UAPB report

By Beck Cross, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Can Lions pull repeat of 2006 ?

Arkansas-Pine Bluff will have fresh legs and an optimistic attitude when it resumes Southwestern Athletic Conference play Saturday against West Division leader Grambling State in the Delta Classic 4 Literacy at War Memorial Stadium.

UAPB (1-4, 1-2 in SWAC ), is coming off a confidence-boosting performance on Sept. 29, losing to New Mexico State of the Football Bowl Subdivision 20-17 at Las Cruces, N. M.

The Golden Lions took last week off, giving them a chance to correct mistakes.

“ For a team that hasn’t had a lot of success, [the off week ] really did come at a good time, ’’ UAPB Coach Mo Forte said. “ This team is making strides and it gave us some needed time to work on things. ’’

The Golden Lions were 1-2 in conference at this point last year before rallying to beat Grambling 33-28 in what was the first of six consecutive conference victories and the school’s first West Division title.

Plenty to do The UAPB-Grambling game is the centerpiece, but is just one of a number of activities for the AT&T Delta Classic 4 Literacy, the second of an annual series of football games between historically black colleges and universities to raise awareness and funds for literacy improvements in the Delta regions of the South. At 10 a. m. Saturday, a parade will begin at Central High School and end at Daisy Bates & Chester Street and will be followed by a tailgate party at 11 a. m. at War Memorial Stadium.

Children will be admitted free all day free Saturday at the Little Rock Zoo with a paying adult. All those with a football ticket stub will be admitted free at the Arkansas State Fair. A 30-minute battle of the bands between UAPB and Grambling will be held at halftime while a drumline competition between the two schools will take place immediately after the game. Off the field, Mo’Nique will be the headliner at the “ Laughing 4 Literacy ’’ concert at Robinson Auditorium at 8: 30 p. m. while the “ Jammin 4 Literacy ’’ afterparty begins at the Statehouse Convention Center at 9: 30 p. m. Mo’Nique is a comedian who has a recurring role on the hit television series Ugly Betty, A gospel jazz brunch will be held Sunday between 10 a. m.-3 p. m. at 1620 restaurant.

Different view

UAPB Coach Mo Forte said he would be coaching his second consecutive game from the press box rather than the sidelines. “ It really has nothing to do with any health issues, ’’ Forte said.

“ It’s just a different vantage point, and I can see things better.’’ UAPB is 7-3 when Forte coaches from the press box. Grambling ranked Grambling State is back in the national rankings under first-year Coach Rod Broadway after going 3-8 last season.

The Tigers (4-1, 4-0 in SWAC ) moved to No. 25 in both the Sports Network and Football Championship Subdivision polls.

Grambling lost to Pittsburgh on Sept. 8 but has beaten its four conference opponents by an average margin of 22. 3 points. The Tigers, the first SWAC team to be ranked in the FCS poll this season, are coming off a 40-0 victory against Mississippi Valley State. Loving their Lions

The Rolling Lions, an RV club that follows UAPB both home and away, will be out in full force for this weekend’s game against Grambling State.

A caravan of about 60 motor homes will motor from the Clinton Library today at 3 p. m. to their assigned spots near the main entrance at War Memorial Stadium.

“ We don’t have the numbers that the Road Hogs do, but there’s not a group that loves their team more than the Rolling Lions, ’’ said Mary Rogers, who has been an active member of the club since 2000.

The Rolling Lions also give approximately $ 1, 500 annually to the school in scholarship funds.

Saturday to be a homecoming of sorts for UAPB Lions

Photo: Mo Forte, UAPB Head Football Coach

By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial

It’s always special for an Arkansas-Pine Bluff team full of Little Rock natives to return to War Memorial Stadium.

Historically the Golden Lions have enjoyed playing in the Capitol City, posting a 12-6 record in the Rock since 1971, including last season’s 33-28 win over Saturday’s opponent Grambling State, but lately the game has also served as a homecoming for many UAPB players. The Lions currently have 10 players from Little Rock on their roster and three more from North Little Rock.

Six of the players hail from Central High School with McClellan, Parkview and Mills High Schools also represented.

“It’s very important to these guys to have the chance to go back home,” UAPB head coach Mo Forte said. “There friends and family still get to see them play here only 30 minutes away but we have a lot of kids from a lot of the different schools up there and they’re very proud of being from Little Rock.

“They take a lot of pride in playing on that field and in their city and this game takes a little extra meaning for them.”

The majority of UAPB’s Little Rock natives are major contributors. Michael Witherspoon (Central), Anton Williams (Central) and Tim Turner (Parkview) are the team’s starting linebackers. Freshman left tackle Jason Thomas (Mills) starts at left tackle. Stewart Franks (Central) starts at free safety and both running back Mickey Dean (Central) and safety Kevin Thornton (Central) hold quasi-starting roles.

“There’s no doubt that [Little Rock] is a place where we go for a lot of talent that makes up out football team,” Forte said. “This is a game that’s great for these guys but it’s also important as a showcase for our program because it puts what we have to offer on display in the city and helps us keep tapping into the pipeline of talent that comes out of there.”

Getting defensive

Forte knows a lot about what his offense will be up against Saturday — literally.

Two of Grambling’s key defensive players, junior tackle Melvin Matthews of Clinton, La. and senior linebacker Zaire Wilborn of Houston, Texas were recruited hard by Forte and his staff before eventually choosing Grambling.

Wilborn, nicknamed “Pit Bull,” by his teammates, was the SWAC Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago and was named preseason All-SWAC prior to the season.

“They’ve got some fine athletes over there but those two guys were ones we really wanted to get,” Forte said. “Matthews is really a load, a really good player up front. Wilborn we talked to as well and he’s very quick and athletic.”

As usual, UAPB’s biggest need against the Tigers’ defensive will be to establish its dormant running game, which showed flashes of effectiveness for the first time all season in its last game at New Mexico State.

“It was our ability to finish the play and be more physical than we have been,” Forte said. “Grambling’s defense is strong. It’s got some quickness but it’s stronger more than it is quick so we’re going to have to be physical at the point of attack.”

A good cause

As part of Literacy Week and in conjunction with Saturday’s Delta Classic for Literacy, 20 UAPB players will be reading to elementary school children in Little Rock on Friday morning.

That is just one of many events sponsored by the state’s Literacy Council as it tries to promote its cause through the remainder of the week and into gameday.

“This particular Classic game proves that it’s not all about athletics in the SWAC, it’s about caring for the individual,” Forte said. “This Literacy Classic is a great cause and they’ve done a great job getting the thing promoted because it shows people, especially young people, that you need to get an education and it’s really going to be a tough go for you if you don’t.

“These elementary school kids look up to our guys and when they go and read to them it helps stress how important reading and getting that education is.”

UAPB’s entire team will attend a Literacy Luncheon on Noon on Friday before checking into the team hotel. The Lions will practice at War Memorial Stadium for an hour Friday afternoon at 3 p.m.

UAPB taking advantage of bye week

By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff football team will use its off-week to lick its wounds and get a head’s up on preparing for Grambling State, while the coaching staff will take advantage of the extra time by getting a jump on in-season recruiting.

