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August 2006 Football
| Weevils Drop
Heartbreaker To Southern Arkansas |
| August 26, 2006 |
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MAGNOLIA, AR
--- The Southern Arkansas Muleriders capped a 11-play, 69-yard
drive with a 25-yard touchdown strike from Josh SanFilippo to
Mario Coleman with 1:09 remaining in the fourth quarter to
escape the season opener with an 18-15 victory over the
University of Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils (0-1) on
Saturday night at Panther Stadium in Magnolia.
The
Muleriders opened scoring in the first quarter as Josh
SanFilippo scored on a four-yard run to give SAU a 7-0 lead with
34 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
The Boll
Weevils broke through in the second quarter as Dakota
Fitzgerald (Sr., Kentwood, La.) punched through the
offensive line with a two-yard run with 8:56 remaining in the
second half. The Weevils’ extra point attempt sailed wide left,
and the Weevils went into the half trailing 7-6.
The Weevils
took a 9-7 lead in the third quarter as Ryan Guardia
(So., Hurly, Miss.) booted a 23-yard field goal with 9:52
remaining.
SAU
reclaimed the lead with a 27-yard field goal by David Korff with
14:26 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Weevils struck
back immediately as Tim Harris (Jr., Kansas City, Mo.)
hauled in a 25-yard touchdown strike from Elijah McDonald
(So., Morton, Miss.) to put the Weevils ahead 15-10 with 10:05
remaining.
The
Weevils’ defense seemed to have the SAU offense in check as the
two teams traded punts, but a costly third-down interception
gave SAU the ball with just over three minutes left, leading to
the game-winning strike.
The Weevils
had one final chance, but on first down the SAU defense stepped
up big once again, hauling in an interception on first down to
seal the Mulerider victory.
John L.
Williams (Jr., Gainesville, Fla.) racked up 43 yards rushing on 20 carries, while
Delvin Shipp (So., Wilmar, Ark.) added 25 yards on nine
carries.
McDonald
was 6-of-16 passing for 133 yards and one touchdown in the loss,
while Harris hauled in three passes for 89 yards.
Jeremy
Brown (So., Kentwood, La.) led the UAM defense with five tackles.
The Boll
Weevils will be off next week, returning to action on Saturday,
September 9 as they travel to Huntsville, Texas to take on Sam
Houston State. A 6 p.m. kickoff is scheduled.
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| Weevils Set
To Open 2006 Season Against Southern Arkansas |
| August 21, 2006 |
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MONTICELLO --- The University of
Arkansas at Monticello Boll Weevils football team will open the
2006 football season on Saturday, August 26, with a 6 p.m.
kickoff against Southern Arkansas at Panther Stadium on the
campus of Magnolia High School.
SAU began renovations of Wilkins Stadium after the conclusion of
the 2005 season, including replacing the natural grass playing
surface with artificial turf; however, the surface will not be
ready in time for Saturday’s game, forcing the move to the
natural grass surface at Panther Stadium.
“That will make a big difference,” said Boll Weevils head coach
Gwaine Mathews. “It’s always hotter on a turf field than it is
on a grass field so that’s probably going to help both teams.”
“When you go out there wearing 22 pounds of equipment and the
heat index is 109 degrees, the body can break down quick.”
The quarterback position has been one of the biggest questions
for the UAM coaching staff throughout both spring and fall
practice, but this last week Mathews placed the starting
quarterback duties squarely on the shoulders of Elijah
McDonald (So., Morton, Mississippi), while J.C. Ross
(Fr., Crossett, Arkansas) will start the season as backup.
“McDonald is our guy,” said Mathews. “Elijah looks the part.
He’s 6-2, 190 pounds, he’s running better, but he’s got to
learn. He may seem tentative but he’s still a young kid. He’s
throwing the ball a lot better. He’s finding his receivers and
looks good.”
Returning to start at tailback is John L. Williams (Jr.,
Gainesville, Fla.), who earned second team All-Gulf South
Conference honors last season after providing the lion’s share
of the UAM offense.
“John L. is hitting on all cylinders right now,” said Mathews.
“He’s gained a little weight. Last year he was a little on the
light side, but he’s bulked up and has been looking good.”
Williams’ backup is a pleasant surprise to Mathews, as former
Monticello High School standout Delvin Shipp (So., Wilmar,
Ark.) has stepped up to claim the role as Williams’ backup.
“Delvin is still out of shape,” said Mathews. “But, he wasn’t
even on the team at the start of fall practice. He did what it
took to get eligible, came out, and has worked hard. He’s got a
great attitude.”
While Mathews has seen great strides out of his offense, Mathews
is most pleased about the changes on the defensive side.
“You may not recognize any of these players, because up until a
couple weeks ago I didn’t recognize any of them,” said Mathews.
“It’s a whole new bunch.”
Mathews will look to his defensive line to set the tone for a
unit that he hopes will strike fear into the hearts of opposing
offenses.
