Lions put 1-10 year in the past

For the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, the 2017 season couldn’t arrive soon enough.

The Golden Lions endured a nightmarish 2016, and they’re ready to put it behind them. They were shut out by Tennessee State 44-0 in their season opener, suffered injury after injury along the offensive line and never gelled consistently as a group.

UAPB won one game in Southwestern Athletic Conference play, and its 1-10 overall record was its worst since 1986. The Golden Lions’ lone victory came against then-defending SWAC champion Alcorn State 45-43 in three overtimes during Week 3, but the team lost every game after that by at least 12 points, including a 70-0 thrashing at Grambling State.

Senior quarterback Brandon Duncan said there was some good to come out of last year’s struggles and vowed that fans will see a much different team this year, beginning Saturday night when UAPB hosts Morehouse College at 6 p.m. at Golden Lion Stadium.

“As we looked back, we saw that we really didn’t play much as a team, but that’s changed now,” Duncan said recently during the team’s media day. “We’ve played much more as a team, especially during fall camp, and we realize that you’ve got to be able to play through adversity.”

The Golden Lions finished near the bottom of the conference in nearly every major statistical category last season, including last in scoring offense and total defense, and were outscored 464-150. UAPB was also penalized more than any other team in the league and had a turnover margin of minus-6.

Coach Monte Coleman said he isn’t concerned about what happened in 2016, although he admitted he occasionally reminds the team about it.

“We try not to go backwards, but I have brought up that 1-10 season to the fellas,” Coleman said. “We try to rub it in a little just to let them know we can’t go down that road again. Hopefully it’s stuck in the back of their minds as well as the feelings we had after each game.”