UAPB will practice this afternoon before taking Thursday through Saturday off to allow players’ various bumps and bruises to heal and to give head coach Mo Forte and his staff time to leave Pine Bluff to get a look at potential student-athletes for next season.

Forte himself will travel to Detroit Wednesday on a recruiting trip.

“We wanted to give them a little rest and get some of the little, nagging injuries taken care of so we’re ready to play a tough Grambling team [on Oct. 13],” Forte said. “We’re fortunate in that we don’t have any big injuries but really it’s not that much more than one day off because on normal Fridays we don’t do too much and on Saturdays we never practice because we have games.

“We’ll go through a normal practice [today] and then all of the coaches will leave to go recruit.”

The Golden Lions will exchange tapes with Grambling today, which will give them a heads up on preparing for what the Tigers have been doing under new head coach Ron Broadway.

Broadway, who won the mythical Black College Football National Championship last season at North Carolina Central, has been an acquaintance of Forte’s for nearly 30 years, dating back to when both were young assistant coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference at North Carolina and Duke, respectively.

“I know him fairly well, we go way back,” Forte said. “We don’t really know how they’re going to be different from the last few years but Ron is a heck of a coach and what he has done is take talented players that they always have at Grambling and breathe new life into them.

“I think he has brought a renewed sense of enthusiasm and they’ve adjusted quickly to his system already because they’re 5-0.”

Grambling is coming off of wins over Alabama A&M and Prairie View A&M and will host Mississippi Valley State at Eddie Robinson Stadium this weekend. The Tigers have proven to be one of the top offenses in the Southwestern Athletic Conference during their perfect start with many of the same players they had last year, including All-SWAC quarterback Brandon Landers and receiver Clyde Edwards.

“Last year Grambling was flying high at this point of the year and then they took a nose dive after they lost to us,” Forte said. “We knew they were a talented football team even last year. What coach Broadway has done is sell them on himself and his system.”

Broadway’s system, according to Forte, doesn’t feature specific run or pass-first characteristics but is more of a mix.

“Really I think all coaches would tell you that they want to have a 50-50 mix of run and pass even if they usually focus on one or the other,” Forte said. “Ron is going to do whatever suits his talent best against an opponent on any given day so all we can prepare for is to get the best his kids have to offer, and with their talent that is a lot.”

Last-second kick spoils it for UAPB

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.

NMSU avoids scare against Pine Bluff

Photo: The Golden Lion defense gives NMSU more problems than anticipated.

By Teddy Feinberg/Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES — The New Mexico State Aggies avoided a major scare on Saturday night.

Still questions remain about the team heading into the second half of the season.

NMSU (3-2) squeaked by Arkansas-Pine Bluff 20-17 behind a Paul Young 37-yard field goal with .7-seconds remaining in regulation. Pine Bluff (1-4), a Division 1-AA program, came in as serious underdogs but gave the Aggies all they could handle and then some. It was the Golden Lions first Division 1 game for a program that has existed for over 100 years.

"They came in here and we let them stay in the game with us and they took it," Mumme said. "They made plays."

There are concerns following Saturday's game that go beyond the final score however. Quarterback Chase Holbrook took a vicious shot midway through the fourth quarter that forced him to come out for an extended period of time. Holbrook eventually did return to lead the team downfield on the game winning drive, but was noticeably shook up throughout the closing minutes of the contest.

Mumme said that Holbrook injured his ribs and that his status is uncertain at this point.

"They're looking at him," Mumme said of Holbrook and the medical staff. "It's his ribs."

Another red flag was just how badly NMSU struggled against the Golden Lions. NMSU's vaunted offense outgained UAPB by just 70 yards (297-367), and the Aggies secondary gave up 234-yards passing. Pine Bluff's feature runner Martell Mallet ran for 87 yards on 18 carries and gave NMSU fits throughout.

"We made some mistakes," Floyd said. "Some people got blocked, some people were out of position at times and sometimes we were in the right positions and missed some tackles."

After taking a 10-0 lead early on and eventually a 17-7 advantage, NMSU let the Golden Lions back in the game.

After kicking a field goal at the halftime horn to cut the lead down to seven, Pine Bluff came out in the second half and drove immediately downfield. Two third-down plays highlighted the scoring march. The first one came on third-and-22 from midfield, when quarterback Johnathan Moore dumped it off to Mallett near the line of scrimmage. Mallett gutted the middle of the Aggie defense, breaking tackles and barreling his way down to the NMSU 27 for the first down.

Three plays later, facing a third-and-10, Moore felt pressure and lobbed a ball down towards the goalline. Jason Jones came down with it, outleaping cornerback Chris Woods at the 1 before falling to the ground. Mallett took it in on a pitch-right two plays later. The extra point tied things at 17.

"It just seemed like we were flat even during warmups," safety Derrick Richardson said. "They definitely were better than we thought they were."

The score remained deadlocked at 17 until late in the fourth quarter with Pine Bluff threatening. With the ball at the NMSU 28 on third-and-5, Moore went for the endzone. The ball was tipped by Alex Bernard and picked by Richardson, who fell to the ground for the touchback with 2:30 remaining in regulation.

Two plays later, backup quarterback J.J. McDermott threw a fade down the right sideline for Chris Williams, who was bumped by cornerback Jermaine Clemmons while going up for the ball. The officials threw the flag, calling a pass interference penalty on the play, a 15-yard infraction.

"It was definitely a good call," Williams said. "I went up and he ran right into me."

Holbrook re-entered the game and helped move the ball down the Pine Bluff 20. Holbrook hit wide receiver Wes Neiman on third-and-6 from the Pine Bluff 47 for an 18 yard pickup with just under a minute remaining.

The Aggies got the ball down to the 20 when Young lined up for his 37-yarder.

"I'd thought he'd make it," Mumme said. "I'm pretty optimistic all the time."

15,329 fans came out for Saturday night's game, highlighted by the

Tough Enough to Wear Pink fundraiser. Mumme's wife June led the charge as part of a breast cancer awareness movement. Thousands of fans came out dressed in pink in support of the cause. Over $225,000 was generated coming into the evening, with donations still expected to come.

UAPB Golden Lions go to wire with NMSU

By Mike Marzelli/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Oliver Stone couldn’t have penned a more stunning script than the one that very nearly unfolded Saturday evening.
In almost completing a turnaround that could have easily been ripped from a Hollywood movie, an Arkansas-Pine Bluff team that couldn’t have been more down and out after a humbling 55-point loss just seven days ago waltzed into New Mexico State and outplayed what was supposed to be the most difficult opponent in school history, but fell just short when Paul Young booted a game-winning 37-yard field goal on the last play from scrimmage to allow the Aggies to escape with a 20-17 win before 15,329 pink-clad fans.

State was put in position for its final drive after UAPB (1-4 1-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) squandered a golden opportunity to grab the lead when quarterback Johnathan Moore was intercepted in the end zone by the Aggies’ Derrick Richardson with 2:36 to play after the Lions had driven down to the 28-yard line.

