Sports Information Director
From the start of the 2006 season, University of Arkansas at
Monticello head football coach Gwaine Mathews has maintained that his
squad has one of, if not the toughest schedule in all of Division II.
After a bruising first nine games that saw the Weevils play a pair of
Division I-AA squads as well as nationally-ranked North Alabama on the
road, the Boll Weevils will continue their tough schedule this Saturday,
as they travel to Valdosta, Georgia to face 16th-ranked Valdosta State
this Saturday at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.
The Weevils are coming off a 37-17 loss to West Alabama that left
Mathews at a loss for words.
“There’s nothing I can say about the game,” said Mathews. “I just
wish we could have played better.”
The Weevils know they have an uphill battle over the last two weeks
of the season as they try to rebound on the road against a pair of
nationally ranked teams.
Valdosta State has traditionally been one of the strongest
offensive squads in the nation, and this year the Blazers rank second in
the GSC in scoring offense (32.5 points per game), and first in passing
offense (298.2 yards per game).
Mathews hopes that the UAM defense matches up against a
traditionally high-powered Valdosta State offense that has relied on the
pass to move the ball this season. “They’re not so much a pass-oriented
team as they are a screen-oriented team,” said Mathews. “Against Delta
State, they ran screens on the first nine plays of the game. They like
to put the ball out on the perimeter.”
“They’ve got tremendous athletes on the outside, they get them the
ball, and they do what they have to do,” said Mathews. “Their first few
tries going outside they didn’t get anywhere, and then just like that
they break one for eighty-eight yards.”
Quarterback Willie Copeland is first in the GSC averaging 273.9
passing yards per game, and receivers Cedric Jones and Derek Tharpe are
first and tenth, respectively, in receiving yards per game in the Gulf
South Conference. If the Weevils can contain the tandem of Jones and
Tharpe, the matchup could swing in UAM’s favor.
“We’ve done a great job not giving up the big plays this year,”
said Mathews. “Coach (Donald) Dykes has done a great job on the back
end, and I think athletically we can match up with them.”
Saturday’s kickoff from Bazemore-Hyder Stadium is set for noon
central. The game will be broadcast live on the UAM radio network and
online at www.uamsports.com.
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