Sports

GOLDEN LIONS’ DEFENSE FRUSTRATES DELTA DEVILS

By Josh Tinker/COMMERCIAL SPORTS EDITOR
Sunday, September 20, 2009 12:54 AM CDT

ITTA BENA, Miss. — Entering its first game of Southwestern Athletic Conference play, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff defense was ranked as the top unit in its league, giving up just 203.5 yards per outing.

Saturday, they showed they were deserving of that ranking, as UAPB made nine sacks and forced five turnovers in a 27-7 victory over Mississippi Valley State at Rice-Totten Stadium.

“We didn’t blitz (quarterback Paul Roberts) a lot. We just pinned our ears back and got after him,” UAPB coach Monte Coleman said. “I was very pleased to see (the defense) get after it.”

As a result, Roberts was unable to get into a rhythm for much of the game. It seemed every time he’d attempt to pass, he was bothered by heavy pressure by the Golden Lions’ defense. Roberts completed 11-of-22 passes for 146 yards, but also threw three interceptions. He also rushed for 21 yards after losing a total of 30 on the nine sacks.

UAPB defensive coordinator Alonzo Hampton credited the defensive effort to the play of a defensive line that came up with eight sacks on its own. Defensive ends Brandon Thurman, Michael Johnson each had two sacks, Theodore McNeal had 11/2 while Ibrahim Abdulai had one and Jared Dorn had a hand in another as the Golden Lions recorded 12 tackles for loss.

“We’re deep in the D-Line and we think we can stick about seven of them out there to get done what we need to get done,” said Hampton, who claimed to have called only six or seven blitzes during the game. “We were able to get pressure with our front four. We can get pressure without blitzing. …We’ve just got guys who want to get to the football.”

Valley coach Willie Totten said the pressure caused his quarterback to rush his throws.

“Paul rushed a lot of passes. A lot of time he stepped up and I thought he should have thrown the ball,” Totten said. “Some of (the sacks) could be because we held the ball too long and some of it is because we got beat up front.”

Meanwhile, the UAPB offense was just good enough. Though the Golden Lions (2-1, 1-0 SWAC) only out-gained the Delta Devils (0-2, 0-1) 286-245, they did it in 11 fewer plays. They were also able to establish drives and score when they drove into Valley territory.

Kicker Carlos Reyes made sure of that. The senior, who was often inconsistent during his first two years in Pine Bluff, didn’t have any problems Saturday, giving the Golden Lions a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter with a pair of field goals.

His first effort came on UAPB’s second drive, and was good from 42 yards out. That kick came after UAPB gained only two yards on a drive that resulted from a Valley fumble deep inside its own territory.

From there, the UAPB offense took over, as the Golden Lions put together scoring drives on two of its next three possessions. The first came on UAPB’s last drive of the first half. After Robert Mingo returned an interception to the 45 yard line, the Golden Lions marched 45 yards in only five plays, with Mickey Dean finishing the drive with a one-yard TD plunge. That run was set up by a 29-yard pass from quarterback Rontrell Bailey to tight end Remo Gay to the 1-yard line.

Bailey finished 13-of-22 for a career-high 211 yards and a touchdown. Dean added 34 yards rushing on 13 carries.

Then, on its second possession of the third-quarter, UAPB put together what Coleman called its best drive of the season. After a Kevin Thornton interception, the Golden Lions marched 80 yards in only eight plays, capping the drive when Dean went 29 yards around the right end.

“We wanted to come out and establish ourselves better. We wanted to run the football better and we wanted to throw the football better,” Coleman said. “The offense gave us the lead we needed to solidify this victory. The offense did the things that were necessary.”

UAPB scored on the first play of its next drive, when Bailey and Ryan Farr connected for a 61-yard touchdown strike.

The Golden Lions return to SWAC play next week when they play Alabama A&M in Huntsville, Ala.

ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 27, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY STATE 7

MVSU — 0 0 0 7— 7

UAPB — 3 10 7 7 — 27

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

PB—Reyes 41 kick 10:30

SECOND QUARTER

PB—Reyes 32 kick 11:46

PB—Dean 1 run (kick good) 0:50

THIRD QUARTER

PB—Dean 19 run (kick good) 1:32

FOURTH QUARTER

PB—Farr 61 pass from Bailey (kick good) 14:49

V—Stargell 16 pass from Roberts (kick good) 7:58

STATISTICAL LEADERS

RUSHING: V, Hargrett 2-6; PB, Dean, 13-34; Toney, 9-51, Woodfin, 3-10

PASSING: V, Roberts, 18-34-224-3; PB, Bailey 13-22-211-1

RECEIVING: V, Stargell 5-66-1, Robert 5-35, Miller 3-59, Cox 3-49;

PB, Gay 4-67, Webber 3-16, Dean 2-43, Farr 1-61-1

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