NMSU (3-2) backup quarterback J.J. McDermott opened the game-winning drive under center after starting quarterback Chase Holbrook was knocked from the game on the previous series, but Holbrook returned after McDermott moved the ball to his own 45-yard line and completed the 11-play, 60-yard drive to set up Young on the right hash mark of UAPB 20-yard line. The end-over-end kick was right down the middle and set off fireworks and a stadium-wide celebration.

“I thought our kids accepted the challenge and we took it down to the wire, we just came up short,” said UAPB head coach Mo Forte, who coached the game from the press box. “ Our defense played really well and our offense finally generated some yards and we put it all together and had some chances, we just didn’t finish it off.”

UAPB showed a renewed sense of confidence and a far better execution in racking up 297 total yards. Moore played his best game of the season, completing 16-of-34 for 234 yards and a touchdown, while wide receiver Jason Jones caught five passes for 64 yards and Raymond Webber hauled in three for 32 yards and a touchdown.

The passing game was sparked by a modest yet much-improved running game, led by Martell Mallett’s 84 yards and a touchdown, but the biggest improvement came up front, where UAPB’s offensive line put together an effort that easily surpassed anything it had shown to date.

“We knew that if their quarterback got hot they could really cause us some problems but their offensive line really surprised us,” New Mexico State coach Hal Mumme said. “We didn’t underestimate them because we knew they have athletes, my hat just goes off to coach Forte because his team played great.”

The Golden Lions played equally well on defense, holding one of the NCAA’s top offenses to 367 yards and limiting Holbrook, who has been mentioned as a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate, to 246 yards and an interception just one week after giving up 58 points to Southern Illinois.

“Last week was just an off week and we were embarrassed,” UAPB defensive end Ledarius Anthony said. “This week the defense came together and the offense played its best game all year and we had the game in our hands, it just slipped away from us.”

Down 10-7 after 30 minutes, the overwhelming underdogs from Pine Bluff could have called it a night after first half and left with a moral victory. Instead, they showed that they meant business on the first drive of the third quarter, converting a 3rd-and-11 from the State 27-yard line with a 26-yard pass to Jones and tying the game two plays later on a 1-yard Mallett touchdown run. The 11-play drive covered 70 yards in 5:05, yet more than anything it signified that the contest was far from over.

The teams traded blanks for the next 30 minutes of the game, with a missed 42-yard field goal from Heflin and a botched 34-yard attempt by State’s Paul Young the only serious threats during the stretch until the final second.

“Our guys were confident even after last week and they played that way,” Forte said. “We knew we could play with these guys and we hung around the whole way.”

The Golden Lions fell behind 10-0 right off the bat, but unlike last week they refused to fold. After consecutive three-and-outs to open the game, UAPB’s offense bounced back from the deficit with an 8-play, 89-yard drive in just 2:55, culminating with a 17-yard touchdown from Moore to Webber at the 3:04 mark of the first quarter.

Things could have gotten even closer midway through the second quarter when defensive linemen Kenneth Leichman forced Tonny Glynn fumble and cornerback Menall Webster fell on it at the Aggie 39-yard line, but UAPB’s drive stalled at the 14-yard line when Mallett was stuffed on a 4th-and-1.

New Mexico State rallied around the defensive stand, turned around and drove 85 yards in 10 plays to take a 17-7, however that did not put a stop to the Lions’ furious charge, as they marched right back down the field and got a 43-yard Brodie Heflin field goal on the final play of the first half to head into the locker room down 17-10.

UAPB could have gotten more out of the drive but twice let more than 20 seconds run off the game clock without calling time out despite the fact that they had all three time outs remaining.

The Golden Lions will be off this week before returning to SWAC play on Oct. 13 when they will face Grambling State in the Delta Classic for Literacy Little Rock.

UAPB faces another difficult assignment

BY BECK CROSS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

LAS CRUCES, N. M. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff Coach Mo Forte insists he’s not looking for any moral victories when the Golden Lions take on New Mexico State tonight at Aggie Memorial Stadium.

“No, I won’t be led down that road,” Forte said. “The bottom line for me is winning, and that’s the way it’s always going to be.”

Pulling off a victory against New Mexico State could be a far-fetched notion for even the staunchest optimist.

The Golden Lions (1-3 ) are coming off a 58-3 loss last week at Southern Illinois, marking its worst rout in four seasons under Forte and the program’s worst since a 63-0 loss to Mississippi Valley State in 1983.

UAPB’s defense, which had been top-ranked in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, gave up almost 600 yards in total offense to the Salukis.

“Any time you get beat like we got beat, the kids come back to practice more enthused,” UAPB defensive coordinator Monte Coleman said “They [players ] were embarrassed, and we [coaches ] were embarrassed. We don’t want to have that happen again, so they came back and had a good week of practice.”

Offensively, it’s been a struggle from the beginning. UAPB, which last year boasted the top-ranked offense in the SWAC, has scored only 10. 8 points per game. The Golden Lions’ average of 222. 8 yards a game in total offense ranks ninth in the SWAC.

Against Southern Illinois, UAPB had only 51 yards of total offense in the first half and trailed 30-0 at halftime.

“The same thing that plagued us last week is the same thing that’s bothered us all year,” Forte said. “We just haven’t been able to generate any offense on a consistent basis.” On paper, New Mexico State’s offense is even more talented than Southern Illinois’. New Mexico State ranks seventh in the nation in passing offense with 363. 8 yards per game and is 16 th nationally in total offense with 487. 2 yards a game. Junior quarterback Chase Holbrook is eighth nationally

ense (355. 8 yards per game ) and 21 st in passing efficiency (152. 7 ). Junior wide receiver Chris Williams had 109 yards in receiving last week against Auburn to mark his third consecutive 100-yard game. New Mexico State led Auburn 20-14 last week on the road late in the second quarter before losing 42-20.

“I knew this was a tough schedule going into the season,” Forte said. “But you want to have tough games because your team is never going to know how good they are unless they play tough teams.

“ We’re playing a very talented Division I team and that’s going to be good for us in the long run.” Arkansas-Pine Bluff vs. New Mexico St. WHEN 7 p. m. Central today WHERE Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, N. M. RECORDS UAPB 1-3; New Mexico State 2-2 COACHES Maurice “Mo” Forte (18-18 in fourth season at UAPB, 66-86-1 in 14 th season overall ); Hal Mumme (6-22 in third season at New Mexico State, 103-86-1 in 17 th season overall ) SERIES First meeting RADIO KUAP-FM, 89. 7, in Pine Bluff

Things won’t get any easier for UAPB

By Mike Marzelli, of the Commercial Staff

How does a team bounce back from a 55-point loss when it knows its next opponent is expected to be its toughest of the season?

That’s the question Arkansas-Pine Bluff is trying to answer this week as it prepares for New Mexico State. Fresh off an embarrassing 58-3 loss to No. 7 Southern Illinois that was the program’s worst defeat since 1983, the Golden Lions are now staring down the task of taking on a Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) opponent for the first time in school history. Not just any FBS team, either. The Aggies (2-2) have been an offensive juggernaut under former Kentucky coach Hal Mumme, averaging 487 yards of total offense and just under 30 points a game on the season.

The situation may appear to spell doom already, but UAPB head coach Mo Forte isn’t ready to count out the competitive spirit of his team.

