Monica looking to reverse close calls
Third in a series previewing the six Arkansas teams in the Great American Conference
RUSSELLVILLE — When Arkansas Tech University was good last season, it was really good.
The Wonder Boys weren’t all that bad in their losses, either.
The result was a betterthan-it-might-appear 8-4 season, which ended with a 48-31 loss to longtime Division II power Pittsburg State in the Agent Barry Live United Bowl on Dec. 4 in Texarkana.
Coach Raymond Monica said he doesn’t want to dwell on what happened last season, when the Wonder
Boys started out 4-0, including victories over nationally ranked Southern Arkansas and Henderson State to start the season.
Three conference defeats by a total of 12 points kept the Wonder Boys from making the Division II playoffs, losing 24-17 in the regular-season finale to Harding, and the Bisons rolled all the way to the national semifinals.
“What happened last year happened last year,” Monica said of his team, which won eight GAC games by an average of 30.2 points. “This is a whole new team.”
The Wonder Boys have to replace several key parts, specifically All-America
punter Clayton Watson; all-conference field-goal kicker Eric Perez; and quarterback Ty Reasoner, who finished the season ranked in the top five in the conference in passing yards (2,483), passing touchdowns (21) and total offense per game (238.3 yards).
Reasoner’s completion percentage of 62.3 percent in 2017 also set an Arkansas Tech single-season record.
“You got some new guys,” Monica said. “You just find out a lot when you play a game.”
Don’t get the idea that the Wonder Boys, picked to finish fourth in the GAC preseason poll, is void of talent.
There are 13 starters returning, 6 on offense and 7 on defense, from a team that had a plus-15 turnover margin and only turned the ball over 11 times in 12 games.
Running back Bryan Allen (489 carries, 2,711 rushing yards, 21 touchdowns in 3 seasons) ranks fifth among the school’s all-time leading rushers.
Allen, a senior from Forrest City, said the offense knows there is one way for the Wonder Boys to offset the loss of Watson and Perez.
“It’s simple,” he said. “Our philosophy is to score every time we touch the ball, put it in the end zone. Don’t even ask the field-goal kicker, let alone the punter.”
There will be a new quarterback, either sophomore Cale Fulsom (Russellville) or redshirt freshman Carter Burcham (Greenbrier); new starters at wide receiver — Terrez Hampton (12-222 receiving, 2 TDs) and Tremel Glasper (24-213 receiving, 1 TD); and on the interior of the offensive line.
Returning offensive tackles Trey Bradley (6-4, 270 pounds) and Cole Fristch (6-6, 322) anchor the front five, with Bradley a first-time all-conference selection last season.
The defense, which allowed an average of 12.0 points per game in Arkansas Tech’s eight victories and 38.0 in four losses, returns seven starters, led by preseason Division II All-America defensive back Cua Rose and linebacker KJ Reid, a senior from Texarkana.
The defense will be asked to hold the line if the offense sputters, something that occurred during Tuesday’s final scrimmage in preparation for next Thursday’s season opener at Southern Arkansas University.
“Right now, the defense is ahead of the offense, I know that,” Monica said.
Reid said the defense accepts the challenge of carrying the Wonder Boys, if that’s what needs to be done.
“In some instances, we didn’t finish games or start the second half as we should have,” said Reid, the GAC’s second-leading tackler last season. “We want to start out fast and finish strong, that’s going to be the big thing.”
Arkansas Tech started strong last season, beating preseason conference favorite Southern Arkansas in the opener, then whipping longtime powerhouse Henderson State on the way to a 4-0 start and a No. 11 national ranking.
A midseason blip — losing 35-31 to eventual conference champ Ouachita Baptist and 46-45 against an Arkansas-Monticello team that ended 5-6 — slowed the Wonder Boys, who won their next four before losing to Harding 24-17 in the conference finale.
“I feel like our team has the leadership, with our seniors, to overcome anything,” Reid said. “I feel like when the season starts, we’re going to lay it on the line.”