Southern Arkansas University

2000 ‘Rider Football

Volume 1 -- Issue 10 http://www.saumag.edu/athletics Monday, November 6, 2000

Southern Arkansas University vs.

Henderson State University

When: November 11, 2000 Where: Arkadelphia, AR @ Carpenter-Haygood Stadium Kickoff Time: 2:00 p.m.

The Coaches

This will be the tenth game for Southern Arkansas University first-year head coach John Bland (U. of Ark. ‘89), who is now 4-5. Henderson State University head coach Patrick Nix (Auburn Univ. ‘95) is 3-18 in his second year with the Reddies.

Last Season

SAU led 7-0 on an 18-yard run by Santario Morris that completed a 95-yard, seven-play drive and Jason Williams’ PAT midway the first quarter and a one-yard keeper by Tim Barrington and Williams’ conversion had the ‘Riders leading 14-0 less than two minutes later. The only score of the second quarter was on Zack Elbert’s 41-yard field goal with no time left to put HSU on the scoreboard, 14-3 at the half.

SAU dominated the second half, shutting out the Reddies while scoring on a 14-yard pass from Barrington to Drew Cone followed by a PAT by Williams for the only third period score, Williams drilled a 26-yard field goal 45 seconds deep into the fourth stanza and reserve Archie Salery ran for two yards for the final score with Williams tacking on the PAT to finish the scoring midway the final quarter, 31-3, ‘Riders.

The Series (HSU 31-28-1)

HSU claims a 34-26-1 advantage in the series while SAU records have the Reddies leading only 31-28-1 since the first game in 1915. HSU claims three more wins than SAU records indicate while SAU has two more wins than HSU records show. In recent years, both schools agree that the ‘Riders have won the last four meetings by scores of 16-13, 19-14, 10-3 and 31-3. The last Reddie win in the series was in 1995 by a 24-10 score. HSU won seven in a row between 1973 through ’79 while SAU won four in a row from from 1951 through ’54 and again in 1996 through ’99. SAU’s largest win margin over the Reddies was 42-13 in 1966 while HSU’s largest win margin was 33-6 in 1974, according to available SAU records. However, HSU claims a 63-0 win in 1916, a year that SAU did not keep records.

Media Coverage

KVMA 107.9 FM in Magnolia, Ark. with Dan Gregory on play-by-play and Jay Adcox as color comentator; KVRC 1240 AM in Arkadelphia, Ark. with Andy Mayberry on play-by-play and Hal McAfee handling the color.

So far this season...

Southern Arkansas University vs.

@ Southeastern Oklahoma State W 28-15

Valdosta State L 29-30

Ouachita Baptist W 10-0

@ West Alabama W 35-21

@ West Georgia L 28-38

Delta State L 28-30

@ Arkansas Tech L 6-24

Arkansas-Monticello W 31-21

Central Arkansas L 31-45

Henderson State University vs.

Ouachita Baptist W 16-9

@ Alabama A&M L 10-39

@ West Georgia L 14-36

@ Harding L 28-31

Valdosta State L 21-56

@ North Alabama L 17-24

Central Arkansas L 8-23

@ Delta State L 24-48

Arkansas Tech L 40-42

@ Arkansas-Monticello L 14-46

GSC Rankings

Conf. Overall

West Georgia 8-0 10-0

Delta State 7-1 9-1

Valdosta State 7-1 9-1

Arkansas-Monticello 6-2 8-2

Arkansas Tech 6-2 6-3

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS 3-5 4-5

Harding Univ. 3-5 4-6

Central Arkansas 2-6 3-7

West Alabama 2-6 3-7

Ouachita Baptist 2-6 2-7

North Alabama 2-6 2-7

Henderson State 0-8 1-9

The National Rankings

Neither team is ranked this week in the National Polls.

GSC Last Week

No.4 West Georgia 35 - North Alabama 28

Arkansas Tech 24 - No. 7 Delta State 10

No. 8 Valdosta State 49 - Ouachita Baptist 21

No. 25 Arkansas-Monticello 46 - Henderson State 14

Central Arkansas 45 - Southern Arkansas 31

West Alabama 35 - Harding 21

GSC This Week

Arkansas-Monticello@ Delta State, 7:00 p.m.*

(* = 11/09/2000, Thursday)

Central Arkansas @ Arkansas Tech, 2:00 p.m.

Ouachita Baptist @ Harding, 2:00 p.m.

Southern Arkansas @ Henderson State, 2:00 p.m.

North Alabama @ West Alabama, 1:00 p.m.

Valdosta State @ West Georgia, 6:00 p.m.

