Bears get win #1

The Bears got off to a great start on both sides of the ball, jumping out to a 27-0 lead midway through the second quarter. But Tennessee-Martin battled back, and just 1:22 into the fourth quarter, it was a one-possession game.



Then, set up by a good kick return by freshman Quentin Morris, the Bears put together an 8-play, 55-yard touchdown drive capped off with a two yard touchdown run by Brent Grimes that helped lead to a 48-34 UCA win at the newly dedicated First Security Field at Estes Stadium.

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First, did anyone notice we still got outscored in the third quarter? The good news is that the first and second quarter lead that was built was too much for the Skyhawks to overcome.



How about safety Jarrod Dale? I haven’t looked to see what happened in other games, but if he doesn’t get defensive player of the week, well… Two interceptions, 122 yards in returns, including one for 96 and a touchdown that pretty much sealed it. That’s a pretty solid game even though he only totaled three tackles. He also was responsible for a couple big hits that caused dropped passes by UTM receivers.



Speaking of the secondary, we are VERY thin at corner. Tristan Jackson – although the paper said he was expected to play – didn’t even dress out (if he did, I never found #2 on the sideline). Then, Dathan Johnson came out early in the game.



Speaking of injuries, not only did Ross Brown play very sparingly – just two carries – but Leonard Ceasar came out and when the game ended he was limping around with ice on his ankle. We were able to get Curtis Marks some carries late in the game. Those four rushes may be key experience if Ross and Ceasar are still banged up next week.



And on the offensive line, Jeremy Ford came out, and I don’t think he ever returned. Casey Thurber came in at center and the starter, Boomer Cunningham, moved over to the guard spot. It looked to me like the line was able to hold up well, allowing for the UCA backs, receivers, and quarterback to rush for 174 yards. Grimes led the ground game with strong running for 86 yards and four touchdowns.



Nathan Brown definitely got back on track. He was really struggling through the first two games of the season, but completed 87% of his passes on Saturday. The coaches came up with a great game plan that allowed him to complete short passes to get on track. In fact, he completed his first 14 attempts of the game. Brown completed passes to eight different players: five receivers, a tight end, a full back and a running back. Preston Echols led the receivers with five catches for 77 yards. Brown’s best play may have been when he bought as much time as possible rolling to his right and came right up to the line of scrimmage before lofting the ball over the defense to a wide open Willie Landers, who took it the rest of the way to the end zone. Brown also found Marquez Branson on a pass that he squeezed in between what felt like the entire Skyhawk secondary.



Needless to say, the offense seemed to be clicking from the start. I really think Echols, Landers, and freshman Darrius McNeal are going to be very good. I’d really have liked McNeal to get even more touches. He had just one catch in the second half, but I think running the ball and the clock became a priority after jumping out to the early lead.



And boy did the Skyhawk offense pick on Anthony Gambles. When Gambles did look to have good coverage, the UTM receivers made some great catches. Seeing the defense give up 315 yards certainly has a lot to do with the coverage, but there is still not enough pressure on the quarterback. Uriah Perry had the game’s only sack. And if you remember, it was on the drive that ended with Dale’s touchdown return. The defense did combine for 6 tackles for loss though.



The exchange of getting a lot of up field pressure is that you sometimes can be in a better position to play against the run. And other than the 58 yards scoring run by UTM’s career rushing leader Don Chapman, the defense limited him to just 49 yards. I know, I know. That play still counts. And it’s probably fair to say that the Skyhawk running game was limited by having to play from behind, forcing them to attempt 42 passes.



The linebackers wracked up tackles all over the field, but still missed a few that they probably think they could have made. The best hit of the night would probably go to Tok Opeloye. It was enough that when the defense came off the field – I think this is also on the interception for touchdown drive – Opeloye spent a few seconds doubled over regrouping.



It was my first game to see this season. And I’m still not convinced of much. Is UCA’s offense on track? Or is the UTM defense just that bad. Is the Bear defense going to continue to allow so many points and yards? Or is the Skyhawk offense that explosive.



