WONDER BOYS USE FIELD GOAL WITH 30 SECONDS REMAINING
TO POST HOME WIN OVER WEST ALABAMA IN GSC OPENER

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Football opened the Gulf South Conference portion of its 2008 schedule here Thursday by posting a come-from-behind 26-24 win over West Alabama in front of 5,450 fans in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field and a regional television audience as part of the “GSC-TV Live” Game of the Week package.

Tech (2-1, 1-0 GSC) secured its second win of the season and its sixth straight victory in GSC openers thanks to a 25-yard field goal with 30 seconds remaining in the game by senior Michael Podobnik (Frankfort, Ill.). Podobnik, who was a unanimous Preseason All-America selection this year as a punter, hit his second field goal of his career and first this season.

“My number was called and I was able to step up,” Podobnik said following the win. “I got a great snap, excellent blocking and a good hold from (Tracey) Stiger. It was a team victory for us tonight.”

Despite Podobnik’s winning field goal, Tech still struggled most of the night on special teams and watched its offense fumble the ball three times, including twice inside the UWA 10-yard line. On special teams, Tech allowed 160 yards in kickoff returns and saw a field goal and an extra point blocked for the second consecutive week.

“Our kickoff cover team has to get better,” Tech Head Football Coach Steve Mullins said. “In addition, we turned the ball over too much. A win is a win though, but we still have a lot of things to improve on.”

Podobnik’s heroics were needed after UWA retook the lead with 3:26 left in the third quarter on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Deon Williams to Terry Allen. The Tigers score came two plays after Tech had retaken the lead on an 8-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Cole Barthel (Decatur, Ala.) to senior receiver Justin Ray (Benton, Ark.). Ray’s touchdown completed a 5-play, 46-yard drive by the Wonder Boys.

Barthel finished the night 23-for-31 passing for 246 yards and gained 12 yards rushing on six carries. Ray caught six passes for 89 yards, but had two fumbles, while senior receiver Tracey Stiger (Russellville, Ark.) caught nine balls for 69 yards and junior Landon Turner (Destrehan, La.) had four catches for 62 yards.

The nine receptions by Stiger moved him into a tie for second place on the school’s all-time receptions list with former Wonder Boy Lance Strother (122) and the 69 yards receiving moved Stiger to 10th on the school’s career receiving yards chart (1,263 yards). In addition, he has now caught a pass in 21 consecutive games.  

Mullins said he was proud of the way his defense played in the second half.

“Our defense did a better job at containing their quarterback (Deon Williams) in the second half and made some stops on him,” the 12th-year Tech coach said. “We were without several starters due to injuries and I thought the players who filled in for them did a nice job.”

Among the starters missing due to injuries was sophomore free safety Tario Dansby (Ashdown, Ark.), sophomore defensive back Brandon Wright (Stuttgart, Ark.) and senior defensive back Ricky Dorcelus (Orlando, Fla.). Dansby entered the game as the team’s leading tackler with 16 stops in two games.

Tech used a UWF fumble to its advantage for the game’s first touchdown as Barthel rushed two yards for a score just four minutes into the game. The score came one play after senior defensive end Greg Hansbrough (Las Vegas, Nev.) forced Williams to fumble on his own 6-yard line.

The score grew to 10-0 following another UWA fumble as junior kicker Travis Cockerham (Bryant, Ark.) connected on a 32-yard field goal with 8:19 left in the quarter. Cockerham’s field goal came just nine plays after sophomore linebacker Danny Martin (Tulsa, Okla.) forced a fumble by UWA’s Terry Levy.

UWA (1-2 on the season, 0-1 GSC) got on the scoreboard with 1:48 left in the first quarter as Mitch Warfield connected on a 20-yard field goal following a 20-play, 78-yard drive by the Tigers.

The Wonder Boys increased its lead to 16-3 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Barthel with 7:43 remaining in the first half, but Cockerham’s extra point attempt was blocked by UWA’s Jeremy May. UWA pulled within 16-10 on its next possession thanks to a 7-yard pass from Williams to Gerald Worsham.

UWA took its first lead of the game just a little under two minutes into the second half as Williams hooked up with Levy for a 19-yard touchdown pass.

Williams, who entered the game third in the league in both passing yards and passing efficiency and fourth in total offense, finished the night 18-for-23 passing for 201 yards and carried the ball 16 times for 60 yards, but was sacked three times for 20 yards in losses. In addition to Williams, UWA’s offense got 105 receiving yards and 77 kickoff return yards from Terry Allen.

On the night, Tech’s offense outgained UWA, 371 to 323. The Wonder Boys gained a season-high 125 yards rushing on 39 carries.

“I thought our running game was better tonight, but we were still inconsistent,” Mullins said. “We need to develop more consistency.”

Redshirt freshman Joby Hills (Carencro, La.) led the Tech ground game with 50 yards rushing on 12 carries, while senior Shawn O’Connor (San Antonio, Texas) picked up 34 yards on five carries.

“Joby did a really good job in the first half, before being injured. I thought Shawn (O’Connor) brought in some fresh legs and showed a lot tonight,” the Tech coach added.

The Wonder Boys will now take 16 days off before returning to action on Saturday, Sept. 27 at Arkansas-Monticello. The game, which will mark Tech’s first Saturday game of the season, is slated to kickoff at 6 p.m. in Monticello.

“We now have an open date next week, which should give us an opportunity to get healthy and to improve on things,” Mullins said.

         West Alabama Box Score

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