’18 season a rebuild for teams

When the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff returns to the field Saturday afternoon against Mississippi Valley State, it’ll be staring at a team in a nearly identical situation as its own.

The Delta Devils, much like the Golden Lions, are in full rebuilding mode and each has turned to a former defensive coordinator to reset their programs.

Vincent Dancy spent the past three seasons heading up Mississippi Valley State’s defense before taking over for Rick Comegy, who was fired two days after the 2017 season ended. Dancy was appointed the team’s interim coach following the firing, but the 33-year-old had that tag removed in December.

Mississippi Valley State has lost nine games in a row and 10 of its past 11 overall. The Delta Devils have been outscored 226-61 this season and are last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference in offense and next to last in defense, but UAPB Coach Cedric Thomas isn’t concerned with statistics. In his eyes, Mississippi Valley State is more than capable of giving the Golden Lions all they can handle.

“I see a ballclub that’s similar to ours,” Thomas said. “Coach [Dancy] is doing a great job in changing the culture and doing things right. If you look at the product, you can see what those young men out there are doing from a defensive standpoint, offensively and in the kicking game.

“I had a chance to recruit a lot of those kids being from Mississippi, so I know a lot about them. The record doesn’t indicate what type of football program and kids coach is dealing with. So we’ve got our hands full.”

The Golden Lions always seem to have a hard time with the Delta Devils.

For the past two seasons, Mississippi Valley State has gone into its game against UAPB winless but still found ways to walk away with victories. Last season, the Delta Devils trailed 14-0 early in the second quarter before outscoring the Golden Lions 31-10 over a 20-minute stretch to win 38-31. Needless to say, overconfidence won’t be problem for UAPB.

“We’re a 1-5 ballclub, and Valley has beaten us the last two years,” Thomas said. “How dare we look at anybody as beneath us regardless of the record? We’re not there yet.

“We just kind of do a lot of things in house and try to take care of us. You hear a lot of coaches talk about getting better down in the second half of the season, and I think that’s what we’re striving for.”