“We know it’s going to be a huge challenge for us out there but if we just gave in to what things looked like on paper we would never need to play a game,” Forte said after practice Tuesday. “I don’t think anyone in Las Vegas is going to pick us but hopefully we will go out there and give 100 percent and that will be good enough to win the game. I think our team’s mindset is that they know how they were embarrassed last weekend and they need to go out and fight harder and focus more on playing better to make sure that never happens again.”

After watching film Forte heaped plenty of praise on the Aggies, but he was also quick to point out that his team may not be taking a giant step up in competition this week.

“Obviously [New Mexico State is] a good football program and they’re the biggest challenge we’ve faced since I’ve been here, but who’s to say that [Southern Illinois] isn’t as good as a mid-level Division I team like they are?” he asked. “We already found out that the [former] No. 1 team in I-AA is better than Michigan, the No. 5 team in Division I, so who knows how good they’re really going to be compared to what we’ve faced?”

Regardless of how good New Mexico State may be, UAPB needs to play a drastically different game than it did Saturday in Carbondale, Ill. The Golden Lions were stagnant offensively for the fourth straight week, eventually leading them to wear down on defense, but the most alarming aspect of the game was players’ lack of effort and intensity in the second half.

“Pride is always on the line any time you’re involved in any type of competition and when you’re a competitor you’re going to do whatever you can to be successful in any situation because of that pride,” Forte said. “We didn’t play with pride for four quarters last week and that surprised me because I know our team is made up of competitors.

“I’m looking for a renewed sense of pride and focus for this game and for our guys to come out fighting and working hard and focusing on one play at a time and giving 100 percent on that one play until its over.”

There will not be wholesale changes for the Lions, as Forte plans to stick with junior Johnathan Moore at quarterback after Moore and former starter Chris Wallace both saw action at SIU.

“I saw progress with the offense last week, especially with our offensive line, I really did,” Forte said. “We had much better pass protection than we had before, we were just killed by drops that cost us a number of chances to move the chains.”

NOTE: Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. Saturday and not 6 p.m. as listed on a number of area schedules. Las Cruces, NM is in Mountain Time and the game is slated for 6 p.m. MDT, which is an hour behind Central Time. There will be no television broadcast, so the only chance to follow the game will be on KUAP 89.7 FM.

New Mexico State University to face UAPB

NMSU Press Release

New Mexico State Aggies (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
vs.
Arkansas Pine-Bluff (1-3, 1-2 SWAC)
September 29, 2007 • 6:00 p.m. MDT
First Ever Meeting • Aggie Memorial Stadium (Capacity 30,343)
Radio: Aggie Sports Network - KGRT 104 FM (Las Cruces); plus 12 other stations
Spanish Radio - KKVS 98.7 FM (Las Cruces) & KPZE 106.1;
Television: Aggie Vision

The Aggie football team wraps up their non-conference schedule this coming weekend as they welcome Arkansas-Pine Bluff to town. This is the second 1-AA school to visit Las Cruces this season but the first match up between the Aggies and Golden Lions.

The Golden Lions are coming off a tough loss to Southern Illinois. This week the Aggies will be wearing pink in support of the NMSU Aggies are Tough Enough to Wear Pink campaign that has raised over $140,000 to date for cancer research.

You can listen to all the action with the ‘Voice of the Aggies’ Jack Nixon on KGRT 104 FM, as well as listen to the game in Spanish with Martin Cortez on Vista 98.7 FM. The game will also be televised on Aggie Vision on Comcast channel 4 in Las Cruces tape delayed and live on El Paso (Ch. 24), Albuquerque (Ch. 53) and Gallup (Ch. 66).

In a unique opportunity, the New Mexico State Athletics Department has agreed to designate the football game on September 29th against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, as a breast cancer awareness initiative and fundraiser. Coach Mumme has brought together Four Honorary Chair-Women for this event, all with strong ties to New Mexico State University and all cancer survivors; Magellia Boston (wife of Athletics Director Dr. McKinley Boston), Laura Conniff (Chair of the NMSU Regents), June Mumme (wife of head football coach Hal Mumme) and Pat Sisbarro (wife of car dealer Lou Sisbarro).

The proceeds generated by this event will be used to fund breast cancer and women's cancer research project, conducted by UNM Cancer Center and the New Mexico State University Department of Chemistry and Biology. This initiative is being conducted in partnership with ‘Cowboys For Cancer Research’.

“The response has been wildly overwhelming,” Coach Mumme said. “It has put a kind and giving, female face on football. Breast cancer has touched many lives, including players, trainers and coaches. Fans and supporters are anxious to get involved in anyway possible.”

In less than 3 months, over $140,000 has been raised through this sporting event in sponsorship donations for this health initiative. An additional $50,000 worth of food, supplies, etc., have been donated, bringing the total to close to $200,000. This unique, but powerful relationship between a state university, a charitable organization and medical research has gained national attention from the NCAA, ESPN, and the WAC.

New Mexico State University along with the Aggie Athletics Department is encouraging the Las Cruces community to attend the game as a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to ‘Cowboys for Cancer Research’. Fans will be giving the opportunity to donate to the great cause at the game. Be a part of the largest ‘Tough Enough to Wear Pink’ fund raising event in history, as well as the biggest fund raising event in Las Cruces. For tickets call the Pan Am Ticket Office at (505) 646-1420 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.

Scouting the Golden Lions

The Golden Lions are 1-3 on the season and 1-2 on the road in 2007. Their lone win came against the ALCN-Braves on Sept. 6th. Last weekend the Golden Lions fell to Southern Illinois 58-3.

As a team the Golden Lions are averaging 222.8 yards of total offense a game and allowing 306.2 yards to their opponents. Arkansas-Pine Bluff has fumbled the ball 10 times in four games, but have not thrown an interception in 108 pass attempts.

Individually, Johnathan Moore and Chris Wallace have split time at quarterback this season, each throwing a touchdown pass while Moore has thrown for 320 yards, averaging 106.7 yards a game. Martell Mallett leads the running attack with 128 yards on the ground and one touchdown, while Jason Jones has caught 19 passes for 267 yards and a touchdown to lead the receiving corps. Defensively, Tim Turner leads the way with 42 tackles, a fumble recovery, a pass break-up and two tackles-for-a-loss.

UAPB Forte comes off loud and clear

By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Mo Forte lit into his Arkansas-Pine Bluff football team in the locker room following its embarrassing 58-3 loss to Southern Illinois, his voice booming through the locker room doors in the bowels of McArthur Stadium.

The message was loud and clear to the Golden Lions: Their performance Saturday was unacceptable.

"I think they understand where I'm coming from and if they didn't, that's a problem," Forte said. "We played a terrible football game and we need to take responsibility for all the things we did wrong and correct them because that type of game is not indicative of our program."

Forte didn't speak long, delivering his fiery speech in under five minutes, as he made sure the Lions know that there is still a tough road ahead of them.

"We come right back and have an opportunity to go out and play a mid-level Division I football team in New Mexico State that has a good program going," he said. "We need to turn things around in a hurry to be ready for that and I wanted to make sure the guys kept sight of that because there is no way we can play like we did [yesterday] again next week."

