As previously winless Southern Nazarene’s stunning upset of Ouachita Baptist – a top-5 team in the two major Division II football polls – has proven, nothing in the Great American Conference is certain until it is.
University of Arkansas at Monticello Coach Hud Jackson strongly feels the snowball effect from one bad play has cost the Boll Weevils in each of its five losses, all by 25 or more points.
Take last Saturday’s loss, for example. UAM (3-5 overall and Great American) had just tied Henderson State at 7-all in the second quarter when Jody Easter returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. The Weevils never recovered from that and lost 42-7 in Arkadelphia.
“We were a top-30 kickoff coverage team going into that one kickoff – we had done a tremendous job all year long – and it cost us,” Jackson said. “I really believe if we don’t have that, then it’s different. The momentum swings for us have been devastating all year.”
Without Easter’s return, UAM would still be ranked 22nd among Division II teams nationally in kickoff coverage. They’re now 106th at 21.89 yards per return (394 yards on 18 returns against 12 touchbacks).
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Even in a position to win its last three games just for a winning record, the Boll Weevils have more positive numbers going into Saturday’s home game against Oklahoma Baptist (2-6). Kickoff at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium is at 2 p.m., with KHBM-FM 93.7 and youtube.com/weevilnation broadcasting.
The Weevils have one more win than last season and are 2-2 at home with a chance to win a third game in Monticello for the first time since 2019. UAM also outranks Oklahoma Baptist both in total offensive yards (298.4-252.6) and total defensive yards (367.5-394.1).
UAM beat Arkansas Tech 24-13 in its last home game Oct. 19, largely behind quarterback Demilon Brown’s 204 rushing yards. Meanwhile, the Weevils are trying to bolster the run game behind Brown amid season-ending injuries to Tyler Reed and Slade LeBlanc.
Sophomores Dontae Rhodes and Glen Cage, along with senior A.J. Bullock, have shared carries at running back in recent weeks, and Jackson said they’ve gotten better.
“We’ve got to figure out some things up front. Getting the run game is very important, not only for those guys by Demilon as well,” Jackson said. UAM still averages 137 rushing yards per game.
Oklahoma Baptist is coming off a 30-28 loss at Northwestern Oklahoma State. Who will run what type of offense for Oklahoma Baptist has posed an uncertainty for the Weevils in their preparation.
Three Bison quarterbacks have thrown for more than 100 yards this season, with Kenny Rosenthal (787 yards, 8 touchdowns, 5 interceptions) leading the team in passing. Aidan Thompson has 398 yards and 3 touchdowns with 4 interceptions, and Camden McCrary has etched 111 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 picks in the stat book.
“They do some things defensively that causes a little bit of confusion for us offensively,” Jackson said. “They’re very multiple, so that’s a concern. There are some things we have to figure out early in this contest. Whether we started off scoring early or started off with some positives, those are games where we’ve been successful. The way we attacked the Arkansas Tech game is the way we need to be playing. That is our main focus.”
VOLLEYBALL Harding 3, UAM 0
In Searcy, Harding posted a 25-9, 25-16, 25-21 win over UAM (4-18, 0-12 Great American).
Mia Smalls earned her 500th dig in the third set and finished with 24 assists for the match. Valeria Velez and Kerrigan Biggs each had 3 blocks and Holiday Ellis made 9 kills for the Cotton Blossoms.
Harding improved to 17-7 and 10-2 in the Great American.