Sports
GOLDEN LIONS-GRAMBLING MEET IN MUST-WIN FOR BOTH TEAMS
By Troy Schulte/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, November 7, 2009 12:39 AM CST
If last week was about asserting itself in the middle of a Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division race for Arkansas-Pine Bluff, than this week is about nothing other than survival.
Even if the chances are slim, the Golden Lions enter today’s Delta Classic 4 Literacy at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock with a chance to represent the West in the Dec. 12 SWAC Championship Game. For that to happen though, UAPB must beat Grambling State at 1:30 p.m. today, and win the rest of its games, and be provided with some help from others around the league.
This situation was made a reality after a 24-10 loss to Southern at Golden Lion Stadium last week. So coach Monte Coleman and his players know the stakes of today’s game are simple — win, or play the final two games of the season for nothing other than pride.
“We can’t afford to lose now,” Coleman said.
Added quarterback Josh Boudreaux: “There’s no choice. You have to have a sense of urgency going into this game. It’s a do-or-die game for us.”
The Golden Lions (4-3, 2-2 SWAC) certainly have the right mindset. But, can the Golden Lions follow through against a Grambling team that’s every bit as good, if not better, than the Jaguars they lost to last week?
The defending SWAC Champion Tigers (5-3, 3-1) enter needing a win just as badly as UAPB to keep their own West hopes alive. They need to beat UAPB today, Texas Southern next week, Southern in the Bayou Classic Nov. 28 and have Prairie View A&M lose two of its remaining three games to find their way to Birmingham, Ala.
In a game that both teams need, Grambling will rely on a running game that has helped make it one of the best offenses in the league.
The Tigers are second in the SWAC in scoring offense (31 points per game), total offense (348 yard per game) and easily lead the conference in rushing yards per game (176.2) and rushing touchdowns (15).
Running backs Frank Warren and Cornelius Walker rank second and fifth in the league in rushing, respectively, and quarterback Greg Dillon rushed for 96 yards and a pair of scores in last week’s 50-7 blowout of Mississippi Valley State.
Their success comes largely from a scheme in which it runs out of spread formations, something UAPB has yet to see this year.
“They keep it spread out but we know they like to run,” free safety Kevin Thornton said. “We know we’ve got to look for the run and the pass.”
Success for UAPB, Coleman said, will come if his team reacquaints itself with an element that has been common in each of its four wins this season: creating turnovers.
For the first time in 2009 UAPB didn’t have a single takeaway last week and, in its three losses it has turned it over five more times than it has taken it away. In UAPB’s four wins, it is plus-8 in turnover margin.
“We have to,” Coleman said. “We lost the giveaway-takeaway last week and that’s something that we pride ourselves on taking.”
Turnovers are nice — the Golden lions have forced 21 of them this year — but they don’t mean a whole lot unless they can be taken advantage of. That responsibility falls in the hands of Boudreaux and an improving UAPB offense.
Boudreaux, who took over starting quarterback duties two weeks ago, has completed more than 60 percent of his passes and thrown 5 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. Those are fine numbers, but Boudreaux himself thinks it’s time he accelerates such production.
That comes from big plays — whether by passing, running or in some sort of improvisation — that can turn a close game toward the Golden Lions’ favor in a hurry.
“We need an explosive play,” Boudreaux said. “Mickey (Dean) breaking a long run, (Raymond) Webber or Remo (Gay) catching a long pass, we need some type of explosive play at some point in the football game.
“Jump ahead early and let our defense play.”
Boudreaux said playing with the SWAC’s top-rated defensive unit has certainly made the transition into the starting role a bit easier. He knows it’s not going to take scoring 40 or 50 points for a win, but rather 20 or 30.
That defense, which ranks first in the league in total defense (266.4 yard per game) and rushing defense (90.6), will be bolstered by the return of cornerback Joe Brown. The sophomore missed last week’s game after suffering a head injury in the Oct. 24 win over Edward Waters College.
His return means UAPB will be at full-strength for the first time since a Sept. 19 win over Mississippi Valley State, a game that saw Dean injure a hamstring from which he didn’t return until last week.
A Golden Lions team at full strength will play a do-or-die game in front of an expected crowd of more than 20,000 at War Memorial Stadium today and, if they win, continue their pursuit of a Western Division Title.
It’s a game, Coleman said, given the stakes, opponent and atmosphere, that doesn’t require much boasting from the coaching staff.
“There’s no motivational speech needed,” he said. “If you need to be motivated for this game, you’re in the wrong line of business.”
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