Wallace returns

Senior quarterback Chris Wallace got back on the field for the Lions late in the third quarter, leading a pair of promising drives that both came up short.

The Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year looked more like his old self than he did in either of his previous two starts this season, showing good mobility and his trademark soft touch in completing four passes for 69 yards and running for 11 yards.

Esaw impresses

While UAPB's two-headed backfield of Martell Mallett and Mickey Dean combined for just 14 total yards in the game, reserve tailback Kenneth Esaw made the most of his opportunity in the fourth quarter.

Esaw carried the load on UAPB's final three drives and finished with 63 yards on seven carries to outgain the rest of his team combined.

Just for kicks

The effectiveness of Southern Illinois' offense spoke for itself. The Salukis put up 44 points and over 500 yards of offense before they were forced to punt for the first time. SIU punter Scott Ravanesi's first kick came with 11:35 to play in the fourth quarter.

New Look

The Golden Lions have added a new decal to the sides of their gold helmets. Debuted in last week's Arkansas Classic, a script "Golden Lions' emblem written in white arches across the crest of the headgear on both sides.

UAPB had not worn a helmet decal since 2003, when the traditional Golden Lion logo was emblazoned on the sides of the old black helmet that was discontinued after last season.

Forte had elected to go with a blank helmet during his three-plus year tenure until last week.

M4 absent

Much to the dismay of the Southern Illinois fans and a number of local high school bands who had gathered for the university's 'Band Day,' the Marching Musical Machine of the Mid-South did not make the six-hour trip from Pine Bluff.

M4 is also not expected to attend next week's game at New Mexico State.

UAPB loss the worst in Forte era

BY BECK CROSS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s suspect offense wasn’t in the same league with one of the more prolific teams in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Southern Illinois (4-0 ), No. 6 in the FCS, racked up 585 yards in total offense and led 30-0 at halftime before rolling to a 58-3 victory Saturday before 11,316 at McAndrew Stadium.

UAPB (1-3 ) was held to 51 yards of total offense in the first half before padding the statistics to a more respectable 299 for the game after the Salukis had pulled most of their starters. The 55-point loss was the worst for UAPB in four seasons under Coach Mo Forte.

The nonconference schedule doesn’t get any easier. The Golden Lions take on New Mexico State on Saturday in Las Cruces, N. M.

“We can bounce back by doing it mentally,” Forte said. “We played a great football team out there, and those guys are going to go a long way in the playoffs. The [offensive ] line play deteriorated once again, but there were some things we can build on.”

Southern Illinois, which defeated its first three opponents by an average margin of 27. 3 points, didn’t ease up on the Golden Lions. The Salukis scored on 5 of 6 first-half possessions and piled up 371 yards of total offense in running out to a 30-0 lead.

UAPB, which had the topranked defense in the Southwestern Athletic Conference going into the game, put up a fight in the early going. The Salukis had a first-and-goal at the 10 on their opening possession but settled for a 29-yard field goal by Kyle Dougherty after three consecutive incomplete passes.

The Golden Lions’ offense netted minus-16 yards on its first two possessions before Southern Illinois padded its advantage to 10-0 with 2: 20 remaining in the opening quarter. In the threeplay, 58-yard drive, Nick Hill was 2 of 2 passing for 41 yards, capped by a 36-yard scoring pass to Phil Goforth.

UAPB got its initial first down late in the quarter on a 5-yard run by Mickey Dean, but the offense again sputtered well short of midfield with two incomplete passes, a holding call and an 8-yard sack.

The Salukis needed only five plays to cover 83 yards. Facing a third-and-5 play, Deji Karim broke free on a 37-yard scoring run. The missed extra point left the margin 16-0 with 13: 03 left in the half.

After the UAPB offense again went three plays and out, Southern Illinois relied primarily on the run in grinding out a sevenplay, 81-yard scoring drive.

John Randle had two carries for 29 yards to set up Joe Allaria’s 8-yard scoring run. Dougherty’s extra point extended the Salukis’ advantage to 23-0 with 8: 23 left in the second quarter.

Southern Illinois scored again with 2: 55 left in the first half. Hill was 3 of 3 passing for 51 yards, and Randle scored on a 10-yard run.

“The first half we just didn’t play,” Forte said. “It’s like we were in sleep mode out there in the beginning. You can’t give away points the way we did and expect to win against a top-10 team.”

The Golden Lions had some bright spots in the second half. On the first series of the third quarter, Johnathan Moore was 5 of 8 passing for 50 yards, helping UAPB gain a first down at the Southern Illinois 24, but UAPB stalled and settled for Brodie Heflin’s 38-yard field goal to prevent the shutout with 10: 07 remaining in the quarter.

Southern Illinois added two third-quarter touchdowns before Chris Wallace came on in relief of Moore on the opening series of the fourth quarter. Wallace completed a 33-yard pass to Jason Jones, but UAPB came away empty after Heflin’s 42-yard fieldgoal attempt was blocked.

The Salukis scored two more touchdowns in the final 5: 02.

“I think we have it in us, but we just have to bring it out to the field,” Forte said. “I’ve never seen the guys, what they did [Saturday ], I’ve never seen that side of them and that kind of bothers me. By the time we woke up, it was too late.

“ The effort they gave in the second half was better, but we have to take advantage of the opportunities. We killed ourselves on offense.”

Southern Illinois crushes Arkansas-Pine Bluff 58-3

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University had 586 yards of total offense and set a school-record 36 first downs in a 58-3 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.

The Salukis (4-0) scored 30 unanswered points in the first half in route to their fourth straight win.

The only score of the game for the Golden Lions (1-3) came when John Heflin made a 38 yard field goal in the third quarter; he had two other field goal attempts blocked.

SIU quarterback Nick Hill was 18-for-24 for 244 yards passing and two touchdowns, while wide receiver Phil Goforth had 74 yards receiving and a touchdown. Running back John Randle had a touchdown and gained 113 yards on the ground.

SIU, which gained 314 yards rushing and 273 yards passing as a team on Saturday, have now outscored their opponents 117-17 in two games at home. The Salukis defeated Quincy 59-14 in their first home game on Aug. 30.

Both the Salukis and Golden Lions are in the Football Championship Subdivision _ the former Division I-AA.

Attendance: 11,316

UAPB vs. Southern Illinois

By Robert Crow, the southern

Salukis eye 4-0 start

CARBONDALE - The numbers seem to say it all.

A 3-0 record for No. 6 Southern Illinois, compared to 1-2 for Arkansas-Pine Bluff. SIU has scored 137 points, the Golden Lions 40. Last year, the Salukis pulled away in the second half and cruised to a 48-16 win at Pine Bluff.

And then, there's two - as in, the number of games until the Salukis host Youngstown State. And with today's game against UAPB and next week's contest at Indiana State as those two games, it seems like the Salukis may not receive a serious challenge before that key matchup with YSU.

But SIU is trying not to think that way. Otherwise, today's game may become more of a challenge than the Salukis hope for.

"It's kind of tough, but you can't let that happen," SIU quarterback Nick Hill said. "That's when people sneak up on you. Pine Bluff is a team that can do that to you."

