BY BECK CROSS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
LAS CRUCES, N. M. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff was supposed to be satisfied with the $300,000 guaranteed check and play patsy against heavily favored New Mexico Sate.
Instead, the Golden Lions almost made school history.
In its first game in school history against an opponent from the Football Bowl Subdivision, Arkansas-Pine Bluff went toe to-toe against the 16th-ranked offense in the nation but was denied when Paul Young kicked a 37-yard field goal with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift the Aggies to a 20-17 victory Saturday at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
UAPB (1-4) will have a week off before resuming Southwestern Athletic Conference play against Grambling State on Oct. 13 at War Memorial Stadium.
“Our kids accepted the challenge,” UAPB Coach Mo Forte said. “The defense played well and the offense finally was able to move the ball.
“I think we’re confident that we can play with some people. Each week we’ve gotten better.”
UAPB quarterback Johnathan Moore had a season-high 234 yards passing while defensive end Ledarius Anthony had 11 tackles and one tackle for a loss.
“We had the game in our hands and it just slipped away,” Anthony said. “We just have to come back hard and go on another run in the SWAC like we did last year.”
The Golden Lions were within 17-10 at halftime and proved the first half was no fluke on their opening drive of the second half. In covering 70 yards in 11 plays, Moore converted a third-and-22 play with a 25-yard screen pass to Martell Mallett and later a thirdand-10 with a 28-yarder to Jason Jones.
Mallett capped the drive with a 1-yard run while Brodie Heflin added the extra point to tie the game at 17 with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
New Mexico State failed to get past midfield on its first three possessions of the second half before moving deep into Golden Lions territory midway through the fourth quarter. The drive stalled at the UAPB 16 and Young was short on a 34-yard field-goal attempt with 6: 43 remaining.
The Golden Lions were in prime scoring position after Bruce Peters returned a punt 28 yards to the New Mexico State 33. On third-and-5 from the Aggies’ 28, Moore’s tipped pass was intercepted in the end zone by Derrick Richardson with 2:37 left.
New Mexico State used the break to launch the game winning drive. Quarterback Chase Holbrook, who sat out the previous series with bruised ribs, checked back in and completed four passes for 34 yards as the Aggies drove inside the UAPB 20 with 5.6 seconds left.
After New Mexico State callied its final timeout, Young was summoned and kicked the game winner.
New Mexico State (3-2) struggled with UAPB in the first half before taking a 17-10 halftime lead.
Young kicked a 37-yard field goal after a seven-play, 19-yard drive midway through the opening quarter. The Aggies then used a 30-yard punt return by Chris Williams to set up the game’s first touchdown, a 6-yard pass from Holbrook to Williams. Young’s extra point made it 10-0 with 6:15 left in the first quarter.
The Golden Lions answered with an eight-play, 89-yard drive. Mallett had three carries for 38 yards to set up Moore’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Raymond Webber. Brodie Heflin’s extra point cut the deficit to 10-7 with 3:15 remaining in the quarter.
After stopping UAPB on downs at the Aggies 15, New Mexico State drove 85 yards for a touchdown. Holbrook completed all four of his passes for 48 yards on the drive, and Tony Glynn capped it with a 21-yard touchdown run that made it 17-7 with 2: 43 left in the first half.
UAPB answered with a scoring drive of its own. Moore converted a fourth-and-1 play on a quarterback keeper from the Aggies’ 22 to set up Heflin’s 43-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 17-10.
LAS CRUCES, N. M. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff was supposed to be satisfied with the $300,000 guaranteed check and play patsy against heavily favored New Mexico Sate.
Instead, the Golden Lions almost made school history.
In its first game in school history against an opponent from the Football Bowl Subdivision, Arkansas-Pine Bluff went toe to-toe against the 16th-ranked offense in the nation but was denied when Paul Young kicked a 37-yard field goal with 0.7 seconds remaining to lift the Aggies to a 20-17 victory Saturday at Aggie Memorial Stadium.
UAPB (1-4) will have a week off before resuming Southwestern Athletic Conference play against Grambling State on Oct. 13 at War Memorial Stadium.
“Our kids accepted the challenge,” UAPB Coach Mo Forte said. “The defense played well and the offense finally was able to move the ball.
“I think we’re confident that we can play with some people. Each week we’ve gotten better.”
UAPB quarterback Johnathan Moore had a season-high 234 yards passing while defensive end Ledarius Anthony had 11 tackles and one tackle for a loss.
“We had the game in our hands and it just slipped away,” Anthony said. “We just have to come back hard and go on another run in the SWAC like we did last year.”
The Golden Lions were within 17-10 at halftime and proved the first half was no fluke on their opening drive of the second half. In covering 70 yards in 11 plays, Moore converted a third-and-22 play with a 25-yard screen pass to Martell Mallett and later a thirdand-10 with a 28-yarder to Jason Jones.
Mallett capped the drive with a 1-yard run while Brodie Heflin added the extra point to tie the game at 17 with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
New Mexico State failed to get past midfield on its first three possessions of the second half before moving deep into Golden Lions territory midway through the fourth quarter. The drive stalled at the UAPB 16 and Young was short on a 34-yard field-goal attempt with 6: 43 remaining.
The Golden Lions were in prime scoring position after Bruce Peters returned a punt 28 yards to the New Mexico State 33. On third-and-5 from the Aggies’ 28, Moore’s tipped pass was intercepted in the end zone by Derrick Richardson with 2:37 left.
New Mexico State used the break to launch the game winning drive. Quarterback Chase Holbrook, who sat out the previous series with bruised ribs, checked back in and completed four passes for 34 yards as the Aggies drove inside the UAPB 20 with 5.6 seconds left.
After New Mexico State callied its final timeout, Young was summoned and kicked the game winner.
New Mexico State (3-2) struggled with UAPB in the first half before taking a 17-10 halftime lead.
Young kicked a 37-yard field goal after a seven-play, 19-yard drive midway through the opening quarter. The Aggies then used a 30-yard punt return by Chris Williams to set up the game’s first touchdown, a 6-yard pass from Holbrook to Williams. Young’s extra point made it 10-0 with 6:15 left in the first quarter.
The Golden Lions answered with an eight-play, 89-yard drive. Mallett had three carries for 38 yards to set up Moore’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Raymond Webber. Brodie Heflin’s extra point cut the deficit to 10-7 with 3:15 remaining in the quarter.
After stopping UAPB on downs at the Aggies 15, New Mexico State drove 85 yards for a touchdown. Holbrook completed all four of his passes for 48 yards on the drive, and Tony Glynn capped it with a 21-yard touchdown run that made it 17-7 with 2: 43 left in the first half.
UAPB answered with a scoring drive of its own. Moore converted a fourth-and-1 play on a quarterback keeper from the Aggies’ 22 to set up Heflin’s 43-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it 17-10.
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