Sunday, October 14, 2007

Penalties drive a stake through UAPB's heart


By Mike Marzelli/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

LITTLE ROCK — It would have been no less than another 'Miracle on Markham', but like many of the other positive things the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff put together Saturday afternoon, it was eventually snuffed out by a penalty.

'It' was a stunning 63-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Chris Wallace to wide receiver Jason Jones with 48 seconds remaining in the second annual Delta Classic for Literacy that would have tied the game for the Golden Lions and given them a chance to move in front of Grambling State with the extra point. However, it all fell apart with a flag for illegal motion, nullifying the play and UAPB's chances in a 30-24 loss to the first-place Tigers before 40,067 at War Memorial Stadium.

The defeat likely ends the Lions' chances of a second consecutive SWAC Western Division title, as it drops them three games behind the Tigers with five games to play.

The play in question came as a result of a furious rally by the Lions (1-5 1-3 SWAC) in the final minutes, as Wallace took over for an injured Johnathan Moore and led his team 86 yards in nine plays to pull UAPB within six on a 21-yard touchdown pass to Raymond Webber with 1:16 to play. The Lions then recovered an onside kick before the reigning SWAC Player of the Year hit Jones over the middle and watched his senior wideout break out of a pile of tacklers and sprint down the home sideline into the end zone.

Amid mass hysteria on the UAPB sideline, no one saw the yellow flag lying on the far side of the field behind the original line of scrimmage.

“I don't even know what to say, I just feel like we got robbed,” Wallace said. “I wasn't even aware of [the flag], I was just busy celebrating. We did all we could do, I just feel like we got robbed.

“This hurts like never before.”

Referee Anthony Johnson couldn't give UAPB's on-field coaches the number of who the penalty was on, saying only that it was a player who followed wide receiver Raymond Webber in motion that failed to set himself prior to the snap.

Head coach Mo Forte never saw the infraction as he watched the play unfold from the press box, where he has coached each of his team's past two games.

“I don't know if it was the right or wrong call because I was just following the play downfield, but that's one part I don't like about being in the press box, that I'm not in touch with the officials.” Forte said. “It was disappointment, just disappointment. I was really happy we scored and I just couldn't believe it. It just hurt and took the wind right out of my sails to have a kid give that kind of effort and have it all be for naught.”

The play was hardly the deciding factor in the game for a Golden Lions team that was penalized 11 times for 105 yards and turned the ball over five times, including four fumbles.

UAPB racked up 454 total yards, with 369 yards coming through the air, to outgain the Tigers in both categories. Yet after Moore hit Jones for a 79-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game that eventually led to a 10-0 UAPB lead, the Lions shot themselves in the foot nearly every time they had a chance to gain an edge in the game.

The first Grambling (5-1 5-0 SWAC) touchdown of the game came as a direct result of 35 yards of UAPB penalties and after the teams went to halftime tied 10-10, two of the Tigers' three second-half touchdowns came following Lion fumbles.

The fourth and final fumble was the most damaging, as Moore (16-of-23, 276 yards, one touchdown, one interception) laid the ball on the ground at his own 36-yard line with 9:12 remaining in the game and the Lions down just 24-17 after UAPB's defense had forced a three-and-out on the previous possession. The junior signal-caller was forced to leave the game after injuring his throwing hand on the play, giving way to Wallace (9-of-13, 93 yards, one touchdown)

Five plays later, Grambling had extended its lead to 30-17.

“Over 100 yards in penalties and five turnovers, both of those are ridiculous numbers,” Forte said. “Not many football teams are going to win games with those numbers because … the penalties just killed us.

“We've been struggling a lot and penalties and turnovers really just take away from everything you feel like you're accomplishing.”

One of the lone bright spots for UAPB was its passing numbers, as Jones went for 104 yards and a touchdown, Webber for 109 yards and a score and Demetrice Beverly 81 yards to out-do the Tigers' heralded receiving corps. Grambling quarterback Brandon Landers finished 22-of-38 for 214 yards and a touchdown.

The Lions were again plagued by an inability to run the ball, as Martell Mallett finished with just 28 yards on nine carries in contrast to Grambling's 145 yards on the ground.

The Golden Lions return to action Thursday night at Alabama A&M in a rematch of the 2006 SWAC Championship.

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