The next opponent, Missouri State, put up 113 points in there first two games. The same UTM team gave up 51 to the MSU Bears. That game was very similar to yesterday. The Skyhawks played better on paper/statistically, but Missouri State jumped out to such a big lead that they went to a consistent running game and took advantage of 126 yards of UTM penalties. Obviously, it could be another offensive shootout next week.

Skyhawks Preview

Like UCA, the Skyhawks jumped out to an early lead against their week one FBS opponent. Southern Miss was scoreless through the first 25 minutes, but UTM was only able to build a 6-0 lead on two field goals. That’s when USM started clicking offensively and defensively and scored the next 35 points en route to a 35-13 win.



UTM was held to just 257 yards of total offense, just 72 of those on the ground. Conversely, USM wracked up 310 yards on 55 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per.



The bulk of the Skyhawks’ yardage in the game came on the drives that resulted in field goals, 157 yards on those two alone. But the three times USM reached the red zone they came away with points.  



UTM had 14 different receivers catch passes in the game, and the Skyhawks’ only turnover was an interception thrown by backup quarterback Cade Thompson. Thompson did lead the team on its only touchdown drive of the game with a little more than five minutes left.



According to the stats, the Skyhawks attempted two on-side kicks during the game, and one of the times they did kick it deep USM returned it 51 yards.



Having said all of that, they were playing an FBS team that finished last season with a 9-5 record. Like our game against LaTech, it’s hard to get many answers from that competition.



In week two, UTM took on Missouri State   the same MSU that the Bears squeaked by last season, 14-16 – and UTM lost in a shootout. Neither defense showed up as UTM put up 542 yards of offense, 107 more than MSU, and still lost 51-44.



Down 51-34, UTM’s backup quarterback, Greg Preston, led the Skyhawks on a four play, 65-yard touchdown drive. UTM kicked and recovered an onside kick, which led to a field goal that pulled them within seven points, but MSU recovered a second onside kick with 54 seconds left to seal it.



UTM committed the only turnover of the game, a fumble early in the fourth quarter. UTM did fumble a total of four times, but was able to recover three of those.



Don Chapman may be the best-known offensive weapon for the Skyhawks, but quarterbacks Dexter Anoka and Preston combined to complete 22-of-33 for 339 yards. Anoka used his legs as well and accounted for 330 of UTM’s total yardage.



Senior wide receiver Jamaal Akbar (6-0, 195) led the Skyhawks with six catches for 142 yards. Junior E.J. Daniel (5-11, 191) also had six catches for 87 yards. They were two of eight receivers to catch passes last weekend.



UTM gave up 19.1 yards per completion on the day and 4.8 per rush. They also gave up scores on 7-of-7 MSU trips to the red zone. That’s great news for a UCA team that has scored just twice in six trips inside the 20. If you’re looking for more good news, the Skyhawk defense has allowed an average of 43 points per game. When you’re an offense that’s struggled to get 17.5 points per, that has got to help.



The special teams for UTM have not had a significant (statistically at least) impact either way. The MSU punter only averaged 31.5 yards per attempt, which would make it pretty difficult to actually return. MSU punted two times and UTM had zero returns.



The new kickoff location may not have helped their return game yet this season, but it certainly hasn’t helped their kicker. Freshman kicker Eric Gasiecki only averages 60.4 yards per kickoff. With the new starting point being the 30, that put the return starting around the 10-yard line. On the other hand, UCA’s James Paul averages 66.9 yards and has three touchbacks this season.



UTM has committed just two turnovers in two games and is averaging 28.5 points per game. Also good for UCA is that what’s been an Achilles heel – the third quarter – hasn’t exactly been a strong suit for the Skyhawks. They’ve given up 24 points and scored just seven in the third. Still, that’s better than the 28-0 third quarters UCA has experienced.



One team will leave Estes Stadium with their first win of the season on Saturday. The Bears are looking for win number one in 2007 and number one over UTM.

