Box Score MONTICELLO, Ark. – The Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils pulled off a major upset over the fourth-ranked Valdosta State Blazers, 23-9, at Convoy Leslie tonight.
UAM’s offense, which had been struggling to find points in the redzone, rattled off 20 points in the fourth quarter to bury the Blazers in front of the raucous home crowd. Damon Wicker, in his first game at quarterback since week one, connected with Willie Landers to open the quarter with a 22-yard completion for the game’s first touchdown.
Wicker ran in the second with a breakaway 21 yard rush, and Greg Taylor ran in the third touchdown of the quarter off a 27-yard run to cap the victory for the Green and White.
The Weevils got the ball to start the game and went six plays before the Valdosta defense forced a punt to end the drive eleven yards later. Derek Jambon sent the ball 40 yards the opposite way with no Blazer return to give VSU the ball on their own 25.
The UAM defense continued its solid play from a week ago and came up with an interception on the Blazers’ first play from scrimmage. Abraham Felton got in the way of an Austen Roberts pass to give the Weevils excellent field position, 1st and 10 from the Blazer 18.
Kyle Manning completed a nine-yard pass in the ensuing drive to get the Weevils a first-and-goal, but the second of two false starts in the drive pushed the offense back to the 15 yard line on fourth down. The Weevils were forced to settle for the field goal as Ryan Crowley put the first points of the night on the board with a 32-yarder to put UAM up 3-0.
Monticello had the opportunity to add to their lead on their following possession. The defense forced a punt after four plays to give the Weevils the ball on the UAM 30. Kyle Manning brought the team down all the way to the 14 yard line. The Blazers forced the second field goal of the night, a 31-yard attempt from Ryan Crowley, but this time VSU’s Tyler Josey got a hand on it and kept the score at 3-0 Boll Weevils.
Valdosta did not answer until the opening drive of the second quarter. Austen Robertson drove the Blazers 72 yards down the field, but the defense stood them up at the eight yard line. VSU kicker Daniel Andersen split the uprights with a 25-yard attempt to tie the game at three. The teams would go into the half tied up at three apiece.
The Blazers came out to start the second half on their own 28 yard line after a nice return from Matt Pierce that sparked a 13-play drive for Valdosta. A pair of first downs and a balanced attack put the Blazers on the 24 yard line of the Weevils before the defense could force a field goal. The 41-yard attempt from Daniel Anderson hooked through past the left post to give Valdosta State their first lead of the game, 6-3.
Both teams went three-and-out on the next two possessions, and then Monticello took over with 5:42 remaining in the third quarter. Damon Wicker led the offense on a march down the field, capping a 16-play drive with a 22-yard pass to Willie Landers to give UAM their first offensive touchdown since the Boomtown Classic back on September 17th. The score and following kick put the Weevils back on top 10-6 and they never looked back.
Much like the Weevils last week against West Georgia, the Blazers had a good night on the stat sheet, tallying 347 yards of total offense, compared to 333 for the Weevils. Damon Wicker led the ground game with 72 yards rushing, and added 65 yards in the air on eight completions. Kyle Manning threw for 83 yards on the night. Nakita Myles and Greg Taylor also posted solid performances with 68 and 63 yards of total offense respectively.
The Weevils will have a short week to prepare for another ranked opponent in the No. 3 Delta State Statesmen. DSU is coming off a 45-14 win over GAC-rival Ouachita Baptist in Cleveland. The game will be televised on Cox Sports as the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week, this coming Thursday night at 7:00 at Parker Field.