(GSC/CSS Game of the Week)

GSC Next Week

NCAA 1st Round, TBA

Injuries

Injured ‘Riders:

FS Brian Davis - thigh - questionable

LB Eddie Key - shoulder - questionable

SS Eric Woods - shoulder - probable

QB Tim Barrington - knee - probable

DE Kenny Pettway - knee - probable

LB Tim Rose - ankle - probable

Injured Reddies:

C Sylas Robinson - eye - out

S Phillip Cummings - knee - out

LB Mark Mount - knee - out

S Kandall Nelson - shoulder - out

LB Corey Haynie - hernia - out

DE Willie Smith - knee - out

OT Termaine Hill - shoulder - out

TE Morgan Manning - leg - out

R Steve Carter - shoulder - out

S Sedrick Howard - ankle - probable

Of Interest

*SAU will have 16 seniors playing their final game Saturday at Arkadelphia against the Reddies. The list includes several who have All-GSC, All-South Region and All-America honors. They played on a GSC championship team in 1997 and on 1998 and ’99 teams that came within inches of winning two more titles that could easily been a “three-peat.” They include two-time All-GSC first-team linebacker Marco Board, a four-year starter; 2nd-team All-GSC halfback Kevin Wilcott, a four-year starter; cornerback Tony Jennings, a three-year starter; 2nd-team All-GSC quarterback Tim Barrington, who was an alternate starter two years and a starter as a senior; 1998 1st-team All-American, All-South Region and All-GSC and 2nd-team All-GSC in ’99 kicker Jason Williams, who was twice honored as National Specialty Player of the Week in ’98 and has national, conference and numerous school records; 1997 2nd-team All-GSC and 1st-team All-South Region punter/kicker Garron Spickard, who was twice National Specialty Player of the Week in ’97; wide receiver Michael Beck, who became a starter as a senior after backup duties previously to record-setting All-GSC Drew Cone; linebacker Alfonzo Davis, who started several games this year due to injuries to some key starters; deep snapper Ernest Pressley, who initiated SAU’s excellent record in punting, field goals and PAT’s with perfect snaps; center Ty Ford, who started in the offensive line as a sophomore but played a key backup role the last two years; tackle Michael Boster, who was first-team All-GSC guard in 1998, was 2nd-team All-South Region and All-America honorable mention; tackle Jonathan Cox, who has served as a part-time starter and backup for four years in the offensive line; tackle Tate Smith, who came on strong to earn a starting role in ’99 and has continued to start in 2000; first-team All-GSC tight end Adam Creek in both 1998 and ’99 and ’99 2nd-team All-South Region; nose guard Kevin Dotson, who transferred from the juco ranks in ’99 and has been a starter since; and defensive end Matt Turner, who earned a starting role as a true freshman and has been a starter since.

*Will the real Muleriders please stand up? It is impossible to explain how SAU played so well against Arkansas-Monticello two weeks ago in defeating a UAM team 31-21 that had a 7-1 record and lose a week later to Central Arkansas 45-31, which had a 2-7 record. Against UAM, SAU had a 29-15 advantage in first downs, 384 yards to 262 total offense margin (335 to 73 rushing), had 90 offensive plays to only 58 by the Weevils (81 to 22 rushing attempts) and possession time of 38:36 to only 21:24.

Against UCA, SAU trailed in first downs 26-18, trailed in total yardage 488-302 and trailed in possession time 34:51 to 25:09. SAU had only a 48-39 margin in rushing attempts for a 245-153 lead in yardage on the ground. SAU gave up 361 yards in the air while collecting a mere 86.

The ‘Riders did not have many tackles vs. UAM because their offense had the ball most of the game but still had two sacks vs. 36 attempts by UAM, five pass breakups, two fumbles recovered, a forced fumble and seven tackles for losses that totaled 21 yards.

In the UCA game, SAU had no sacks against a team that threw the ball 45 times, six pass breakups, one interception, one forced fumble with no recoveries and 10 tackles for 32 lost yards.

Coach John Bland says...

“I felt like we didn’t play with the emotion it takes to win in the GSC. There were moments that I could see our team taking control of the game but UCA did a great job of taking the momentum back in a hurry. The biggest disappointment was our turnovers. I realize the weather made it difficult, but we had a lack of focus on the little things that resulted in laying the football on the ground.”

“Offensively, we executed our plan but were not aggressive enough in our blocking to open holes. If we hang onto the ball, we are able to sustain drives and not put our defense in such bad situations. Taking nothing away from UCA’s efforts, I hope our players can learn from their mistakes and realize the amount of focus it takes to compete in this league.”

“Defensively, we gave up too many critical conversions by UCA. We were put into situations several times that had our backs to the wall due to turnovers, and UCA was able to take advantage of our mistakes. We have seen this defensive unit play better football this season, and again I believe our focus and emotional energy was not 100 percent.”