Sugar Bears improve to 8-0

Trey Hankins/UCAFANS.com

The Sugar Bears celebrate after defeating UALR on Tuesday night.

Tuesday was the first Sugar Bear home game for three freshmen. A standing-room only crowd of 361 showed up to see it, and the team didn’t disappoint, extending its perfect mark to 8-0 on the season in a 3-2 battle with UALR.



“We were probably a little tight tonight playing in front of our home crowd for the first time with three freshmen out on the court,” head coach Steven McRoberts said. “And our sophomores are still learning too. Out of our nine players in the rotation: three sophomores, three freshman, two juniors.



“Sometimes I feel like we should be a little further along in the process, but then I think three of the girls are eight matches into their college career and we haven’t lost yet.”

Freshman Chloe Smith led the team with 19 kills and a .351 attack percentage.

What McRoberts didn’t mention is that two of those juniors are also newcomers to the team this fall after transferring in.



The Sugar Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game one and never let UALR get on top, but the Trojans did battle back to make it very close at the end of the game. In what was the longest volley I’ve seen in my few years of attending, UALR finally made a mistake, and UCA won the point and the game.



“I don’t even remember game one anymore,” McRoberts said smiling. “We had quite a few that were long. And then you’d think the ball was down and one side would get it up, and here it goes again.”



UCA struggled in game two, but after being down 11-17, they battled back to tie it at 19-19. The game continued to be close, and the Sugar Bears actually took a 31-30 lead. But UALR responded with the next two points and eventually pulled out a 34-32 win.



“I really felt like the first two or three games or so, we really looked kind of flat,” McRoberts said. “We were really lucky to have one and had a chance to have two and weren’t even playing very well.”

Sophomore Evaree Franklin spurred the game four win with seven kills.

UALR coasted to a 30-23 win in game three in part due to UCA’s poor attack percentage, but UCA turned the table in game four. Each time the Trojans would go on a run, the Sugar Bears would answer with a run of their own. Game four included three straight service aces by freshman Chloe Evans, and sophomore Evaree Franklin added seven kills. After being tied at 25-25, UCA rolled off four straight points on their way to winning 30-16 and setting up a game five.



“I thought our defense responded really well,” McRoberts said. “They had some big hits that we dug, and then won the point after a good dig; whereas early on we weren’t doing that. I think defensively this was our best effort all season. Offensively we looked out of sync at times. We just seemed like we were grasping.”



Last season, the Sugar Bears played into a fifth game just three times, and one of those was a nail biter against Arkansas State. This was the second of the young season



“Our first match was a five-gamer and we won pretty convincingly in the fifth,” McRoberts said.

I think defensively this was our best effort all season.

Coach Steven McRoberts

Tuesday’s fifth game wouldn’t be considered a convincing win, but it was exciting.



For those unfamiliar with college volleyball, the fifth game is to 15, not 30 like the others. So when the Sugar Bears went up 12-6, it looked like UALR’s chances were about to run out, but three UCA attack errors later the Trojans were down just 12-9. UALR then won three of the next four points and cut the UCA lead to just one, 13-12.



“We went up 12-6 and I though, oh good, this isn’t going to be like ASU,” McRoberts said. “And then it was at 13-12, and I said ‘ here we go’.”



Senior Camila Scapini picked up two of her 15 kills on the night to score the last two points and get UCA the match.



“That was a crazy point to end on too,” McRoberts said of another good back-and-forth volley between the two teams.



“To beat a team like that no matter if it’s pretty or ugly, we scrapped.



“It’s kind of nice to be at this point. We felt like this was going to be a big hurdle in our pre-conference schedule.”



UCA will host a tournament at the Farris Center this weekend that will include the aforementioned Arkansas State and Tennessee-Martin, the team that played UCA to five games the first match of the season.



“If we play the way we’re capable, I think we go 3-0 on the weekend and go into their place to play them again at 11-0. Let’s hope that’s the case.”