Brandon Mayweather (Sr., Crossett, Ark.) and Maurice
Sevelo (Sr., Kaneohe, Hawaii) return to the gridiron for the
first time since the 2004 season, and will be joined by Division
I transfer Ricky Miller (Jr., Tustin, Calif.) and
redshirt freshman Ronnard Toney (Fr., Marshall, Texas).
“These guys up front are something special,” said Mathews.
“Mayweather has come to play this summer and has worked his tail
off. He may have a shot to go on and play after his college days
are over. Mo (Sevelo) has been a pleasant surprise. He’s as
physical as can be.”
“Ronnard Toney, is pretty dog-gone quick,” said Mathews. “He’s a
redshirt freshman and I think he’ll be in our lineup for four
years. Ricky Miller, our Division I transfer from Fresno state,
he came in ready to work and he has adapted well.”
Even more satisfying for Mathews is that he feels he can go
two-deep at all of the defensive line positions.
“I’ve never had a line this deep,” said Mathews. “Backing those
guys up, there’s no dropoff. Even at Delta State in 2000, we had
the top defense in the conference, but I never had eight. We
have that this year.”
If anything, the summer practices have given Mathews an
optimistic outlook towards the future.
“Football at the University of Arkansas at Monticello is alive
and well,” said Mathews. “We had 110 people come out, and if we
had more locker room space, we could have had even more. People
are wanting to come play football at UAM.”
But despite the temptation to look ahead, Mathews knows his next
big test will come on Saturday, as his team faces their first
challenge of the 2006 season against a traditionally very
talented Southern Arkansas squad.
“From reading coach (Steve) Quinn’s comments, it sounds like
they have the best running back situation they’ve had since he’s
been there, both in number and in quality,” said Mathews. “They
have both quarterbacks back. Defensively, they’ve got two
all-conference, all-region defensive backs, but they look small
up front. They’re definitely good, but I feel pretty good. Our
defensive line is not getting pushed around. I don’t care who we
go against.”
“They just beat the fool out of us last year,” added Mathews.
“We just couldn’t stop them. We were able to score early but we
couldn’t get a first down in the second half. But like I’ve said
before, that was last year. It’ll be different on Saturday.”
The game will be broadcast live on KWRF-FM (105.5) in Warren and
KXFE-FM (106.9) in Dumas, and will be carried over the internet
at www.uamsports.com.
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Quarterback Position
Still Up For Grabs As Weevils Continue Fall Practice |
| August 14, 2006 |
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MONTICELLO
--- As fall practice continues, the quarterback position remains a
question for University of
Arkansas at Monticello head football coach
Gwaine Mathews.
“Right now, I’d
have to say Elijah McDonald is our starter,” said Mathews. “Our
scrimmage on Saturday was not a good way to judge him. He was sacked
13 times. Had it been a real game, he would not have made it all the
way to the end.”
“When he was
able to throw the ball, he was very deliberate,” said Mathews. “He
wasn’t helped by the fact that the receivers dropped a lot of key
passes. He’s got a lot to prove, but we’re not shelving him yet.
Right now, he’s our number one guy, with J.C. Ross as our backup and
Diego Dixon as our #3 guy.
Mathews remains
cautious when discussing his team’s improvement through two-a-days,
but is most optimistic when it comes to his defensive line. “Our
front four are really going to be something,” said Mathews. “Our
defensive line created over 100 lost yards by sacks in the
scrimmage, stopped 13 rushes for lost yards, and in the entire
118-snap scrimmage, our defense did not allow a single touchdown.”
The linebacking
corps has also drawn praise from Mathews.
“The five guys
that we will be able to put in the middle – Mike Fox, Wes Ables,
Jeremy Brown, Moe Parson-Cade, and Corrie Ross, have all played well
so far. I’m looking for big things out of them.”
But while
Mathews remains optimistic about the team’s defensive effort so far,
he still worries about one thing: whether the defense is as good as
they’ve played, or if they’ve played well against an offensive unit
that has been hobbled by injury.
“It’s too early
for me to tell whether our defense is that good or if our offense
just isn’t playing well,” said Mathews. “On our offensive line,
we’re missing Odell Brown, Joe Wilson, and Tony Stallworth, three of
our starters. If we get them back we’ll be okay. If not, we’re
lining up five guys who haven’t played one snap of college football
on the offensive line.”
One area of the
team’s play that has improved significantly from the beginning of
fall drills is the placekicking, as newcomer Ryan Guardia and
returner Nick Green battle for the starting spot.
“It’s
deadlocked there right now,” said Mathews. “Both guys were 4-for-5
this morning in field goals. Green probably has the lead on kickoff
duties because he’s had better distance and height, but time will
tell. It’s a day-to-day race. Whoever kicks the best is going to be
our guy.”
