Thursday night’s game will not be an easy task for the Weevils, who will brave their longest road trip of the year and face off with the North Dakota State Bison, who are ranked as high as #18 in NCAA Division I-AA.
   
The Weevils face one of their toughest challenges of the season after a disappointing showing in the opener at Henderson State.
   
 “I’m not good at sugarcoating things,” said Mathews. “We just got whipped. I thought the matchup of our offensive line against their defensive line was going to be a key, and it was. My hat is off to (Henderson). When I was named head coach here, I had a plan for everything. This isn’t the way I planned for our first game to go.”
   
While Mathews and the team will try to put Saturday’s loss behind them, the Bison prepare for Thursday night’s game after finishing their first season in NCAA Division I on a high note, winning their last three games of the 2004 season in convincing fashion, topping #15 Northwestern State 30 17, Weber State 31-17, and #21 UC-Davis 25-7 en route to a #18 final ranking.
   
The Bison finished the 2004 campaign with an 8-3 record, with a maximum margin of defeat of three points.
   
Still, while Mathews knows the Weevils face an uphill battle, he looks to the bright spots from Saturday’s loss for hope in this week’s game.
   
“Wes Ables came back (from injury) the Thursday before practice,” said Mathews. “For those of you that remember (Danielle) Rollins back in 2000, Wes will be that type of player.
   
Mathews is pleased with several facets of the offensive game as well. “Von Mixon is as advertised,” said Mathews. “Last season he averaged something around 160 all-purpose yards per game, and Saturday he was just ten yards under that. John L. Williams ran the ball well and we just didn’t open holes for him.”
   
In Thursday night’s game, the first ever meeting between the Bison and Boll Weevils, Mathews hopes that the offense will start to come together against tough opposition. “We have to eliminate our negative plays if we’re going to run the ball,” said Mathews. “Good running teams just don’t have negative offensive plays. We can’t pick up gains of three and four and then lose two. We just have to get better. We were definitely not a fine-tuned, well-oiled machine. We showed our inexperience. When we had our team meeting Friday nights, I asked the guys on the travel squad to stand up if they were new to Arkansas-Monticello and had only been in class two days. Of the 56 people we had, over half stood up. We showed it.”
   
As they prepare for Thursday’s kickoff, the UAM coaching staff hopes that the leadership of starting quarterback Adam Fisher will translate into an improved offensive showing.
   
“When you have two quarterbacks taking snaps with the first team in practice, it’s hard for them to develop a rhythm,” said Mathews. “Fisher stepped in after (Rodriguez) got hurt. He didn’t have a really good game or a really bad game, but I’m confident we can move forward with Fisher behind the helm.”
   
Kickoff from Fargo is set for 7:00 p.m Thursday.

Henderson State opened the game with a nine-play, 70-yard drive capped by a 13-yard touchdown reception by Garret Manning to take an early 7-0 lead with just over three minutes gone in the opening period. The Weevils were able to stop the Reddies on their next three drives to end the opening quarter down 7-0.

The Reddies opened the second quarter with a one-play drive, as Dane King tossed a slant pass to Manning for a 59-yard touchdown strike to increase the HSU lead to 14-0. Bryan Woodard added a 26-yard field goal and Bernard Palmer added a nine-yard touchdown run as the Reddies went into the locker room with a 24-0 lead.

The Reddies continued their high-powered onslaught in the third quarter, as Palmer added another touchdown run and Dane King hooked up with Jace Garrison for a 17-yard touchdown reception with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter to push their lead to 37-0.

The Weevils avoided the shutout in the fourth quarter, when John L. Williams broke away with a 17-yard run, cutting the HSU lead to the final 37-7 margin.

Baylor transfer Dane King led the Reddies with a 22-for-37 day, passing for 296 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions.

While the Reddies were lethal by air, their running attack racked up 265 net yards on the day as the Reddies amassed 568 yards of total offense.

Adam Fisher completed 10 of 23 passes for 109 yards and three interceptions for the Weevils Williams led UAM's rushing attack, carrying the ball 22 times for a career-high 102 yards and one touchdown.

Sam Wisener and DeMathus Ledet both picked up interceptions in the loss. Calvin Sojourney led the Weevils with twelve tackles, while Wes Ables added ten.

The Weevils return to action Thursday night, traveling to face North Dakota State University. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on KWRF 105.5 FM and KXFE 106.9 FM.
 

Entering this Saturday’s game at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, both UAM and HSU are teams hoping to defy the odds and contend for a Gulf South Conference championship.

Gone are UAM’s west coast offense and HSU¹s triple option offense, replaced by a more balanced attack for UAM and a more pass-friendly attack for Henderson State. Also gone is Cory Allred, the two-time Gulf South Conference Offensive Player of the Year, who produced 7,988 yards of total offense for the Weevils over the last two seasons.

“This game is shaping up to be a battle of the best part of our football team against the best part of their football team,” said Mathews. “(Henderson State) coach Maxfield is talking really heavily about their defensive line. For us, the strongest part of our team is the offensive line. If their defense does a good job with our offensive line, it could be a long night for us. On the flip side, if our offensive line controls the line of scrimmage, it could be a good night for us.”

