Southern Arkansas University
2000
‘Rider Football
Volume 1 -- Issue 5 Monday, October 2, 2000
Southern
Arkansas University vs.
State University of
West Georgia
When: October
7, 2000 Where: Carrollton,
Ga. @ Grisham Stadium Kickoff Time:
6:00 p.m.
The
Series (UWG 2-1-0)
The
Muleriders and Braves have met only three times. The first meeting was in 1995
in Carrollton with West Georgia blanking the ‘Riders 28-0. The next time they
played was in 1998 with West Georgia nipping SAU in a slugfest 17-13, again in
Carrollton. The third time proved the charm for the ‘Riders as they came from a
big halftime deficit to dominate the Braves in the last half to win 29-24 in
the only meeting in Magnolia. Carrollton remains the only site in the GSC where
the ‘Riders have not won.
The
Coaches
This will be the fifth game for
Southern Arkansas University first-year head coach John Bland (U. of Ark. ‘89)
who is now 3-1. State University of
West Georgia head coach Glenn Spencer (Georgia Institute of Technology ‘86) is
23-5, starting his fourth year with the Braves.
So far this season...
Southern
Arkansas University vs.
@ Southeastern Oklahoma State W 28-15
Valdosta State University L 29-30
Ouachita Baptist University W 10-0
@ West Alabama W 35-21
State University of West Georgia vs.
Presbyterian College W 45-14
@ Albany State University W
28-0
Henderson State University W
38-14
Arkanas Tech University W
34-17
@ Arkansas-Monticello W
31-21
The
Rankings
In the all-important NCAA Division II
rankings by region, West Georgia is fourth and Southern Arkansas is fifth in
the South. The top four ranked teams from the South, West, Midwest and
Northeast participate in the national playoffs.
In the national polls, the American
Football Coaches Association (AFCA) ranks SUWG eighth and SAU 13th, in the
Football Gazette, SUWG is 14th and SAU 17th, in D2Football.com, SUWG is 10th
and SAU unranked (dropping from 17th to 20th in votes received) and in USA Football.com,
SUWG is eighth and SAU 16th.
Media
Coverage
KVMA 107.9 FM in Magnolia, AR
with Dan Gregory and Jay Adcox; KBTR 92.1 FM in Carrollton, GA with
Mitch Gray and Tom Cooper.
Last
Season
West Georgia
fell behind 3-0 on an early field goal by SAU’s Jason Williams but the Braves
stormed back for a 14-3 lead at the end of the first period on a trick double
pass play from Steve Ivie to Brad Moson for 78 yards and a five-yard run by
Nick Price with Benji Shelton adding both PAT’s.
Harold
Farmer’s one-yard run and Shelton’s conversion put SUWG up 21-3 early in the
second quarter and it appeared at that point a blowout was in the making.
Williams again drilled a 48-yard field goal but Shelton countered that with
only 1:24 left in the half, 24-6. To SAU’s credit, they drove close enough for
Williams to punch a 48-yard field goal through the uprights on the final play
of the half.
SAU cut into
the 24-9 deficit with the only score of the third quarter, a five-yard jaunt by
Forrest Curry and a Williams extra point trimmed the margin to 24-16 heading
into the final stanza. Kevin Wilcott scored from six yards out to get SAU as
close as 24-22 with 13:33 remaining but a two-point conversion try by Curry was
snuffed out. SAU took their first lead since the first quarter when Drew Cone
hauled in a 12-yard pass from Adam Pendergrass with 6:37 left and the PAT by
Williams finished the scoring.
GSC
This Week
West
Alabama @ Arkansas Tech, 2:30 pm
(GSC/CSS
Game of the Week)
No.
14 Southern Arkansas @ No. 10 West Georgia, 6:00 pm
No.
20 Delta State @ No. 12 Valdosta State, 12:00 pm
No.
24 Arkansas-Monticello @ Ouachita Baptist, 2:00 pm
Harding
Univ. @ Central Arkansas, 7:00 pm
Henderson
State @ North Alabama, 1:30 pm
(Homecoming)
GSC
Next Week
Arkansas-Tech
@ Arkansas-Monticello(HC), 3:00 p.m.
Central
Arkansas @ Henderson State, 6:00 p.m.
Delta
State @ SOUTHERN ARKASAS, 2:00 p.m.
Valdosta
State @ Harding University, 7:00 p.m.
Ouachita
Baptist @ North Alabama, 1:30 p.m.
West Georgia @ West
Georgia(HC), 2:00 p.m.
GSC
Last Week
West Georgia 31 -
Arkansas-Monticello 21
Delta State 43 - Harding 35
Valdosta State 56 - Henderson
State 21
Southern Arkansas 35 - West
Alabama 21
Arkansas Tech 35 - Ouachita
Baptist 14
North Alabama 37 - Central Arkansas 35
Team
Leaders
SAU
Leaders:
Quarterback
Tim Barrington rushed 20 times for 105 yards and scored four touchdowns and
passed for 140 yards, completing seven of 12 passes with only one interception
on a bomb vs. West Alabama. He now needs only 748 yards total offense with six
games remaining to tie the school career record. He also is only six touchdowns
shy of a tie for the school record.
