WEEK 10 GAME NOTES (PDF)
MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello football team will take its final and longest road trip of the 2012 season this Saturday, November 3, when the team travels to Weatherford, Okla. to face off against the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State University in UAM’s final Great American Conference game of the season.
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Fast Lane Field on the SWOSU campus. The game can be heard live on the UAM Sports Network (KHBM-FM 93.7 in Monticello and online at uamsports.com through the following link:
http://www.uamsports.com/sports/2010/10/18/listenlive.aspx?tab=liveaudio.)
UAM enters Saturday’s game with an overall record of 1-8 and a 0-7 mark in GAC games following a 41-35 loss at home last Saturday to Southeastern Oklahoma State. UAM will be looking to snap an eight-game losing streak and capture the first road victory of the Hud Jackson era. The Bulldogs are 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the league following a 19-12 victory over GAC provisional member Southern Nazarene last Saturday at home.
UAM head coach Hud Jackson visited with uamsports.com on Thursday to discuss this Saturday’s game against SWOSU. To view the full interview, visit the following link:
http://youtu.be/Zy6wfnktz2U. The video will also be available at uamsports.com.
WEEK 10 STORYLINES
FINAL ROAD TRIP
The Boll Weevils hit the road for the last time of the 2012 season this Saturday for the longest trip of the season to face the Bulldogs of Southwestern Oklahoma State. UAM is still seeking its first road win of the season and first road win during the Hud Jackson era. UAM is 0-4 on the road this season, the same road record for the team during the 2011 season.
THE UAM-SWOSU SERIES
Saturday’s matchup marks the second all-time meeting between UAM and SWOSU on the football gridiron. UAM won last year’s meeting 35-21 in Monticello in the 2011 season finale. It marked UAM’s fifth win of the season and solidified fourth place in the first year of the Great American Conference for the Boll Weevils.
THE BOLL WEEVILS
UAM is 1-8 overall and 0-7 in the Great American Conference entering Saturday’s game against Southwestern following a 41-35 loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State last Saturday at home. UAM is second in the GAC and 28
th in the nation in pass defense, giving up only 184.1 yards in the air per game. UAM also cracks the nation in pass offense at 63
rd with an average of 233.78 yards per outing and 73
rd in sacks with an average of two per game. Individually, the Boll Weevils are led by senior quarterback Damon Wicker, who ranks seventh in the GAC and 67
th in the nation in total offense with an average of 227.75 yards per game. Wicker is 115-of-207 through the air for 1,397 yards with seven touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Wicker also leads the UAM ground game with 425 rushing yards on 102 attempts with three touchdowns. Wicker’s favorite target is junior Jamal Nixon, who ranks fourth in the GAC in receptions and fifth in yards per game with a total of 44 catches for 551 yards, including four touchdowns. Sophomore safety Anthony Hughes leads the team in tackles with a total of 52, averaging 5.8 per game.
THE OPPONENT: SW OKLAHOMA STATE
Southwestern Oklahoma State enters Saturday’s game against UAM with an overall record of 2-6 and a 1-5 GAC mark following its 19-12 victory over GAC provisional member Southern Nazarene last Saturday at home in Weatherford. The Bulldogs started their season with a 49-14 loss at NCAA Division I Stephen F. Austin, then posted a 13-10 conference win over East Central at home before going on a five-game losing streak, which was snapped last Saturday against SNU. The Bulldogs are among the league’s best in kickoff returns and kickoff coverage, ranking third in the league at an average of 19.1 yards per kick return and leading the league in coverage, giving up only 445 yards all season on returns. SWOSU cracks the top 100 nationally in pass offense at 71
st with an average of 225.13 yards per game through the air, 68
th in rushing defense with an average of 141.5 yards given up per game, 86
th in total defense with an average of 376.25 yards given up per game, 99
th in pass defense at 234.75 yards per game and 85
th in tackles for a loss with an average of 6.25 per game. Individually, SWOSU is led by quarterback Dustin Stenta, who has completed 165-of-322 pass attempts for 1,799 yards with eight touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Aaron Wilson ranks fifth in the GAC with an average of 76.2 rushing yards per game. Kirk Jones and Ryan Corbin are the top SWOSU receivers with averages of 44.14 and 41.12 yards per game. SWOSU kicker Colton Rainey leads the GAC and ranks fourth in the nation with an average of 1.5 field goals per game. Jonathan Darby paces the SWOSU defense with an average of eight tackles per game.
THE COACHES
UAM is led by second-year head coach Hud Jackson, who has compiled a 6-14 record on the green and white sidelines. Prior to taking over at UAM before the 2011 season, 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. SWOSU is led by Dan Cocannouer, who has totaled a 11-30 record in his fourth season with the Bulldogs. A 1978 SWOSU graduate, Cocannouer branded himself as one of the most successful high school coaches in the state of Oklahoma with 20 years as a head coach, most recently at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
LAST TIME OUT: SOUTHEASTERN 41, UAM 35
UAM from a 20-point deficit to bring the game to within one score with five minutes remaining, but Southeastern Oklahoma State held on to defeat the Boll Weevils 41-35 this past Saturday in Monticello to extend UAM’s streak to eight consecutive losses. UAM posted a season-high 273 rushing yards, led by Damon Wicker with 139 and Nick Williams with 94. Sophomore punter Reagan Wise boomed a school-record 74-yard punt in the loss, breaking the previous record by one yard.
COACH’S PLAYERS OF THE GAME
The UAM coaching staff named the entire offensive line, sophomore safety Anthony Hughes and junior kicker Ryan Crowley the offensive, defensive and special teams players of the game for their performances during this past Saturday’s loss to Southeastern Oklahoma State. The offensive line allowed UAM to eclipse the 400-yard mark of the total offense for the third straight week and aided in a season-high 273 rushing yards. Hughes led all defenders with nine solo tackles. Crowley was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra points and totaled six kickoffs for 326 yards, including two touchdowns. Crowley averaged 54.3 yards per kickoff.
UP NEXT: SEASON FINALE
The 2012 season comes to a close next Saturday, November 10 at home against Northwestern Oklahoma State. The game will not count towards the GAC standings due to NWOSU’s provisional membership status with the league. NWOSU is in its first year of a three-year NCAA Division II membership process. The Rangers are 2-7 overall this season heading into this Saturday’s game at home against the GAC’s other provisional member, Southern Nazarene. Next Saturday’s game against UAM will begin at 3 p.m. at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium. UAM will hold a special senior day ceremony before the contest to honor the 13 student-athletes participating in their final game as a Boll Weevil.
