UAPB RALLIES in second half for victory.
SWAC UAPB 23, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE 10
PINE BLUFF — The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff didn’t get off to the fast start it was hoping for against Morehouse College on Saturday night, but the end result more than made up for it.
The Golden Lions scored 23 unanswered points in the second half to knock off the Maroon Tigers 23-10 at Golden Lion Stadium.
KeShawn Williams ran 17 times for 128 yards and 1 touchdown for UAPB (1-0), which scored 17 points in the third quarter to erase a 10-point deficit and win its season opener for the first time since beating Langston 17-14 in 2012.
“I told the team earlier in the week that you can’t get two victories until you get one,” UAPB Coach Monte Coleman said. “We had some good plays on special teams and had some stops on defense when we needed them. Of course, we’ve got some things that we need to shore up, but it was a great overall team victory for us, and it feels good to get that first one out of the way.”
The Golden Lions finished with 344 yards of offense, but they can thank their defense for putting an end to an eight-game losing streak. Morehouse (0-1) moved the ball effectively in the opening half but was shut down over the final two quarters. The Maroon Tigers finished with 279 yards of offense but had just 74 after halftime. They crossed midfield twice in the second half, and both were the result of turnovers.
“It got a lot tougher for us in the second half,” Morehouse Coach Rich Freeman said. “We missed two field goals in the first half that should’ve given us six points. But we had two crucial personal fouls penalties in the second half that kept drives alive for [UAPB], and I think those ultimately changed the momentum of the game.
“But you’ve gotta give [UAPB] credit. They played well on defense, particularly in the second half, and did the things they needed to do to win.”
UAPB had four sacks in the second half and forced two turnovers in the fourth quarter to put away the Maroon Tigers, who ran out of steam midway through the third quarter.
UAPB failed to generate much offense in the first half. The Golden Lions punted on four of their six possessions and turned the ball over on the other two, including an interception by quarterback Brandon Duncan on their final drive of the half. But UAPB’s defense allowed Morehouse to get into the end zone just once despite giving up chunks of yardage on several occasions.
“Part of our defensive philosophy is to bend but don’t break,” Coleman said. “It could have been devastating had they punched those scores in. We held them to one field goal out of the times they got into the red zone. That was huge for us because turnovers put us in bad spots at times.”
GREAT AMERICAN SW OKLAHOMA STATE 20, ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO 19
MONTICELLO — Southwestern Oklahoma State blocked a field goal with :06 left and escaped with a 20-19 victory over Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday night at Cotton Boll Stadium.
Southwestern grabbed the lead with 6:23 to play when Zach Hill hauled in a 22-yard scoring pass from Tyler Marr. The Bulldogs missed a two-point conversion attempt to keep the score at 20-19.
Arkansas-Monticello’s final drive started at its own 38 with 2:09 remaining. The Boll Weevils drove to the Bulldogs’ 15-yard line but Josh Marini’s 32-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.
Marini kicked field goals of 36 and 22 yards in the first half.