Center Trey
LaValle graded highest among the offensive linemen, freshman defensive tackle
Mario Olvera played the best among the defensive linemen, linebacker Alfonzo
Davis was the most productive of the linebackers and cornerback Carl Bucknor
had a solid performance in the secondary, according to the SAU staff.
UWG
Leaders:
Quarterback
Jeremy Clements is the catalyst for the Braves. He has twice won All-GSC
honors, was the 1998 GSC Offensive Player of the Year as he led SUWG to their
second conference title, was All-South Region and honorable mention
All-America. He is on track to establish several school records. Tailback Nick
Price was first-team All-GSC last year and uses his speed to compliment
Clements’ arm. Tackle Abed Taha is a force in the offensive line, landing
All-GSC, All-South Region and honorable mention All-America honors last year.
Flanker Brad Moson and split end Andre Heard are deep threats.
Defensively,
tackle Channing Williams was first-team All-GSC last year after being named the
league’s top freshman in ’98. Strong
safety Nate Coggins was first-team All-GSC, All-South Region and honorable
mention All-America last season. He had 108 tackles last year to lead the
Braves.
Coach
John Bland says...
“I felt like our football team played a solid game. There were spurts of the caliber of football
that we expect and there were times that we looked flat. You have to give credit to West Alabama and
their effort. I felt like every time we
made a mistake, they got a boost and made plays to keep the score tight. The
good thing is that our team understands that we are a much better team than we
have shown. The test is to see if we
can focus and play 60 minutes of great football.
(QB) Tim Barrington had another big night for us with four
rushing TD’s. Under the circumstances,
the offensive line played a solid game.
(Tackle) Michael Boster did not play and Rory Green only played in two
series (due to injuries). (Center Trey)
LaValle played a good game inside for us along with (tackle Tate) Smith and
(guard Shane) Clancy. We were also
banged up at the running back spot and did not block as aggressive as
usual. I feel like this week we will
have time to heal up and get back on track.
(Tight end) Adam Creek played well and came down with a big reception
for us in a crucial drive. Defensively,
we made things happen throughout the entire game. I felt like we gave up too many big plays. (Linebacker) Alfonzo Davis led the defense
with seven tackles and three were for a loss.
(End) Kenny Pettway had six tackles with three of those for a loss. (Linebacker) Eddie Key and (free safety)
Brian Davis turned in another solid performance with six tackles each. Special teams play was solid. I feel like we need to capitalize on field
goal attempts. Jason Williams just
needs a little confidence to kick-start his accuracy. Garron Spickard was limited during practice prior to the game
because of a sore foot, which affected his punting slightly but not enough to
affect the outcome of the game. We will
continue to make corrections on special teams until we are at the level of play
that we are capable of being.
Coming out of the ball game I feel that we are healthier than
when we went into the game. We were
able to hold some players out due to minor injuries to give them an extra week
of healing, which was good. I believe
the players who filled in at these spots did a fine job and we were able to
control the football game from the start to the finish. Not only did some players get an extra week
without contact so that their injuries could heal, but some backups received
some necessary playing experience.
Our next ball game is West Georgia. They are solid in all areas on offense. They are explosive and score in a hurry with their passing
attack, but they can also run the football just as well. They have three of the best football players
in the GSC on offense, quarterback Jeremy Clements, running back Nick Price,
and wide receiver Andre Heard.
Defensively, West Georgia is leading the conference in stopping the run,
only allowing 70 yards a game. They
have great size and quickness on the defensive line. Their linebackers are compact and very difficult to block. Their secondary is as solid as any we have
seen this year.
We
will have to play with great intensity and focus to put ourself in a position
to win. I feel like our players will
step up to the challenge and be ready to compete on Saturday night.”
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.......... 2,870
Founded.......... 1909 (SAU ‘76)
Stadium.......... Wilkins (6,000)
Pressbox
Phone (870) 235-4117
Facts on UWG
Location.......... Carrollton, Georgia
Conference.......... Gulf South
Affiliation.......... NCAA Division II
President.......... Dr. Beheruz N. Sethna
Athletics Director.......... Ed Murphy
Head Coach.......... Glenn Spencer
Asst. Coaches.......... Gary Otten, Mike Ledford, Tom
Evangelista, Byron Slack, Toby Strange, Scott Walker, Brad Tale, Alvin
Sutherland
Sports Information Dir........... Mitch Gray
Nickname.......... Braves
Colors Blue and Red
Enrollment.......... 8,670
Founded.......... 1933
Stadium.......... Grisham (6,500)
Pressbox
Phone (770) 836-0830
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 12 Derrick Berry RSFR 5-7 150
LHB 2 Kevin
Wilcott SR 5-7 177
LHB 22 Santario Morris JR 5-10 210
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 77 Kenny Pettway FR 6-3 204
DE 43 Michael Webb JR 6-1 230
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
7 Eddie Key JR 6-2 206
WLB 44 Andrekus Dixon FR 6-2 187
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 20 Eric Woods SO 5-10 185
SS 24 D.J. Keithley RSFR 5-7 167
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