The Weevils
will conduct their final public scrimmage of fall practice on
Friday, August 18, at 10 a.m. “It’s going to be very situational,”
said Mathews. “Anything that can go on during a game, we’ve got it
scripted into the scrimmage. We’ve got around 80 scenarios that we
will try to squeeze into a three-hour game. We have to be very
efficient in planning it. It will put a lot of pressure on our
assistant coaches to be efficient.”
The Weevils
open the 2007 season on Saturday, August 26, facing
Southern Arkansas in a
non-conference matchup in Magnolia. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
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Weevils Open
Fall Football
Drills |
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August 7, 2006 |
MONTICELLO --- 110 players, highlighted by returning all-Gulf
South Conference running back John L. Williams (Jr.,
Gainesville, Fla.) and pre-season All-Americans Scott Carpino
(Sr., Paragould, Ark.) and Anthony Rodriguez (Sr.,
Franklin, La.) reported for fall drills in advance of the 2006
football season, according to University of Arkansas at Monticello
head football coach Gwaine Mathews.
“This team is in the best physical condition of any team I have ever
been associated with,” said Mathews. “We only had five players
report that were not able to pass our conditioning test, and two of
them were linemen that weigh over 350 pounds. I’m very happy with
what I’ve seen so far.”
Mathews is most pleased with what he has seen out of his defensive
line. Redshirt freshman Ronnard Toney (Fr., Marshall, Texas)
joins a pair of big-name returners – Brandon Mayweather (Sr.,
Crossett, Ark.), who did not play last year to concentrate on
basketball, and Maurice Sevelo (Sr., Kaneohe, Hawaii), who
also has not played since the 2004 season. Mathews also added
Division I transfer Ricky Miller (Jr., Tustin, Calif.) from
Fresno State in June to further bolster the defensive line.
“I truly believe that when it’s all said and done, we’ll have one of
the top two defensive lines in the entire Gulf South Conference,”
said Mathews. Ronnard (Toney) is even bigger than he’s listed,
Miller and Sevelo are great additions, and Mayweather can definitely
be a force.”
On the offensive side of the ball, John L. Williams found himself as
the team’s primary offensive option in 2005, earning second team
All-GSC honors along the way. This year, Williams returns as the
clear-cut favorite to start at tailback, but Mathews is more
concerned about finding Williams’ backup.
“We’ve got four guys competing for that spot,” said Mathews.
“They’re going to have to establish themselves quickly.”
Last year the punting and quarterbacking duties were handled by
jack-of-all-trades Anthony Rodriguez, who gives up his
signal-calling responsibilities this season in exchange for a
starting wide receiver’s position in addition to his punting
responsibilities. “A-Rod is going to start for us at wideout,” said
Mathews, “and I hope he has enough leg to punt.”
Additionally, Rodriguez will serve as one of three team captains
elected by the team, alongside Sevelo and offensive lineman Odell
Brown (Sr., West Memphis, Ark.).
Still, the quarterback position remains a big question mark for the
Weevils. “Our quarterbacks just aren’t looking great,” said Mathews.
“We’ve got to cut down on the incompletions and get to be more
consistent.”
The kicking game also presented problems for the Boll Weevils last
season, but Mathews feels he has shored up the kicking game with the
addition of another Division I transfer, Ryan Guardia (So.,
Hurly, Miss.), who played the 2004 season at New Mexico State. “Ryan
has been hurt, so he’s been limited in what he’s been able to do,”
said Mathews. “Nick Green (So., Hammond, La.) hasn’t looked
his best so far, and we need him to step up as well.”
The team will conclude their first full week of practice with a
scrimmage on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at the UAM practice field behind
Bankston Hall before shifting gears from simple season preparation
to game preparation for the season opener on August 26 against
Southern Arkansas. “The reason we’ve really got to shift gears is
because SAU runs the option,” said Mathews. “We’re going to really
have to get after it this week, get our two-deep situated, and strap
it up and get ready for SAU.”
The Weevils will play their final Saturday scrimmage on August 19 at
10 a.m. on the practice field. “The last scrimmage will see us go
through some more game situations,” said Mathews. “We have to get
ready to line it up.”
While Mathews’ expectations for the 2006 season are typically high,
his colleagues in the coaching ranks do not share his optimism,
picking the Weevils to finish dead last in the 11-team league.
“Getting picked last is a little bit of an insult,” said Mathews.
“We did beat West Alabama, and we’ve gotten better this offseason.”
“We return most everyone we had last year, so I consider it to be a
little bit of an insult to me, to our coaching staff, and the entire
team,” said Mathews. “Everyone on our schedule is picked ahead of
us, but fortunately for us, the coaches’ ballots don’t determine the
final outcome of the season. We’re going to be just fine. We’re
definitely not going out there on to the field and practicing like
we’re the worst team in the league.”
“Don’t forget,” Mathews added with a grin, “Delta State was picked
seventh in the GSC in the 2000 pre-season poll and went on to win
the national championship. Anything can happen.”
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ARCHIVED RELEASES
August 2006
Summer 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
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