The Golden Lions nearly did that last year, putting a brief scare into the Salukis. UAPB took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, and were within five points early in the third quarter, before the Salukis scored the game's final 27 points.

Whether the Golden Lions will be able to put another scare into the Salukis, however, remains to be seen.

UAPB's defense has been superb for much of this season, allowing just 10.3 points per game. But no offense the Golden Lions have faced has been as explosive as the Salukis'.

Hill is playing better than at any point during his two-year career as a starter. He should also get a boost from the probable return of tailback John Randle, who missed last week's game with a high ankle sprain. Randle is the anchor in a deep, explosive backfield, one that has seen six different running backs score touchdowns this year.

"All of our backs that we've got right now, we can all do damage," said running back Lucien Walker, who caught a touchdown last week. "We've got a lot of utility and versatility in our backs."

But much like in the Salukis' 44-10 win over Southern Utah last weekend, today could give SIU's defense another chance to shine.


The Salukis have forced turnovers at an incredible rate this season, averaging four takeaways a game. If the Salukis can force one turnover today, they'll match the number of turnovers they had all of last season.

"If we can continue on that pace, we're going to win a lot of football games," SIU coach Jerry Kill said. "?I've got to give credit to our coaches and players. They've been talking about it, they've been preaching it, they've been teaching it, and it seems like the players listen to what you emphasize."

Kill said he believes the Salukis are significantly better in certain phases than at the same point last year. But there's still plenty of work to do, and the Salukis expect to see even more improvement this week.

With Gateway Football Conference play starting next week, and a potentially huge game against Youngstown looming the week after that, that improvement could be necessary.

"It's a big week, because we've got to get better," Kill said. "We've got to get better every week, and we feel like we have so far. We played better at Southern Utah, but we still have a long, long way to go to be the kind of team we want to be."

Timing is a problem for UAPB Golden Lions

By Beck Cross and Nick Walker, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Scheduling a home-and home series against Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse Southern Illinois might have seemed like a good idea when the contract was finalized almost three years ago, but the matchup probably couldn’t come at a worse time for Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

UAPB, which dropped to 1-2 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play with a lastminute 12-10 loss last Saturday to Alabama State, won’t have the luxury of playing a nonconference cupcake when it travels to Carbondale, Ill., on Saturday to face the Salukis.

Southern Illinois (3-0 ), which defeated UAPB 48-16 last year at Golden Lion Stadium, is ranked No. 6 in the collegesportingnews. com coaches’ poll and seventh in The Sports Network Top 25 Football Championship Subdivision poll.

The Salukis, who are coming off a 44-10 victory at Southern Utah, are averaging 440 yards of offense and 46 points per game.

UAPB has struggled offensively with 197. 3 yards and 13. 3 points per game.

“We’re happy to have the opportunity to compete against the sixth-ranked team in the country,” UAPB Coach Mo Forte said. “We’re the only team [in the SWAC ] that can say that this week.

“ When I look at the film I know they’re an outstanding football team, but I feel pretty good about this game.”

The nonconference schedule doesn’t get any easier next week. UAPB travels to Las Cruces, N. M., to take on New Mexico State, which is the higher subdivision of Division I.

Bright side

With a break here or there, Arkansas-Pine Bluff easily could be 3-0 rather than 1-2. In the season opener at Mississippi Valley State, the Golden Lions had first-andgoal opportunities twice in the second half but came away empty on both possessions in a 16-9 loss. Last week against Alabama State, the Golden Lions were flagged for defensive holding four plays before the Hornets scored on fourth-and-10 with 41 seconds to play to pull out a 12-10 victory. Defense doing part Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s defense is the primary reason why UAPB has had a chance to win all three of its games.

The Golden Lions lead the Southwestern Athletic Conference in scoring defense (10. 3 points per game ), rush defense (43. 0 yards per game ) and total defense (213. 0 yards per game ). Defensive end Ledarious Anthony has anchored the defense with 28 total tackles, including 8 tackles for losses and 1 a conference-leading 5 / 2 sacks. Anthony’s sack total is more than any Golden Lion had last year. “This will be their biggest test, but the way they’ve been playing, I feel really good about them,” UAPB Coach Mo Forte said. “They just get better each week, and they started out pretty darn good.”

Moore still starter

Junior Johnathan Moore, who started at quarterback for Arkansas-Pine Bluff last week against Alabama State while Chris Wallace was recovering from the flu, will remain the starter against Southern Illinois. Moore completed 8 of 25 passes for 83 yards and was the team’s top rusher with 14 carries for 27 yards. “Chris has been back at practice and has played really well,” Coach Mo Forte said. “He seems to have a lot of energy, so it’s nice to have both quarterbacks.”

Extra points

Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s special teams blocked two extra point attempts and a punt last week against Alabama State.... Southern Illinois has averaged 50. 3 points per game in its past four games in Carbondale, Ill.... The Salukis are ranked nationally in three categories. SIU is third in turnover margin (2. 67 ), fourth in scoring offense (45. 7 points per game ) and sixth in passing efficiency (172. 66 ).

UAPB Moore slated to start against Southern Illinois University

By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial

Johnathan Moore will remain as Arkansas-Pine Bluff's starting quarterback for Saturday's game at Southern Illinois and it appears as though the job will belong to the former Dollarway star for the foreseeable future.
Moore, who replaced Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year Chris Wallace under center in Saturday's 12-10 loss to Alabama State after Wallace had missed the previous week of practice with exhaustion, completed 8-of-25 passes for 83 yards and also ran for a score against the Hornets. His start this weekend will be the fourth of his three-year college career.

“Johnathan Moore is still our guy,” Forte said. “The thing he has to do is look at some more film and really study some film of himself and our opponents and just increase his knowledge of the position and what we need from him. We don't need him to go out there and win the game for us, he just needs to play within himself and manage the game and make good decisions.”

Wallace, who spent Saturday on the sidelines in street clothes, has returned to full practice this week and got a number of snaps with the first-team offense on Tuesday. The senior looks to have regained his strength and is slated to be Moore's backup.

“It is great to have Chris back out here,” Forte said. “Any time a member of our UAPB family is sick or hurt or has anything wrong you just pray for him and you want him back out here so it's good to see him back.”

Continued struggles up front

Forte continues to be frustrated by the ongoing struggles of his offensive line, which was unable to hold the line of scrimmage in either facet of the offense for the third straight contest Saturday.

Offensive coordinator and line coach Jonathan Cannon, a former UAPB offensive lineman himself, continues to work long and hard with the group but Forte says there is only so much a coach can do.

“There isn't one thing that we need to focus on or spend extra time on, they just need to keep working and keep getting better and they can't quit,” he said. “It's really just the whole thing that offensive lines work on throughout the season that they need to spend their time in practice doing because we just haven't been good enough.”

Tough loss

The Golden Lions are still stung by their last-second loss in Saturday's Arkansas Classic but the coaching staff has made sure to emphasize the need to move on.

Practice has been crisp to begin the week, especially on Tuesday when UAPB has its longest workout of the week, but the disappointment from the loss still lingers.

“It's been rough,” Forte said. “That's as tough a loss as any right here but these kids are resilient and they know we need to look ahead and never look back anymore.”

