CONWAY — Three takeaways by the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff defense only managed to slow down, not stop, the University of Central Arkansas on Saturday.
The Bears pulled away after the first quarter to defeat UAPB 41-17 at Estes Stadium in Conway.
UCA (1-1) rushed for 318 yards, led by Landen Chambers with 106 and a touchdown on 14 carries. Quarterback Luther Richesson and running back Jalen Washington also rushed for touchdowns.
UAPB coach Alonzo Hampton said the Bears are a physical team.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“They ran the ball on Missouri, so we knew coming in we had to stop the run,” Hampton said. “We didn’t do a good job, man. They had over 300 yards rushing the football. You’re not going to win a game when a team’s doing that, even though we got those takeaways.”
Richesson completed 18 of 25 passes for 283 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Malachi Henry led with 82 yards, followed by Ty Durham with 75. Both caught a touchdown pass.
UAPB (0-2) forced turnovers on UCA’s first two offensive drives. Linebacker Derron Moore recovered a red zone fumble on the Bears’ opening possession, but UAPB had to punt shortly after crossing midfield on the ensuing drive.
On UCA’s second possession, UAPB safety Ja’Marlin Green tipped a Richesson pass, and linebacker Mohammed Kelleh snatched it out of the air and returned it to the UCA 2-yard line before the Bears chased him down. Jaylen Jennings cashed in one play later to give UAPB a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
Kelleh said the early takeaways gave UAPB a chance to take control early in the game.
“Our momentum was so high,” Kelleh said. “Offense just gotta put up points from there. Defense going to do what they gotta do.”
The Bears settled in afterward and scored touchdowns on four of their next five possessions to take the lead and pull away.
On UCA’s second drive of the second half, UAPB linebacker Danarius Hilliard knocked the ball loose after the Bears had reached Golden Lion territory, and safety Na’il Johnson recovered it for the third takeaway of the game. The UAPB offense did not pick up a first down on the resulting possession and had to punt. UCA scored on its next two drives.
Hampton said the Golden Lions came into the game looking to take the ball away.
“We were able to get them early in the game, so that always gets you going,” Hampton said. “We had every chance to come here and compete with a team that’s a really good football team, so it’s disappointing in the overall, because we just made too many mistakes. They made enough plays to get the win.”
The Golden Lion offense struggled most of the game and had five three-play drives resulting in a punt.
Graduate transfer quarterback Christian Peters completed 18 of 36 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. D’Avery Johnson led the UAPB receivers with five catches for 60 yards, with Jordan Jackson catching five passes for 56 yards.
The touchdown pass was a 42-yard throw to Kareem Burke, who was wide open at the goal line after UCA lost him in coverage in the fourth quarter.
Peters said the offense made too many mistakes, preventing it from taking advantage of the turnovers the defense created.
“I felt like it could have been three drives back-to-back we put up points,” Peters said. “We shot ourselves in the foot, honestly. I gotta get better at completing the ball. We gotta catch the ball. We gotta finish blocks and run hard, simple as that. I felt like they didn’t beat us. We beat ourselves, honestly.”
The Bears held UAPB to 44 rushing yards with preseason All-SWAC running back BJ Curry missing his second straight game to start the season. A UAPB spokesperson said Curry is recovering from a minor leg injury and did not play out of an abundance of caution. In his absence, Za’Marion Webber led UAPB with 53 yards.
