UAPB ends season on a familiar note

Another competitive game, another agonizing loss for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Texas Southern got a punishing effort from its defense in the second half and an efficient effort from junior running back Brad Woodard to beat the Golden Lions 24-10 in their season finale on a windy Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Woodard ran 27 times for 129 yards and 1 touchdown for Texas Southern (2-8, 2-4 SWAC), which had lost seven of its eight games before outlasting the Golden Lions for the third consecutive season. Backup quarterback Elijah Odom added 96 yards on 12 carries while running back Tylor Cook finished with 63 yards on 15 carries.

In all, the Tigers finished with 319 yards of offense, but it was their defense that made the difference.

Texas Southern forced three turnovers and held UAPB (2-9, 1-6) to 171 yards, including just 50 in the second half. The Golden Lions, who had five of their seven league games decided by seven points or less, were down just 14-10 at halftime but couldn’t move the chains in the final two quarters. That allowed Woodard, Odom and Cook to chew up chunks of yards on the ground, and UAPB couldn’t catch up

“We knew Texas Southern was going to run the football,” UAPB Coach Monte Coleman said. “They were running power, and we just couldn’t stop it. Then they would fake it, and [Odom] would run it on the draw.

“It wasn’t anything that we hadn’t seen or practiced. But by them stymieing our offense, it gave them a lot of momentum.”

The Golden Lions were without several key offensive starters, including running back KeShawn Williams. The junior, who came in as the fourth-leading rusher in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, suffered a torn ACL in the team’s loss at Prairie View A&M a week ago.

UAPB was also forced to go with fourth-string quarterback Roger Totten after last week’s starter, Marcus Terrell, was out with a torn quad muscle. Regular starting quarterback LeEarl Patterson was lost for the season after separating his shoulder against Southern on Oct. 28, and his backup, Brandon Duncan, went down the next week after taking a hard hit to the head against Grambling State.

Leading wide receiver Tyrin Ralph was also on the sidelines because of a muscle tear in his foot, but Coleman didn’t use missing personnel as an excuse.

“It’s always next man up,” he said. “The thing I’m trying to teach them is that when adversity comes, you take advantage of it. We had a lot of guys out, but we expect the next guy to come with it.

“When the injuries started piling up, they could’ve quit, but they didn’t. They continued to play hard, and [Saturday] was no different.”

With wind gusts of up to 35 mph, Totten wasn’t asked to pass the ball downfield

much, but the redshirt sophomore did guide the Golden Lions to scores on two of their four first-half possessions. He didn’t attempt a pass until the 11:27 mark of the second quarter and finished 7 of 10 for 39 yards and an interception while rushing for 39 yards.

UAPB got a 30-yard field from Jamie Gillan to take a 3-0 lead on its opening possession, but Texas Southern scored on back-to-back 75yard drives to jump ahead. Woodard scored on a 1-yard dive to end an 11-play series with 3:01 left in the first quarter, and Odom scored on a 12yard run to finish a four-play march with 12:28 to go in the second quarter for a 14-3 lead.

The Golden Lions countered as running back Dante McDonald’s 2-yard touchdown run completed a 14play, 66-yard drive to pull UAPB to within four at the half.

Aaron Cuevas pushed Texas Southern’s lead to 17-10 with his 23-yard goal with 4:53 remaining in the third quarter, but the Tigers essentially sent UAPB to a seventh consecutive loss on the Golden Lions’ next drive.

McDonald fumbled after being hit hard by Texas Southern linebacker Julian Marcantel. The ball was recovered by defensive back Dallas Blaylock, and the Tigers cashed in on the next play with Odom delivering a 25-yard touchdown strike to tight end Mario Smalls.

“It’s been tough,” Coleman said. “It’s been a hard season for us. Opportunities were there all year, and we had our chances in this one. A touchdown here, a touchdown there … it was tough. But I told the guys afterwards that I love them, and that I’m proud of them.

“This season is over with, but now, the focus goes to building for next year. We’ll build off the good things we were able to do and remove the bad. We’ll move forward and come back better.”

Texas Southern ...... 7 7 10 0— 24 Ark.-Pine Bluff ....... 3 7 0 0— 10 First Quarter

ARPB—FG Gillan 30, 9:21. TXSO—Woodard 1 run (Cuevas kick), 3:01. Second Quarter

TXSO—Odom 12 run (Cuevas kick), 12:28. ARPB—McDonald 2 run (Gillan kick), 5:26.

Third Quarter

TXSO—FG Cuevas 23, 4:53. TXSO—Smalls 25 pass from Odom (Cuevas kick), 4:25.