“The kicking game was solid with (Garron) Spickard punting well and pinning UCA back deep several times. Jason Williams knocked a field goal through and Jason Bennett set a school record with a 91-yard punt return. The return was also the second longest in GSC history.”

“We had several bright spots on both sides of the ball and special teams, but we expect more at SAU. I know our players expect more out of themselves and will do their best to correct what went wrong by the time we play Henderson State.”

Team Leaders

SAU Leaders:

Head coach John Bland mentioned only three specialty team players in his comments on the UCA game, punter Garron Spickard, kicker Jason Williams and punt returner Jason Bennett. For the season, QB Tim Barrington has rushed for 714 yards and passed for 900 in eight games. HB Forrest Curry has rushed for 519 yards in nine games. Barrington has scored 11 touchdowns and a two-point conversion and Williams has 29 of 29 PATs and 5 of 11 FGs. Last week vs. UCA, Barrington rushed for only 56 yards and had 86 yards passing for 142 yards total offense. He needs only 80 yards total offense at Henderson State Saturday for a new SAU total offense record. He also needs three touchdowns by rushing to tie the school record but needed only four before he sustained his knee injury at mid-season. LBs Eddie Key and Marco Board have 71 and 62 tackles in 8 games.

HSU Leaders:

The passing of true freshman QB Chris Reil to senior transfer WR Chad Luttrull has established numerous records for the Reddies this season. Reil has thrown for 2,164 yards, a school record, with 157 completions in 316 attempts, both HSU records. He has thrown for 13 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, also records, and 62 yards vs. SAU Saturday will give him a total offense record for a season. His 579 passing yards vs. Arkansas Tech set a national Division II record for a freshman and set a single-game record at HSU and in the GSC. Luttrull has 81 catches for 1,354 yards, which is a season record at HSU and in the GSC. His 352 yards and 18 catches vs. Arkansas Tech are GSC records. He is ranked second in the nation in receiving yards, third in receptions per game and third in all-purpose yards a game. He has set HSU records for catches in a game, receiving yards in a season, receiving yards in a game, touchdown catches in a season, touchdown catches in a game, all-purpose yards in a season and in a game and kickoff return yards in a game. True freshman WR Aaron Meyer, Reil’s teammate in high school, has 29 catches for 296 yards and a touchdown, sophomore WR B.K. Byrd has 33 catches and JC transfer John Evans has 29 catches. Freshman RB Shane Burrow rushed for 100 yards vs. UAM last week.

Facts on SAU

Location.......... Magnolia, Arkansas

Conference...... Gulf South

Affiliation......... NCAA Division II

President......... Dr. Steven G. Gamble

Athletics Director............... Jay Adcox

Head Coach.... John Bland

Asst. Coaches. Tommy Laurendine, Carey Baker, Clay Jennings and Jason Sanders

Sports Information Dir........ Landon Stevens

Nickname........ Muleriders

Colors Royal Blue & Old Gold

Enrollment....... 3,035

Founded.......... 1909 (SAU ‘76)

Stadium........... Wilkins (6,000)

Pressbox Phone. (870) 235-4117

Internet Address http://www.saumag.edu/athletics/

Facts on HSU

Location.......... Arkadelphia, Arkansas

Conference...... Gulf South

Affiliation......... NCAA Division II

President......... Dr. Charles Dunn

Athletics Director............... Sam Goodwin

Head Coach.... Patrick Nix

Asst. Coaches. Doug Meacham, John Wells, Willie Tate, and Johnny Jernigan

Sports Information Dir........ Dave Worlock

Nickname........ Reddies

Colors Red and Gray

Enrollment....... 3,461

Founded.......... 1870

Stadium........... Carpenter-Haygood (9,600)

Pressbox Phone. (870) 230-5035

Internet Address www.hsu.edu/dept/ath

Henderson State University

Depth Chart

Offense

Pos. No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt.

LT 77 Terrance James SR 6-3 300

LT 68 Joe Holt FR 6-3 300

LG 79 Donald Mitchell SR 6-1 285

LG 78 Ed Washington FR 6-5 285

C 66 Jason Haire SO 6-2 270

C 50 Chris Ginapp FR 6-4 275

RG 62 Grady Watson FR 6-3 260

RG 56 Kirk Benson FR 6-1 245

RT 70 Jarod Gills SO 6-4 290

RT 68 Joe Holt FR 6-3 300

TE 88 Paul Wilson FR 6-4 220

RB 35 Shane Burrow FR 5-10 200

RB 34 Phillip Powell JR 5-10 205

QB 9 Chris Reil, Jr. FR 6-1 195

QB 15 Eric Guajardo JR 6-3 215

WR 7 Chad Luttrull SR 5-11 185

WR 28 Chip Reeves SO 5-11 175

WR 20 B.K. Byrd SO 5-9 170

WR 21 Aaron Meyer FR 6-0 180

WR 4 John Evans JR 5-10 175

WR 28 Chip Reeves SO 5-11 175

Defense

Pos. No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt.

