University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Musical Marching Machine of the Mid-South
By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial
Junior Johnathan Moore will start at quarterback for the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff on Saturday against Alabama State, Golden Lions head coach Mo Forte announced Tuesday.
Moore, a Pine Bluff native and former Dollarway High star, will take over for Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Chris Wallace after he replaced Wallace in the third quarter of Thursday’s 21-3 win at Alcorn State. Forte cited Moore’s performance against the Braves and his work in two days of practice this week, along with the fact that Wallace has yet to practice this week due to an unspecified illness, as his reasoning behind the decision.
Moore finished Thursday’s win 5-of-10 for 64 yards and a touchdown in just under two quarters of play. Wallace was 8-of-18 for 67 yards and a touchdown and is 22-of-45 for 221 yards this season after leading the SWAC in passing efficiency and finishing second in passing yards last season.
“I want to see [Moore] start a game,” Forte said. “I think his arm is stronger than Chris’ and he has all the qualities you like to have in a quarterback. He did a great job [at Alcorn] because I think we managed the game offensively better than we were before he came in and that type of execution is what we want to see from him in this game.
“I had a chance to talk with him [Tuesday] and I told him, ‘just go out and play football’. That’s all we want him to do.”
Moore’s last start came in the 2006 SWAC Championship, when he stepped in for a suspended Wallace for the first half of play and completed 3-of-8 passes for 62 yards, with the majority of that coming on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Jason Jones. UAPB went on to lose the game 22-13. He did see relief action in other four games last season and finished with 229 yards and three touchdowns.
His only other collegiate start was on Oct. 29, 2005, when he completed 6-of-8 passes for 134 yards and three touchdowns in a 64-36 rout of Jackson State.
“I feel great about being able to start because I’ve been waiting a long time for it,” Moore said. “It’s a great feeling to know I’ll be starting in my home town in front of friends and family and all the fans and I’m just going to do my best to execute all my assignments and just keep everybody together and be a captain on the field.”
Forte did not say whether the shift in starting quarterbacks would be permanent but he did make it clear that there is no quarterback controversy surrounding his team.
“There isn’t one and there will never be a controversy,” he said. “I make the decision and that is that. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks. I make decisions when I need to make them and outside of that, there is no controversy or anything else going on. The quarterback who I pick to start each game is the one who starts, it’s as simple as that.”
Wallace, who Forte described as being “a little under the weather”, has yet to practice this week and was unavailable for comment. The senior arrived at practice Monday despite being sick but was sent home by Forte for precautionary reasons.
“I have not really had a chance to speak with Chris about the situation just because I haven’t seen him,” Forte said. “There really isn’t a whole bunch to talk about. I’m just going to be up front with him and tell him that the decision is about the team and it’s not personal. Different people react differently to different situations and I don’t know him well enough to know how he’s going to react but I do know that he’s very mature and he’s a senior in college so I expect him to understand the situation.”
Moore, who has been Wallace’s roommate and one of his closest friends on the team, does not think the situation will negatively affect him or Wallace.
“It’s no controversy at all,” he said. “When he’s out there I root for him and I know when I’m out there he’ll root for me. It’s just a brother to brother thing.”
Go UAPB Golden Lions!! No one has better musicianship than you in the SWAC!!
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