WEEK 2 GAME NOTES (PDF)

MONTICELLO –  A 78-0 win over College of Faith last Saturday has given the University of Arkansas at Monticello football team high morale heading into its week two matchup with NCAA Division I Northwestern State.

Second-year head coach Hud Jackson speaking to fans at his weekly coaches luncheon, expressed his team’s chemistry, morale and confidence are all at high levels. “Getting that win last week puts us in a real good situation. That was a big win for our program to start the season off on the right note, but now our focus has changed.”

Jackson continued, “College of Faith and Northwestern State are on two different ends of the competition spectrum. We have to know that we are now the underdogs looking up instead of the other way around against College of Faith. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain this week against Northwestern… We are about to face a really good football team in Northwestern, and we are excited to get down there and compete.”

Northwestern State enters Saturday’s game with a 0-1 record after losing 44-6 to Texas Tech last Saturday on the road. The Demons were limited to just 84 yards of total offense and only reached the plus side of the 50-yard line four times in their season-opening loss.

On the other end, UAM racked up 498 yards of total offense against College of Faith and set a new school record for fewest yards allowed in a single game with only 18 yards given up to the Mighty Believers.

“We had an A game on offense and defense last Saturday,” said Jackson. “To expect that this week may not be realistic, but it is something we will always strive for, no matter who we are up against… We know that Northwestern is still going to be upset from its loss last week, and just looking at the newspapers and video interviews, they are not going to be taking us lightly… Like I told our players last week, it is a football game. No matter who we are playing, we have to be able to execute and be consistent to have a chance of winning.”

Jackson visited with uamsports.com on Thursday discussing Saturday’s game against Northwestern State. To view the full interview, visit the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KO6pOZ2akP8&feature=youtu.be. The video is also available at uamsports.com.

Kickoff for Saturday’s game against Northwestern State is slated for 6 p.m. at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, La. The game can be heard on the UAM Sports Network (KHBM-FM 93.7 in Monticello and online at uamsports.com). Northwestern State will provide live stats and live video available at www.nsudemons.com.

WEEK 2 STORYLINES

SECOND MEETING AGAINST NSU
Saturday’s game against Northwestern State is the second all-time meeting between the two squads on the football gridiron. The first and only meeting in the series history resulted in a 20-3 win for the Demons in the 2006 season. That game was also played at Turpin Stadium.

RECENT SUCCESS AGAINST D1
The Boll Weevils are 3-1 against NCAA Division I programs since 2008 with back-to-back wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the 2008 and 2009 seasons and a win over Southern University in the 2010 season. The lone loss to a D1 program during that span was a 31-14 setback to South Alabama to end the 2010 year. This is the first meeting for UAM against a member of the Southland Conference since a 48-10 loss to Sam Houston State during the second week of the 2007 season. Not including former Gulf South Conference and Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference rival Central Arkansas, UAM is 0-12 all-time against current members of the Southland Conference.

THE OPPONENT: NORTHWESTERN STATE
Northwestern State University enters Saturday’s game against UAM with a 0-1 record following its 44-6 loss to Texas Tech on the road last Saturday. The Demons were limited to just 84 yards of total offense, including just 13 yards rushing. NSU’s scoring came from the leg of John Shaughnessy, who connected on a 47-yard field goal at the beginning of the second quarter and later on a 46-yarder at the start of the fourth quarter. The only other time the Demons reached scoring range resulted in a missed 38-yard field goal attempt by Shaughnessy midway through the opening quarter. The Demons held Texas Tech to only one touchdown in the opening quarter, but allowed the Red Raiders to post 17 points in the second quarter. TTU eventually piled up exactly 500 yards of total offense, mostly through the air with 321 yards on a 33-of-47 passing performance from the TTU quarterbacks.

THE COACHES
The Boll Weevils are led by William “Hud” Jackson in his second year patrolling the UAM sidelines and his second year as a collegiate head coach. With UAM’s season-opening win over College of Faith last Saturday, Jackson has evened his overall record to 6-6 following a 5-6 result during the 2011 season. Prior to taking the reins at UAM for the the 2011 season, Jackson served as associate head coach at Central Arkansas for six years. Before that, Jackson spent 13 years as a high school coach in the state of Louisiana, most recently the head coach and athletic director at Central Catholic High School in Morgan City… The Demons are led by Bradley Dale Peveto in his fourth year at NSU as well as fourth year as a collegiate head coach. Peveto currently has a 10-25 coaching record following NSU’s loss to Texas Tech last week. Peveto formerly served as the defensive coordinator at LSU, and helped lead the Tigers to the 2007 BCS national championship. He also has served as the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State and Houston as well as other positions with Arkansas, Southern Mississippi, Stephen F. Austin and Trinity Valley Community College. In addition to those positions, Peveto was Northwestern State’s defensive coordinator from 1996-98.

LAST TIME OUT: UAM 78, COF 0
The Boll Weevils are fresh off their record-breaking 78-0 win over College of Faith to open the 2012 season last Saturday at home in front of 3,422 fans at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium. UAM set a new school record for fewest yards allowed with just 18 given up to COF – 53 passing yards and negative 35 rushing yards. UAM also set a new Great American Conference scoring record in the win, and tied school records for total touchdowns (11) and points scored in one quarter (30 – 2^nd). The UAM defense played a key role in the second highest point total in the 102-year history of the program, giving the UAM offense the ball, on average, at the COF 36-yard line.

COACH’S PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Head Coach Hud Jackson and his coaching staff named backup freshman quarterback Jacob Lennox, sophomore safety Chris Roberts and freshman defensive back Rodney Edmiston the Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Game, respectively, for their efforts during the 78-0 win over College of Faith. Lennox accounted for 210 yards of total offense with 116 yards passing with one touchdown and a game-high 94 yards rushing with three touchdowns. Roberts tied the UAM and GAC single-game record with three interceptions, while also tying for the team lead with five tackles. Edmiston was in on two special teams tackles in the win and also recovered one fumble.

ROBERTS NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore safety Chris Roberts was named the first Great American Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the 2012 season after tying the UAM and GAC single-game record for interceptions with three picks in the 78-0 win over College of Faith. The Little Rock, Ark. native also tied for the team lead with five tackles as well as forced one fumble.