A tough test

Southern Illinois will be as tough an opponent as UAPB faces all season. The Salukis are currently ranked sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision after reaching the national semifinals a year ago.

It's a challenge UAPB is welcoming for the second straight year.

“Some teams don't get the chance to play a top ten team but we do and we're going to make the most of it,” Forte said. “They're an outstanding football team with so many talented athletes and they're going to be very tough but we're a good football team and we like challenges.

Last season UAPB hung with SIU for a little over a half and trailed 21-16 early in the third quarter before the Salukis ripped off five straight scores and 27 consecutive points to close the game.

“We were right there in a tough game and then they just broke it open,” Forte said. “It gives our kids confidence that they can compete with them if we play every play and we all know it would be great to go in there and pull an upset.”

ASU Hornets stun Golden Lions on 4th-down TD catch

BY BECK CROSS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

PINE BLUFF — Alabama State found yet another way to break Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s heart.

On fourth-and-goal from the 10 with 41 seconds remaining, Fred Ragsdale made a diving, shoestring catch in the left corner of the end zone to give the Hornets a 12-10 come-frombehind victory before 10, 012 stunned fans Saturday night at Golden Lion Stadium.

Alabama State has won five consecutive games against the Golden Lions and seven of the past eight.

But it didn’t seem to be the touchdown that irked UAPB Coach Mo Forte most. It was a late defensive holding penalty four plays earlier that gave Alabama State its first-and-goal opportunity.

“I think a lot of calls were questionable, I’ll tell you that,” Forte said. “It’s unfortunate because I don’t ever want to try to make excuses for anything. We were so inconsistent on offense again, and the defense played extremely well. But there were a lot of things that were suspect.”

UAPB, which mustered only 159 yards in total offense, stayed in the game with defense and special teams.

With UAPB trailing 6-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Kevin Thornton blocked an Alabama State punt, and Jermaine Clemmons recovered for UAPB at the Hornets’ 31.

The Golden Lions reached the 8 on a pass interference call, but settled for a 26-yard field goal by Brodie Heflin that cut the deficit to 6-3 with 11: 18 left.

Special teams also set up UAPB’s go-ahead touchdown. After Alabama State punter Jeremy Fetterhoff failed to field a snap from center, Aldridge Marion recovered for the Golden Lions at the Hornets’ 8.

Quarterback Johnathan Moore scored two plays later on a 7-yard keeper, and Heflin added the extra point to give the Golden Lions a 10-6 advantage with 9: 10 remaining.

Alabama State was turned away on the ensuing possession but cashed in when the game was on the line with a 10-play, 49-yard drive that ended with Ragsdale’s touchdown reception.

“I couldn’t see it from my vantage point, but I understand it was a great catch,” Forte said. “We were able to get mileage from our special teams, and they gave us a couple of opportunities to score.

“ I just look at us as trying to get better. The offensive line is getting better but not as fast as I’d like to see. We’re a struggling offensive football team right now.”

UAPB gave up 187 yards of total offense in the first half but only spotted the Hornets a 6-0 halftime lead.

Alabama State scored with 18. 8 seconds left in the first half when Chris Mitchell threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Darius Mathis to cap an 11-play, 77-yard drive.

Jay Peck had seven carries for 48 yards on the drive, which was kept alive when the Golden Lions were flagged for pass interference on a third-and-4 play from the UAPB 23.

Fetterhoff’s extra-point attempt was blocked by Ledarius Anthony to set the 6-0 halftime margin.

Alabama State’s only other legitimate scoring threat came on the game’s opening possession. Mitchell completed a 48-yard flea-flicker pass to Darius Mathis at the UAPB 22, but the Golden Lions took over on downs four plays later after three running plays netted zero yardage.

Moore, who was making only his third career start, engineered an impressive opening drive for the Golden Lions. Moore completed 3 of 5 passes for 41 yards as UAPB drove inside the Hornets’ 35, but the Golden Lions got no farther.

UAPB threatened midway through the second quarter after Thornton intercepted Mitchell at the Alabama State 46, but the Golden Lions came away empty when Heflin was wide left on a 40-yard field-goal attempt with 3: 32 remaining.

UAPB Golden Lions drop a frustrating Arkansas Classic

By Mike Marzelli, Pine Bluff Commercial

Hard to swallow

Arkansas-Pine Bluff can't help but feel like it got robbed in Saturday night's Arkansas Classic.

The Golden Lions' defense appeared to do enough to outlast Alabama State in what amounted to a war of attrition between the two teams, but two questionable penalties led to the Hornets' only two scores of the night as UAPB dropped a 12-10 heartbreaker before 10,012 at Golden Lions Stadium.

After 'Bama State's second score gave it the lead with 41 seconds to play, the Lions had a chance to get in position for a potential game-winning field goal after taking over on their own 35-yard line with 33 seconds left. Quarterback Johnathan Moore took off on a 27-yard scamper on the first play and crossed the ASU 40-yard line but had the ball popped out of his hands from behind and the Hornets recovered to ice the game.

Still, it was the two plays UAPB (1-2 1-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference) had no control over — a pass interference call that gave Alabama State a 1st-and-goal at the end of the first half and a holding call that gave the Hornets the same scenario at the end of the game - that had the Lions steamed after the game.

The second of the two calls came with Alabama State (3-0 2-0 SWAC) down 10-6 and facing a 3rd-and-11 from the 20-yard line with under a minute to play. A pass from quarterback Chris Mitchell fell incomplete in the end zone but a late flag came in after the play for holding away from the play, giving State a 1st-and-goal from the 10-yard line instead of a fourth down scenario.

Four plays later, Mitchell floated a ball down the left sideline for receiver Fred Ragsdale, who dove into the end zone with arms outstretched and made a spectacular catch just over the goal line for what proved to be the winning touchdown.

"I'll tell you what, there were some calls that were questionable," Forte said. "It's unfortunate because I never want to make excuses for anything but you can't help but be upset about the type of calls that were made.

"I don't question the catch, [Ragsdale] made a great catch. It's the things after the catch that I question."

Forte spent the final minute of the contest in the ear of referee Keith Moore and headed straight to the locker room once the final horn sounded. He wasn't the only UAPB coach who was peeved.

"The last call was the worst call I've seen in football in a long time," UAPB defensive coordinator Monte Coleman said. "The guy who called it was 40 yards from the play and he came in two seconds after it was over and threw a flag for something that wasn't even a factor in the play.

"It hurts that they made a call like that on something that was so insignificant."

The first questionable call came with under 30 seconds to play in the first half on a ball that was severely overthrown near the goal line by Mitchell but drew a flag for pass interference. The result was another 1st-and-goal for the Hornets, who capitalized when Mitchell hit Darius Mathis with an 11-yard touchdown pass that gave ASU a 6-0 lead at halftime.

That was how the score remained until UAPB's special teams did what its struggling offense couldn't. The Lions capitalized on a bad snap from center on an ASU punt deep in its own territory when Marion Alridge fell on the ball at the Hornets' 9-yard line early in the fourth quarter.

