BREAKOUT SEASON GETS BUISSON GSC PLAYER OF THE YEAR

By Sean Saunders/of the commercial staff

Arkansas-Monticello quarterback Scott Buisson put people on notice when he set the Boll Weevil freshman record for total offense in a season, an accomplishment that earned him Gulf South Conference Freshman of the Year. But just a year later, Buisson captured the ultimate conference prize for an offensive player.

Buisson was voted by conference coaches on Thursday as the GSC Offensive Player of the Year. The sophomore from Metairie, La., led the Weevils to a 7-4 record and fourth-place finish in the league after the coaches picked UAM to finish in last place.

“I’m proud of Scott,” UAM coach Gwaine Mathews said. “It’s a great honor for him, and he had a tremendous season.”

Buisson bettered his freshman numbers for total offense by more than 1,000 yards this season. He led the GSC in total offense and was second in yards per game, and his 4,019 total yards were only 248 yards off the school record for a single season.

Buisson put up huge numbers in the first part of the season as UAM began the year 3-1. He went for more than 400 yards of total offense twice during that stretch and garnered Offensive Player of the Week honors twice.

But his biggest accomplishment during that time was a historic performance at Henderson State on Sept. 20. Buisson accounted for 640 yards of offense to set a school record for a single game, and he became the first player in NCAA history to throw for more than 400 yards and rush for more than 200 yards.

Buisson finished the season leading the league in rushing with 1,319 yards. He is also the 11th-ranked rusher in the country at 119.9 yards per game and has the most rushing yards of any NCAA Division II quarterback.

Buisson joins six other UAM players on the All-GSC teams announced Thursday. Buisson was the only Weevil on the first team while the rest made the second team.

Four players made the offensive second team. Sophomore Johnny Polite made second-team All-GSC after ranking second in the conference in rushing before getting hurt in the West Georgia game. His numbers slumped after playing his final three games injured.

“I wasn’t too surprised to see Johnny on the list,” Mathews said. “If you saw him at the beginning of the year, he had some great games for us. And nobody was better than him at getting those tough yards up the middle.”

Senior receiver Clarence Denmark made second team after catching for nearly 1,000 yards. Senior offensive linemen Joe Wilson and John Meadows made second team after paving the way for the GSC’s leading rushing offense.

On defense, senior Larry White was selected at linebacker after leading the team in tackles with 85 after leading the league in tackles as a junior. Central Florida transfer Augustus Ashley made second team after leading the GSC in interceptions with seven.

“I think that we should’ve had some more players make it on defense,” Mathews said. “I mean you don’t lead the conference or at least be tied in the lead for forced turnovers in the conference in rushing.”

The Boll Weevils season ended last Saturday with a loss to Southern Arkansas.