As soon as the University of Arkansas at Monticello trailed Southwestern Oklahoma State University 28-10, the Boll Weevils strung together a remarkable rally to avoid a stunning defeat Saturday night in Weatherford, Okla.
UAM scored 29 unanswered points in a 9-minute span during the second half to beat SWOSU 39-28 at Flex-Chem Field at Milam Stadium. The Weevils (2-0 overall and Great American) have won their first two games for the third straight season and avoided a stunning defeat to a team that has lost 13 in a row, including a winless 2023 campaign.
Sixth-year quarterback Demilon Brown overcame a 3-interception game and ran for 3 touchdowns to spark the big rally. Brown rushed 15 times for 128 yards, with 71 of those coming on a go-ahead touchdown run with 8:16 left in the game.
Brown completed 16 of 22 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown with the 3 picks. He was sacked 4 times.
Tyler Reed ran 21 times for 104 yards and a TD in the win, while Slade LeBlanc ran 11 times for 65 yards.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
UAM managed to capitalize on gaining 24 first downs to Southwestern’s 13 and totaled 499 yards to Southwestern’s 252. The Weevils, who possessed the ball for 33 minutes, rushed for 294 yards and held the Bulldogs (0-2) to 145 on the ground.
Still, the Bulldogs thrived off the Weevils’ turnovers (scoring touchdowns following two of them) and were 2 for 2 on fourth-down conversions. They led 14-3 after Logan Johnson plunged into the end zone in the first quarter and Kai Kunz completed a 24-yard pass to Baylor Nash in the second. Tanner Steenbock converted a 22-yard field goal to pull the Weevils within 7-3 at the 11:45 mark of the second.
Brown’s touchdown pass went to Joshua Dixon for 2 yards with 3:55 left before halftime. That narrowed Southwestern’s lead to 14-10.
The Bulldogs struck quickly with touchdown rushes of 2 and 10 yards by Kunz in the third quarter to build a 28-10 lead with 4:31 left.
UAM started the game-changing rally with an 11-play, 72-yard drive resulting in a 5-yard scoring run by Brown. The Weevils forced the Bulldogs to punt on their last four series, scoring on an 8-yard Brown run and his 2-point conversion, his 71-yard breakaway up the middle and Reed’s 12-yard tote with 7:25 left in the game.
Isaiah Cross caught 4 passes for 71 yards and Jordan Mansfield hauled in 3 catches for 45 yards for UAM.
Kunz completed 8 of 15 passes for 107 yards and rushed 14 times for 67 yards. Logan Johnson carried 17 times for 42 yards, and Elijah Reed had 1 catch for 34 yards in the loss.
NEXT UP …
UAM will host defending national champion Harding University at 6 p.m. Thursday night. Southwestern will visit East Central University in Ada, Okla., next Saturday.