In contrast to teams of the past, Mathews hopes that a tough, in-your face style of defense will become the Boll Weevils’ calling card in the future. “Football isn¹t a contact sport, it’s a collision sport,” said Mathews, echoing legendary Michigan State coach Duffy Daugherty. “We’re going to be a tough team, no question. The first day we had contact drills, Dakota (Fitzgerald) had his facemask bent right down the middle. He was either hitting somebody or they were hitting him, but one thing¹s for sure - when the facemask is bent down the middle, you know he’s not scared or turning away from the hit.”

One of the biggest question marks going into the season has been the quarterback position; namely, who will replace Allred under center? The answer, for now, is junior Anthony Rodriguez, who served as the Weevils’ backup in 2004. Murray State transfer Adam Fisher will serve as the backup.

“Every time you count (Rodriguez) out, he just keeps fighting back,” said Mathews. “He came back in better shape than any other player we’ve got. He can throw, run, and do a lot of things with us. He¹ll be our starting punter, and if he goes through the season as our starting quarterback, I¹ll be fine with that."

Kickoff from Arkadelphia is set for 6:00 p.m.

Watch a late-night presentation of any NFL Films video narrated by John Facenda, the so-called “Voice of God” who always seems to make old football highlights live up to the coaches’ hyperbole; and you’ll catch yourself believing that Vince Lombardi and John Madden were leading soldiers into battle week after week.

Every football game ends, however, and for the most part the competitors leave the gridiron unscathed, save a few bumps and bruises.   

 Wars aren’t limited to four quarters, however, and today the Weevils welcome back Sam Wisener and Jordan Wisener, who both became familiar with the true horrors of war after being deployed to Iraq midway through the 2003 season.

Today’s game ends a long journey for the Wisener cousins, who return to the University of Arkansas at Monticello and the Boll Weevils football team after serving honorably in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The University of Arkansas at Monticello salutes Sam and Jordan Wisener for their service and welcomes them back to the football field.

MONTICELLO --- A pair of University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevil football standouts have received pre-season honors, as both wide receiver Von Mixon (Sr., Vicksburg, Miss.) and free safety DeMathus Ledet (Sr., Lafayette, La.) have been named pre-season All-Americans.

In his first season at UAM, Mixon put together the most prolific season by any wide receiver in Boll Weevil football history, breaking current Houston Texan Derick Armstrong’s single-season receiving record, catching 66 passes for 1,245 yards. The 66 receptions also set a new UAM record for a junior. After posting seven 100+ yard receiving games and leading the Gulf South Conference with 12 touchdowns, Mixon earned d2football.com second team All-America honors, and Daktronics, Football Gazette first team All-Region honors, and first team All-Gulf South Conference honors.  Additionally. Mixon earned Football Gazette second team All-Region honors for his work as a kick returner.

Ledet posted 69 tackles in 2004, leading all returning letterwinners. .The defensive back has been a steady presence throughout his time at UAM, earning second team All-Gulf South Conference honors and Football Gazette second team All-Region honors as a junior. After transferring from Northwestern (La.) State, Ledet tallied 73 tackles as a sophomore. He has four career games with over ten tackles, coming against Delta State, Central Arkansas, and Southeastern Louisiana twice.

MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils football team opened practice this week with high hopes for the 2005 campaign, despite being picked to finish eleventh of twelve teams in the Gulf South Conference pre-season coaches’ poll.

“The team showed up in great shape,” said head coach Gwaine Mathews. “Today will be our first day in shells and we’ll really be able to get a feel for what we really have.”

Offensive Coordinator Tyler Peterson conducted morning offensive drills in the gym at Steelman Fieldhouse along with assistant coaches Shannon Williams and Steve Gleason, and has been pleased with what he’s seen so far. “We had a good day yesterday,” said Peterson. “I’m anxious to see how our fullbacks do once we get them in shells and out on the practice field. We’ve got a lot of guys that we haven’t seen much of so far. Courtney Allen and Odell Brown both missed spring ball due to injuries, so we’re really looking forward to seeing these guys in action. Our new guys have been performing well too.”

Von Mixon is the Gulf South Conference’s top returning receiver after leading the GSC last season in touchdown passes (12), and all-purpose yards (168.1), finishing second in receiving yards (113.2) and third in receptions per game (6.00). Mixon was also tabbed pre-season All-American by Street and Smith’s, Lindy’s, and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette.

Mathews conducted morning defensive drills in the gym at the Gibson University Center alongside Assistant Head Coach Donald Dykes, and was also happy with what he’s seen so far. “It’s really too early to tell too much about the defense,” said Mathews. “We’re a stronger unit, but there are a lot of questions. Coach Dykes has a lot of new kids in the secondary but they’ll be ready to go. We’re just in one-a-day mode right now, with today being our first day in shells we’ll really get to know a lot more in the next few days.”

Despite the youth of the secondary, the Weevils return two decorated veterans alongside the youngsters – sophomore Lavar Wyatt and senior DeMathus Ledet. Wyatt burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2004, leading the league with seven interceptions. However, it was Ledet who earned pre-season laurels, being named a pre-season All-American by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. Ledet finished third on last year’s team and tops among all returners with 69 tackles as a junior.

Overall, Mathews is hopeful that the Weevils can be the surprise team this year in the Gulf South Conference. “We’ve got  a solid bunch here,” said Mathews. “We’ve got a battle at the tailback position between John L. Williams and Julius Roberson, and Quinton Jones and Walter Warfield are looking good at the tight end spot. The offensive line is back and ready to go.  Even though it’s early, we’ve had some people do good things.”