Sports

Sources say today’s game may be last for Forte

By Mike Marzelli/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, November 17, 2007 12:02 AM CST

Multiple sources close to the situation have confirmed that barring a change of heart by University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Chancellor Lawrence Davis or Athletic Director Skip Perkins, today’s 2007 season finale against Texas Southern will be Mo Forte’s last game as the head coach of the Golden Lions.

Forte is expected to be fired Monday and will have the remaining year on his contract bought out at approximately $120,000.

UAPB officials have declined to comment on Forte’s status until after today’s game. Forte has also refused comment, saying “until someone who does make those decisions approaches me I have no further comment...my focus is just on Texas Southern and nothing more.”

Forte has gone 20-22 in four seasons at UAPB, including an 8-4 mark a year ago that carried the Lions’ to their first Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division title and an appearance in the 2006 SWAC Championship, which they lost to Alabama A&M 22-13.

His demise is a result of the Lions struggling through a 3-7 season this year that began with seven losses over the first eight games after they were picked to repeat as West Division champions.

Even with UAPB’s struggles this season, most of which centered around an offensive line that featured four new starters and has played poorly all season, Forte has a chance to salvage some dignity in the final game of his tenure.

The Golden Lions have already won two games in a row and have a good chance to finish the season on a three-game streak. Winless Texas Southern has already fired coach Steve Wilson, a long-time friend of Forte’s, and enters today as the SWAC’s worst team with its worst defense.

The Tigers allow an average of 376 total yards and 39 points per game and have been torched on the ground for an average of 194 rushing yards per contest.

That’s good news for a UAPB rushing attack that had its best game of the season a week ago, gaining a season-high 160 rushing yards behind tailbacks Martell Mallett (91 yards) and Mickey Dean (62 yards, two touchdowns.

“There’s no question that our running game is as good as it has been all season and that’s the reason our offense has played well enough to win these last two games,” Forte said. “Texas Southern is very athletic and quick on defense so we’re going to need to be physical and beat them up front with the run.”

The biggest beneficiary of the re-energized run game has been the duo of quarterback Chris Wallace and wide receiver Jason Jones, each of whom will be playing in his last game for UAPB after serving as major cogs in the Lions’ historic title run a year ago.

Both had their best games of the season last week. Wallace threw for 216 yards and a touchdown and Jones caught six passes for 146 yards and a touchdown, including a game-changing 44-yard connection on the Lions’ game-winning drive.

Wallace, the 2006 SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, has 867 passing yards on the season and needs 133 yards today to hit the 1,000-yard plateau for the second straight season.

Jones is tied for sixth in the SWAC with 42 catches and is second in the league with 721 receiving yards. He enters play 144 yards behind Alabama A&M’s Thomas Harris for the SWAC lead.

Jones has another year of football eligibility remaining but has indicated he will likely not return to the team.”

“These are guys who went from having strange beginnings with us to being two of the biggest reasons why we did what we did last year,” Forte said. “Chris was on the scout team for his first two-and-a-half years and Jones didn’t crack the lineup right away either. Both of their careers started late but when they did, these guys seized the opportunities they got and will go down in UAPB history.”

The brightest spot from what will be Forte’s final season has been UAPB’s defense, which will close out the season against the SWAC’s most unbalanced offense.

TSU has run the ball sparingly this season, averaging a league-worst 46 yards per game, and has thrown 394 times, more than any other team in the league.

Three different quarterbacks have played in at least four games for the Tigers and have combined for 14 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Tino Edgecombe has been the No. 1 option and has thrown for 1,334 yards and 10 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

That should be music to the ears of UAPB’s defense, especially junior defensive end Ledarius Anthony and senior linebacker Tim Turner, who will both get one final chance to make a run at SWAC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Turner is currently tied for the SWAC lead in tackles with 114 and Anthony is one behind the league leader in sacks with seven despite missing two games.

“I have to imagine that [TSU] will try to create some kind of balance on offense even though the numbers don’t look that way,” Forte said. “I know [defensive coordinator Monte] Coleman has a great game plan and we have guys I know can execute it because they’ve played outstanding all year.

“This is just one final statement to make for everyone, not just the defense or any individual players. This win would make it three in a row and that means we go into the offseason and next season on a winning streak. That all says something about the hard work and dedication of the coaching staff and the players if we can get to that point from where we started.”

Print this story   |   Email this story