, but UCA has won all 12 games since.

This will be UAPB’s only non-conference matchup against a fellow FCS team this fall. Both teams will be coming off season-opening road games against Power Four competition: UAPB at Texas Tech, and UCA at Missouri.