Coleman turns eye to Akron

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Coach Monte Coleman had a good reason to smile after the Golden Lions came from behind to beat Morehouse College 23- 10 last Saturday night in Pine Bluff.

The Golden Lions’ victory was their first in a seasonopening game in five years, and a time for cheer, but Coleman said Wednesday that his smile had faded considerably since then.

“We’ve got to keep it moving, got to put that one behind us,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, we celebrated. It was a huge win for us because we beat a very good football team.

“We won just one game all last season, so we’ve tied our win total after just one game. Now, we’ve got to build on that momentum. The season doesn’t end for us after one game.”

UAPB trailed 3- 0 at the half and 10- 0 in the third quarter against Morehouse, but it scored 23 consecutive point second- half points to pull away.

The team was still giddy Tuesday when they returned to practice, which eventually had to be moved indoors because of heavy rain that moved through the area, but Coleman said UAPB was still able to get in some good work in preparation for FBS opponent Akron on Saturday.

“The guys were focused and flying around,” Coleman said. “They’ve got a good taste in their mouths right now.”

Coleman said he is well aware that the Golden Lions will need to get off to a faster start against an Akron team that’s coming off a 52- 0 loss to No. 4 Penn State. The Zips had 159 yards of total offense while giving up nearly 600.

“They’ll be mad, that’s for sure,” Coleman said of Akron. “Penn State kind of stuck it to them. But Akron’s a good football team.

“They’re well- coached, and they’ve got talented players, but we can’t be intimidated. We’ve got to get off to a better start and stick to our game plan because we’re going up there to pull off the upset.”