Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Golden Lions snap seven-game losing skid
PINE BLUFF — This was the moment the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff went weeks without, and a freshman cornerback made sure it didn’t get past the Golden Lions again.
Just moments after giving up a 40-yard completion on Grambling State’s final possession and allowing a touchdown on an earlier drive, Andre Fuller picked off a deflected pass and sprinted 95 yards to the Tigers 1 with 1:21 left, allowing UAPB to run out the clock and break a seven-game slide with a 33-26 victory Saturday before 6,129 at Simmons Bank Field.
“I was like, the ball’s in my hands, and here’s my big chance to make a play and make up for my mistake,” said Fuller, who corralled his third interception of the year and first since Oct. 9 at Alabama State.
Playing on a nearly depleted secondary that was missing the likes of seniors Jalon Thigpen and Paul Reeves to injuries, Fuller saw the game as an opportunity to step up further and credited his teammates with motivating him.
“It really doesn’t matter who we play, whether it’s Grambling or Arkansas, I’m still going to try to play my best,” Fuller said. “What brought it out this game was my teammates. JT [Thigpen] and [Nathan] Seward ain’t playing, so I was like, I can step up since I’m the only starter left in the secondary. I’ve got to step up and play for them.”
UAPB ( 2-7, 1-5 Southwestern Athletic Conference) hadn’t won since Sept. 4 when it defeated Lane College in the season opener and had to keep from letting a 24-9 lead against Grambling (3-6, 2-4) evaporate.
Just a week earlier, UAPB had been blown out 59-17 at Texas Southern.
“The only thing I talked about last week, I didn’t want to see that team again,” said UAPB Coach Doc Gamble, who criticized the Lions’ energy level after that loss. “I didn’t know those guys who went down to Texas last week. That wasn’t us. Even the stumbles we had early on, that team wasn’t our team. The team you saw today, that’s the group that I know. Resilient, they’re going to play tough. … I don’t want to meet any new guys. I want to be around the guys I’m with every single day.”
The Tigers, who have lost two straight, pulled within 27-24 after Greg White got past Fuller on a 42-yard touchdown reception from John-Paul Pierce with 6:42 remaining.
Skyler Perry, who ran 67 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter, opened the Lions’ next drive with a 34-yard sprint down to the Tigers’ 33 and scored on a 3-yard run six plays later to put the Lions ahead 33-24. Grambling made it a one-possession game after Kenan Fontenot returned the blocked extra-point attempt for two points.
Pierce checked in in the second quarter after starter Aldon Clark completed just 1 of 5 passes for 4 yards. He threw for 40 yards to White and 23 yards to Donald Johnson III down to the UAPB 19.
The next play, Fuller redeemed himself. The ball bounced off the intended receiver and into Fuller’s hands.
“He gave up a play, and it was good to see him bounce back,” Gamble said. “When you’re playing defensive back, you have to have a short memory. He didn’t let the previous touchdown affect the next series. The next time he went out there, he did well.”
The Lions did what they struggled in their skid and finished red-zone drives while overcoming mistakes to win. They fell behind 2-0 after Grambling’s Myron Stewart blocked a Josh Sanchez punt out of the end zone on the opening possession. Forcing the Tigers three-and-out on their first series, Zack Piwniczka kicked a 37-yard field goal, his first of two on the day, to put the Lions ahead, 3-2.
That lead held through the end of the first quarter, the first time the Lions led after a period since Sept. 23 against Alcorn State, when they were ahead 32-26 through the third in a 39-38 loss.
Tyrin Ralph – playing his first game since Sept. 23 — muffed a punt and Grambling set up Clark’s 6-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers a 9-3 lead.
Perry, who went 11 for 22 for 163 yards, threw a 43-yard scoring pass to Josh Wilkes after scooping up a dropped flea-flicker toss from running back Kierre Crossley with 2: 52 before halftime to give UAPB a 17-9 lead.
Perry bolted 67 yards on UAPB’s first play of the second half for its largest lead of the game. Neither team scored until Pierce snuck into the end zone to finish an 11-play, 78-yard drive.
Piwniczka pushed through his second field goal of the game from 35 yards out to make it 27-16. Grambling then went 75 yards in 13 plays, with White’s touchdown catch and C.J. Russell’s two-point rush pulling the Tigers within three.