LIVE COVERAGE | GAME NOTES
MONTICELLO — The University of Arkansas at Monticello opens its 105th season of football this Saturday, September 2 at home against Southwestern Oklahoma State.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Cotton Boll Stadium in Monticello, Arkansas. The game can be heard on the UAM Sports Network at KHBM-FM 93.7 in Monticello, watched online on YouTube through UAM Sports, and live stats will be available as well through UAMsports.com. All links to live coverage can be found at www.UAMsports.com/coverage.aspx.
UAM VS. SWOSU | HISTORY
The University of Arkansas at Monticello and Southwestern Oklahoma State have played in six consecutive years since both were charter members of the Great American Conference. The series has featured three games in Monticello and three games in Weatherford, Oklahoma, with the home teams coming away with the victory in each match-up. The Weevils will look to continue its success over the Bulldogs as UAM downed SWOSU a year ago inside of Cotton Boll Stadium by a final score of 35-28.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
SWOSU returns 39 total lettermen this season with 12 of those being starters, and lost a total of 10 starters overall. Junior running-back Karltrell Henderson will anchor the Bulldog offense as he totaled 881 yards on the ground a season ago, and set a single-season SWOSU record with 17 total touchdowns during his sophomore campaign.
OPENING DAY
The Weevils will look to pick up an opening season win for the first time since 2012 and 2011 when UAM defeated the College of Faith 78-0 in Monticello, and took down current GAC member Arkansas Tech in 2011 at home as well by a final score of 38-31. Arkansas-Monticello was in an offensive shootout a year ago at Northwestern Oklahoma State to being the 2016 season, as UAM was able to tie up the ballgame with under a minute remaining, but ultimately fell to the Rangers on a last second field goal by a final score of 59-56.
NOTABLE RETURNERS
Arkansas-Monticello see multiple returning starters to the squad this season, which includes All-American honorable mention selection, wide-receiver Jalen Tolliver who enters his season year. Tolliver led not only UAM, but the GAC in multiple receiving stat categories such as total receiving yards (1,090), receiving touchdowns (14), receptions (69), and receiving yards per game (99.1). The offense also sees junior quarterback Cole Sears return after putting up 2,972 passing yards and threw for 24 total touchdowns through the air last season. The Weevil defense sees its leader tackler return in Ja'lon Watts who recorded 66 overall, along with one forced fumble, and also led the team with 4.5 sacks. Sophomore Christian Jefferson returns to the secondary as he was second overall in total tackles for UAM in 2016 with 59 overall, and recorded one interception.
UP NEXT
The match-up against the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers will take place on Saturday, September 9 with kick-off set for 6:00 p.m. in Alva, Oklahoma at Ranger Field. This will also be the first road game of the 2017 season for the Weevils.
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HOME GAMES TO STREAM ON YOUTUBE
All five home football games will be streamed live on YouTube, with links provided through UAMsports.com. The broadcast will feature high-definition video with audio provided by the UAM Sports Network. All broadcasts are free of charge, and will start approximately 15 minutes prior to kick-off.
