Box Score MONTICELLO – Senior quarterback Scott Buisson became the career passing leader at the University of Arkansas at Monticello Thursday night, but the Boll Weevils allowed penalties and big plays to outweigh the positives in a 27-20 loss to No. 10 West Alabama.
The game was UAM’s season-opener and was the first installment of the Gulf South Conference TV Game of the Week package. West Alabama improves to 2-0.
The Boll Weevils finished the game with 13 penalties for 115 yards and also allowed seven plays of at least 15 yards on defense.
Buisson needed only 212 yards Thursday night to take over as passing king at UAM. He finished the contest 28-of-42 through the air for 289 yards with one touchdown and one interception to improve his career total to 7,942 yards. His career passing total now ranks third all-time in the state of Arkansas. Buisson also led the Boll Weevils in rushing with 47 yards on 10 carries.
As for the game, UAM started the scoring on a 38-yard field goal by freshman Taylor Pontius at the 11:21 mark of the first quarter.
The Tigers answered with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Deon Williams to Gerald Worsham with 4:01 left in the first, but a missed extra point left the Tigers with a 6-3 lead.
UWA went up 13-3 on a four-yard touchdown run by T-Ray Mitchell with 12:22 left in the second quarter. Both teams remained scoreless until Pontius nailed his second field goal of the game, a 30-yard kick as time expired in the half to send the teams into the locker room with UWA on top 13-6.
The Boll Weevils started the scoring in the second half with a three-yard touchdown run by junior Nakita Myles and a successful point-after kick by Pontius to provide the game’s first tie at 13-13 with 10:20 left in the third quarter. Myles’ touchdown capped a nine-play, 56 yard drive that used 2:56.
The Tigers answered on their next drive with on a 12-yard touchdown strike from Williams to Worsham to cap a seven-play, 80 yard drive that used 2:46 to give UWA a 20-13 lead with 7:30 left in the third.
The UAM offense drove to the UWA 33-yard line before stalling and being forced to punt, setting up UWA’s final score of the game. T-Ray Mitchell capped a 13-play, 90 yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge to put the Tigers on top 27-13 with 11:44 remaining in the contest.
The Boll Weevils put together a 79-yard drive on their ensuing possession, which ended on a fumble by senior Johnny Polite at the goal line, giving the Tigers the ball with 7:30 left in the game.
After the UAM defense forced a three-and-out on UWA’s ensuing possession, senior receiver Jywin Ceasar returned a punt 45 yards to set up his team’s offense with a first-and-goal on the UWA three-yard line. After losing three yards on rush attempts, Buisson dialed up Ceasar’s number in the middle of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown strike to finalize the scoring at 27-20. The Tigers put together a nine-play, 45-yard drive after the UAM score to seal the victory.
UWA’s Worsham gave the UAM defense problems for the entire game, finishing the contest with nine catches for a game-high 164 yards and two touchdowns. Ceasar led the Boll Weevils with 12 catches for 123 yards and one touchdown grab.
On the ground, UWA’s T-Ray Mitchell led the contest with 29 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns.
The Boll Weevils are now set to take their first of seven road trips with a journey to Baton Rouge, La. next Saturday, September 11 to take on the Southern University Jaguars. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
