Sports

SECOND-HALF SURGE LIFTS UAPB

By Troy Schulte/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Sunday, October 25, 2009 12:04 AM CDT

A large and festive homecoming crowd coupled with a recent stretch of one official game in a month’s time helped contribute to a rather lethargic beginning for Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff defensive lineman Theodore McNeal puts the hit on Edward Waters quarterback Brandon Turman, and forces the fumble in the second quarter of homecoming action Saturday afternoon at Golden Lion Stadium. PINE BLUFF COMMERCIAL/RALPH FITZGERALD.

But by the end of the unseasonably warm day, a crowd of 14,853 — coincidentally one more than what saw last year’s homecoming win — watched Josh Boudreaux settle into his first start and a defense hold Edward Waters College to just more than 200 yards of total offense in a 38-12 win over the Tigers at Golden Lion Stadium.

“Pleased with the day,” UAPB coach Monte Coleman said. “Wasn’t pleased at all with the way we performed in the first half.”

The Golden Lions (4-2) led 14-6 after two quarters, but the two teams were almost even in total offense and there was a series of what Coleman described as “bonehead plays” that helped prevent his team from taking a larger lead over the Tigers, an NAIA team that fell to 0-8 on the season.

There was a fumbled exchange between Boudreaux and fullback T.J. Shelton on UAPB’s second possession, a fumbled punt return by Trey Austin after the Golden Lions had forced Edward Waters to go three-and-out in the second quarter and, for the game, there were 12 penalties for 212 yards.

But what stoked Coleman’s fire the hottest was what happened following a 28-yard pass from Boudreaux to tight end Remo Gay that put the Golden Lions up 14-0 early in the second quarter.

Following Gay’s first career touchdown, the senior from Bartlett, Tenn., stood up, ran to the back of the southwest end zone and dunked the ball over the crossbar of the goal post. The animated celebration, no doubt, drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and, after Carlos Reyes made the extra point, sparked an impromptu meeting with Gay and his coach on the sideline.

“He was just being a head coach,” said Gay, who could smile about it afterward. “I told (my teammates) I was going to do it. It’s not going to happen again.”

Coleman, though, was trying to remind his players that, at the time, they still had a fairly close game to play.

That was made even more evident when, after Edward Waters started at its own 41-yard line because of the penalty that was asserted on the kickoff, a fake punt set them up on the UAPB 24-yard line and, after a pass interference penalty on James Harrell moved the ball to the UAPB 2, Tigers running back Trenttonio Stewart scored to make it 14-6 at halftime.

“I think homecoming had a lot to do with it,” Coleman said. “You want to do your best and when you do your best you want people to know you did your best. ... I’m not mad at Remo, but we can’t do that week in and week out.”

What Coleman saw after a quick reminder of such things at halftime was more to his liking. And it started with one of UAPB’s more impressive offensive drives of the season.

The Golden Lions took over at their own 36 and went on a 15-play drive that took 8 minutes, 42 seconds off the clock and ended with a bootleg run around the right end by Boudreaux from the 1-yard line to take a 21-6 lead.

Boudreaux threw just one pass on the drive, an incomplete toss in the flat that was dropped by Dhabion Woodfin. All 64 yards on the drive came on the ground, with Woodfin carrying four times for 19 yards and Stephen Jones carried six times for 34 yards before Boudreaux’s score.

It was the kind of drive that Coleman envisions from his offense, one that is balanced enough to throw when it needs to but, if it wants to run 14 times over 15 plays, it has that ability.

“That’s the thing that we’ve been accustomed to when we had a Martell Mallett and a healthy Mickey Dean,” Coleman said. “We run the football.”

That’s not to say Boudreaux didn’t pass during his first start for UAPB. The transfer from Sacramento (Calif.) City College was informed of his first start of the season on Thursday and, though he admitted to a few jitters prior to the game, settled down in the later quarters.

He finished 6-of-15 for 138 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go along with his rushing score. His touchdown pass to Raymond Webber started as a screen from the 38-yard line and the senior crossed the field and outran a handful of defenders to put UAPB up 35-6.

Boudreaux credited an offensive line that opened holes that allowed the Golden Lions to rush for 214 yards and their 352 yards of total offense were a season high.

“The offensive line had a great game tonight. They had a great push,” Boudreaux said. “That’s good. We’ve got to carry this over to the Southern game, especially what we did in the second half.”

UAPB also got a defensive touchdown from Harrell, who scooped up a Joshua Williams fumble forced by Robert Mingo and raced 36 yards for a score to make it 28-6 that sparked a 17-point final quarter for the Golden Lions. Their scoring ended with a 47-yard field goal by Reyes.

The win, however sloppy it may have started, closes UAPB’s nonconference schedule and it now begins a stretch of four games in five weeks, all of which are against Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division Opponents.

Translation: As one of four teams in the division with one or zero conference losses, things now begin to get interesting for the Golden Lions.

“This is the tale of our season,” Coleman said. “These next four games.”

ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 38, EDWARD WATERS COLLEGE 12

Edward Waters — 0 6 0 6 — 12

UAPB — 7 7 7 17 — 38

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

UAPB — Woodfin 27 run (Reyes kick), 9:43

SECOND QUARTER

UAPB — Gay 28 pass from Boudreaux (Reyes kick), 10:06

EW — Stewart 1 run (kick failed), 3:19

THIRD QUARTER

UAPB — Boudreaux 1 run (Reyes kick), 6:13

FOURTH QUARTER

UAPB — Harrell 36 fumble return (Reyes kick), 6:13

UAPB — Webber 38 pass from Boudreaux (Reyes kick), 8:47

EW — Johnson 32 pass from Wilborn (run failed), 2:52

UAPB — Reyes 47 field goal, 1:34

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Edward Waters, Stewart 17-50, Gonzalez 1-10, Liggins 4-9, Wilborn 2-7; UAPB, Woodfin 12-88, Howard 1-53, Jones 10-38, Boudreaux 3-15.

PASSING: Edward Waters, Turman 11-19-67-1, Wilborn 4-6-53-0; UAPB, Boudreaux 6-15-138-1.

RECEIVING: Edward Waters, Johnson 4-69, Braddy 3-31, Peters 3-22, Williams 2-12; UAPB, Gay 3-81, Webber 1-38, Evans 1-15, Woodfin 1-4.

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