WEEK 9 GAME NOTES (PDF)
MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello football team will play at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium for the fifth time of the 2012 season this Saturday, October 27 when it hosts Southeastern Oklahoma State in Great American Conference action.
Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. The game can be heard on the UAM Sports Network (KHBM-FM 93.7 in Monticello and online at uamsports.com). There will also be live streaming video available. Links to live audio and video can be found here:
http://uamsports.com/sports/2010/10/18/listenlive.aspx?tab=liveaudio. The UAM Athletics Department will also provide live statistics of Saturday’s game at the following link:
http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=8224.
UAM enters Saturday’s game with an overall record of 1-7 and a 0-6 mark in Great American Conference games following a 24-21 loss to Arkansas Tech on the road last Saturday. Southeastern brings a two-game winning streak to Monticello on Saturday along with a 3-4 overall record and a 1-4 record in GAC games. The Savage Storm is coming off a 26-16 victory over in-state rival Southwestern Oklahoma State last Saturday at home in Durant, Okla.
UAM head coach Hud Jackson visited with uamsports.com on Thursday to discuss Saturday’s game against Southeastern Oklahoma State. To view the full interview, visit the following link:
http://youtu.be/fdSqcWi-94w. The video will also be available at uamsports.com.
WEEK 9 STORYLINES
FIFTH HOME GAME
The Boll Weevils host Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday for UAM’s fifth home game of the 2012 season. UAM is 1-4 this season at home, with the lone win coming in a 78-0 triumph over College of Faith in the season opener.
THE UAM-SOUTHEASTERN SERIES
Saturday’s match up marks the third all-time meeting between UAM and Southeastern on the football gridiron in a series that began in the 1979 season. UAM holds the all-time advantage 2-0. UAM defeated Southeastern 41-7 in 1979 in a game played in Durant, Okla. Last season, UAM defeated the Savage Storm 24-20 in Great American Conference action.
THE BOLL WEEVILS
UAM is 1-7 overall and 0-6 in the Great American Conference with a seven-game losing streak heading into Saturday’s game against Southeastern. The Boll Weevils are coming off a 24-21 loss to Arkansas Tech on the road last Saturday. UAM ranks 22nd in the nation and second in the GAC in pass defense with an average of 176 yards given up. The Boll Weevils also crack the top 60 in pass offense with an average of 241.3 yards per game, ranking 57th in the country and fifth in the GAC. Individually, UAM is led by senior quarterback Damon Wicker, who averages 219 yards of total offense per game, ranking 72nd in the country and seventh in the GAC. Wicker has completed 107-of-193 pass attempts for 1,247 yards with seven touchdowns, while adding 286 yards on the ground with two touchdowns on a total of 82 carries. Wicker’s favorite target this season has been Jamal Nixon, who has hauled in 40 receptions for 485 yards with four touchdowns, including a 14-catch, 212 yard game against Arkansas Tech last Saturday.
Defensively, UAM is led by strong safety Anthony Hughes, who ranks 30th in the conference with an average of 5.4 tackles per game. Hughes has totaled 43 tackles this season, one tackle for a loss, and has also recorded two interceptions.
THE OPPONENT: SOUTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA STATE
Southeastern Oklahoma State enters Saturday’s game with an overall record of 3-4 and a 1-4 record in GAC games with a two-game winning streak following a 26-16 win over Southwestern Oklahoma State at home last Saturday. The week before, Southeastern recorded a 31-6 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on the road. The Savage Storm ranks 11th in the country and second in the GAC with an average of 246.9 yards rushing per contest. SE’s defense ranks 29th in the nation and fourth in the league with an average of 326.7 yards given up per game. Individually, quarterback Jercolby Bradley leads the team and ranks 45th in the country with an average of 257.29 yards of total offense per game. Bradley has completed 100-of-187 pass attempts for 1,194 yards with seven touchdowns, while adding 607 yards and five touchdowns on a total of 117 rushing attempts. Izzy Eziakor paces the SE defense with a total of 60 tackles for an average of 8.6 tackles per game, ranking seventh in the GAC.
THE COACHES
UAM is led by Hud Jackson in his second season on the Green and White sidelines. Jackson has compiled a 6-13 record since taking over before the 2011 season. Prior to UAM, Jackson served the previous six seasons as associate head coach at Central Arkansas following a 13-year high school coaching career in the state of Louisiana. Southeastern’s Ray Richards is in his second stint as head coach of the Savage Storm. He has a 39-41 record in his eighth season at SE, and a 53-71 record overall as a head coach, including his four seasons as head coach at Southwest Baptist.
LAST TIME OUT: ARKANSAS TECH 24, UAM 21
UAM fumbled three times at the goal line and threw one interception in the end zone, allowing the Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys to escape with a 24-21 win last Saturday in Russellville. The Boll Weevils held nearly a 2-to-1 ratio against ATU in total offense and time of possession, but could not answer a 15-yard scramble for a touchdown from ATU quarterback Tanner Marsh with less than three minutes in regulation. UAM quarterback Damon Wicker posted his most efficient game of the season, completing 34-of-46 passes for 408 yards with three touchdowns. Wicker fumbled on a goal line dive with 15 seconds remaining to allow ATU to grab the come-from-behind victory. UAM posted 495 yards of total offense and held ATU to 269.
COACH’S PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The UAM coaching staff named junior receiver Jamal Nixon, senior quarterback Damon Wicker, senior defensive lineman Jamie Ward, sophomore safety Anthony Hughes and junior deep snapper Dawayne Lewis the offensive, defensive and special teams players of the game for their efforts in last Saturday’s loss to Arkansas Tech. Nixon had a career-high 212 yards receiving on 14 catches, Wicker was 34-of-47 through the air for 408 yards with three touchdowns, Ward had two tackles for a loss, Hughes had a team-high 11 tackles with one interception and Lewis forced and recovered a fumble from his long snapper position on UAM’s punt team.
UP NEXT: FINAL ROAD TRIP
The Boll Weevils are on the road for the final time of the 2012 season next Saturday, November 3. UAM takes its longest road trip of the year to Weatherford, Okla. to face the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs. SWOSU enters this Saturday’s home game against GAC provisional member Southern Nazarene with an overall record of 1-6 and a 1-5 record in league games. Next Saturday’s kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at SWOSU’s Fast Lane Field.