Two plays later Moore found the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown run to give the Lions a 7-6 lead. UAPB then added a 26-yard Brodie Heflin field goal early in the fourth quarter that looked like it would stand up at the time.

Nonetheless, UAPB's struggling offense put all the pressure on the defense to make it stand up, which put the Lions in position to be affected by outside sources. Moore, who was making his first start of the season, finished just 8-of-25 for 83 yards as the offense managed just 159 total yards. Running backs Martell Mallett and Mickey Dean combined to carry 20 times for 34 yards.

"We're still a struggling offensive football team and we're not getting better as fast as I'd like," Forte said. "Johnathan fell victim to the offensive line again and we just couldn't sustain anything. Our defense played an outstanding game and our special teams were excellent so it's frustrating to not be able to have anything to show for it."

UAPB returns to action next Saturday in a non-conference game at Southern Illinois.

Football Championship Subdivision report

Beck Cross, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

UAPB Moore to start Junior quarterback Johnathan Moore, who came on in relief of senior starter Chris Wallace and threw two touchdown passes in last week’s 21-3 victory at Alcorn State, will start Saturday against Alabama State at Golden Lion Stadium. Wallace, the preseason Southwestern Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, has not practiced this week and likely will not play Saturday because of a bout with the flu. “He [Wallace ] has been sick all week and I didn’t let him practice this week and he’s not going to play this week,” UAPB Coach Mo Forte said. “He’s had the flu and has been coughing... It’s exhaustion and his body is just run down.”

Saturday will mark Moore’s third career start. He started last year’s SWAC championship game against Alabama A&M and led the Golden Lions to a 7-6 halftime advantage before Wallace entered the game in the second half. UAPB lost 22-13.

“I feel good with Johnathan,” Forte said. “He’s been waiting for his opportunity and he has talent and skills. I’m looking forward to seeing him manage this football team.” Defense shines

UAPB’s offense has struggled in its first two games, but there’s no complaining about the defense’s play under coordinator Monte Coleman.

UAPB’s defense leads the SWAC, yielding only 190. 5 yards per game and also boasts the top run defense, which is giving up 23 yards per game.

Junior end Ledarious Anthony, who was named the SWAC’s defensive player of the week, has 19 total tackles and leads the conference with 1 3 / 2 sacks. Mental block ?

Alabama State remains the only team in the SWAC that UAPB has yet to beat in three seasons under Coach Mo Forte.

In fact, the Hornets have beaten the Golden Lions in four consecutive matchups and six out of the past seven, capped by last year’s 31-13 victory in Montgomery, Ala. It marked the most lopsided loss of the season for UAPB, which went on to win the West Division title.

Alabama State, which was picked in preseason to finish third in the East Division, could be the surprise team of the conference. The Hornets are 2-0 with victories against perennial power Jacksonville State (24-19 ) and at Texas Southern (21-10 ). UAPB to honor 10

UAPB will add 10 members to its sports hall of fame at its annual banquet tonight at the Junior League Building in Little Rock.

Those being inducted former football and basketball Coach Charles “Pop” Spearman, football standout Allie Freeman, former Little Rock Hall Coach Oliver Elders, former NFL player Caesar Belser, track standout Aaron Harris, All-SWAC basketball player Jesse Mason, Jr., former Little Rock Hall football Coach Roy Wade, women’s basketball players Helen Hughes-Smith and Susan Weaver-Vasser and 1996 Olympic trials participant Demetrica Hayes-Thomas.

UAPB Golden Lions AD sets goals high

BY BECK CROSS, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

PINE BLUFF — Louis “Skip” Perkins has been on the job for just over a month as Arkansas-Pine Bluff ’s athletic director, but there’s little doubt he has the program moving in the right direction.

Perkins, 35, who is one of the youngest athletic directors in NCAA Division I, is engaging and infectious when he talks about his goals for the UAPB athletic program.

Perkins took over for Craig Curry, whose three-year contract was not renewed in June by UAPB Chancellor Lawrence Davis.

“My immediate goals are fundraising and bringing all sports on campus,” said Perkins, who signed a three-year contract with UAPB. “But one of my major goals is to win a SWAC [Southwestern Athletic Conference ] championship. It’s been over 30 years since we’ve won a SWAC title in any sport and that’s going to change. We’ve been ninth and 10 th, respectively, in a lot of sports and that’s not good enough. We’re going to install a winning attitude here.”

Perkins’ first order of business was making the football schedule more fan accessible. He was aghast when he learned the defending West Division champion Golden Lions were playing only three games in Pine Bluff and one in Little Rock.

Lewis, who vowed the Golden Lions will play no fewer than five in-state games a year in his tenure, immediately went to work to put Central Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello on next year’s schedule. UAPB has a two-year deal to play UCA at War Memorial Stadium and a three-year deal to play UAM at Golden Lion Stadium.

This year, UAPB plays its two nonconference opponents — Southern Illinois and New Mexico State — on the road.

“This was an easy fix for me,” Perkins said. “I know what a paid game is and what a classic is, and the games on this [2007 ] schedule wouldn’t be considered either of those two. Southern Illinois is a home-and-home agreement and by the time we pay all of the bills from going to New Mexico State, we’re coming home with nothing. We’re better off playing at home and we’ve added two in-state rivals that everybody’s going to love to be a part of.”

Perkins also fits the bill as a strong fundraiser. Before taking the UAPB job, he was an assistant athletic director at his alma mater, North Carolina Central, and spearheaded a drive that raised more than $ 1. 8 million in a fiscal year.

“The reason that’s so special is because we have so much competition,” Perkins said. “There’s Duke, there’s North Carolina, there’s North Carolina State and everybody is going after the same person [for fundraising ].

“ Some of it was not taking no for an answer but a lot of it was asking. We just didn’t ask before. It’s simple as that. Raising funds is my No. 1 priority at UAPB and we’re the only shop in town. Some progress has been made but I’m ready to take it to the next level.”

Perkins heard about the UAPB vacancy in July and was immediately interested.

“I heard that they were looking for someone who could raise some funds and someone who had energy,” Perkins said. “I thought I had what they needed so I immediately applied.”

Davis agreed after bringing Perkins in for an interview.

“We brought him down and let him meet the appropriate people and his background in fundraising, his contacts and his energy made him very attractive to us,” Davis said. “We have great anticipation and we’re very optimistic about our future under his leadership.”

Perkins also has the endorsement of head football Coach Mo Forte, who has done his part to bring excitement to the athletic program by leading the Golden Lions to their first SWAC West Division title in 2006.

“The time I’ve been around him he is enthusiastic and he has a lot of energy,” Forte said. “I think he’s going to be able to go out and raise money, which is what they brought him in here to do. He’s got a good personality and I think he’s going to do a good job.”

Perkins insisted the UAPB job isn’t a stepping stone.

“This community is wonderful and my wife and I can’t go anywhere without someone stopping us and telling us how glad they are we’re here and that we can do it,” Perkins said. “I don’t know how much higher I can go because I’m an athletic director in the SWAC conference. I’m embedded in this community and I’m here for the long run. I want to win a SWAC championship and then I want to compete for the all-SWAC trophy, and that’s going to take time. We’re going to have continuity.”

Moore to start for UAPB Golden Lions

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!!