DE 40 Cedric McGee SO 6-1 250

DE 91 Michael McClellan FR 6-1 250

DT 99 Eric Wade SO 6-2 275

DT 71 Charles Delahunt SO 6-3 290

DT 74 Michael Harris SR 6-2 285

DT 75 Antonio Perkins SO 6-4 275

DE 84 Jerunaus Boyd SO 6-1 210

DE 90 Keane Smith SR 6-2 270

OLB 2 Brandon Sims SR 6-0 195

OLB 38 A.J. Tucker SO 6-0 215

ILB 43 Allen Houston JR 6-1 210

ILB 52 Sammy Wyatt FR 5-10 200

OLB 5 Corbin Cobbs SO 5-10 210

OLB 38 A.J. Tucker SO 6-0 215

CB 23 Torry Nelson JR 6-2 185

CB 8 Patrick Thomas JR 5-10 175

FS 25 Jon Cockroft FR 6-0 185

FS 6 Sedrick Howard JR 5-9 175

SS 6 Sedrick Howard JR 5-9 175

SS 8 Patrick Thomas JR 5-10 175

CB 14 Clarence Kelley FR 5-9 170

CB 33 Bobby Winn FR 5-10 170

Special Teams

PK 44 Zach Elbert SO 5-10 170

DS 56 Kirk Benson FR 6-1 245

P 12 Nate Van Cleave JR 6-4 240

PR 7 Chad Luttrell SR 5-11 185

4 John Evans JR 5-10 175

KR 7 Chad Luttrell SR 5-11 185

4 John Evans JR 5-10 175

Southern Arkansas University

2000 Depth Chart

(as of 11/06/2000)

Offense

Pos. No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt.

TE 85 Adam Creek SR 6-2 240

TE 42 Ryan Baker RSFR 6-1 200

LT 69 Michael Boster SR 6-4 300

LT 74 Tim Hopkins JR 5-11 247

LG 75 Shane Clancy JR 5-11 267

LG 60 Cody Harrison FR 5-5 240

C 50 Trey LaValle JR 6-1 260

C 66 Ty Ford SR 6-1 250

RG 76 Rory Green JR 6-0 290

RG 72 Bill Parker SO 6-2 264

RT 73 Tate Smith JR 6-1 240

RT 70 Jonathan Cox SR 6-2 270

SE 15 Michael Beck SR 5-11 166

SE 21 Jason Bennett SO 5-10 170

QB 5 Tim Barrington SR 6-0 205

QB 16 Ted Williams FR 5-8 187

LHB 2 Kevin Wilcott SR 5-7 177

LHB 32 Rodney Evans FR 6-0 183

RHB 9 Forrest Curry JR 5-10 180

RHB 8 Randy Givens RSFR 5-9 185

FB 33 Scott Schroeder SOTR 5-11 225

FB 39 Larnelle Sinegal FR 5-9 210

Defense

Pos. No. Name Cl. Ht. Wt.

DE 84 Joey Robinson JR 6-3 251

DE 99 Matt Turner SR 6-3 240

DT 90 Chad James SO 6-1 240

DT 65 Mario Olvera FR 6-0 268

NG 97 Kevin Dotson SR 6-1 280

NG 52 Michael Christian RSFR 6-0 253

DE 43 Michael Webb JR 6-1 230

DE 77 Kenny Pettway FR 6-3 204

MLB 1 Marcoles Board SR 6-2 220

MLB 47 Alfonzo Davis SR 5-8 205

SLB 14 DeVares Campbell SO 5-11 200

SLB 11 Tim Rose RSFR 5-11 192

WLB 44 Andrekus Dixon FR 6-2 187

WLB 7 Eddie Key JR 6-2 206

LCB 4 Tony Jennings SR 5-9 170

LCB 27 Justin Lemon FR 5-7 164

RCB 6 Carl Bucknor SO 5-10 185

RCB 29 John Bradley FR 5-9 170

SS 17 Jordan Babineaux FR 5-11 180

SS 20 Eric Woods SO 5-10 185

FS 26 Brian Davis RSFR 6-0 160

FS 31 Austin Taylor FR 5-9 170

Special Teams

K/P 10 Jason Williams

P/K 13 Garron Spickard

DS 59 Ernest Pressley

KR 2 Kevin Wilcott

HO 13 Garron Spickard