WONDER BOYS SET TO RETURN TO ACTION FOLLOWING
16-DAY LAYOFF SATURDAY AT ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Football returns to action following a 16-day layoff on Saturday as the Wonder Boys travel to Monticello, Ark., to face Arkansas-Monticello in a 6 p.m. match-up at Convoy-Leslie-Cotton Boll Stadium.

Tech, who hasn’t played since opening GSC play with a 26-24 home win on Sept. 11 over West Alabama, enters Saturday’s contest sporting a 2-1 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the GSC, while UAM enters the game with a 3-1 mark and a 1-0 mark in the league play after collecting a record-setting 51-48 win last Saturday at Henderson State. UAM’s only loss this season is a 37-31 setback at 17th-ranked Delta State on Sept. 13.

“This two-week break came at a great time for our team as it allowed us to work on improving Tech and also gave us an opportunity to prepare for UAM,” Tech Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Steve Mullins said. “In addition, it allowed our team to get healthy.”

In Tech’s win over West Alabama, the Wonder Boys defense was missing three starters in the secondary, including sophomore defensive back Tario Dansby (Ashdown, Ark.), who is the team’s second leading tackler on the season.

“Two of the three starters that missed the UWA game should be back on the field Saturday night,” Mullins said. “Several other players that have missed time due to injuries are progressing well and are expected to return to action this weekend.

“We’ll need all those healthy players to face a very good UAM football team.”

UAM, who was picked to finish last in the Preseason GSC Coaches’ Poll, comes into Saturday’s game with the No. 1 ranked offense in the GSC as the Boll Weevils are averaging 518.5 yards per game and are scoring 36.2 points per game, which is fourth-best in the latest GSC statistics. In last Saturday’s win over UAM, the Boll Weevils amassed 703 yards of total offense, with sophomore quarterback Scott Buisson collecting 640 yards of total offense and accounting for five of UAM’s seven touchdowns.

 “Buisson is an unbelievable player, his stats are incredible,” Mullins said. “We need to find a way to slow him down. He has an amazing ability to read the field and has great scrambling ability.”

Buisson, who was the GSC Freshman of the Year in 2007 and was named this week’s D2Football.com National Offensive Player of the Week, opened last week’s game with HSU with an 89-yard touchdown run. On the season, he is averaging 126.2 yards rushing, 284.2 yards passing and 410.5 yards of total offense, which ranks second nationally.

“To be able to generate 700 yards of offense against a very good HSU defense is unbelievable,” the 12th-year Tech coach and former UAM All-American football player said. “Some teams aren’t able to generate that much offense in two games.”

Mullins, who is a native of Camden, Ark., lettered at UAM from 1976-79 and was a three-time All-AIC selection, three-time All-NAIA District 17 honoree, two-time NAIA All-American, an AP Little All-American selection in 1979 and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

In addition to Buisson, UAM’s offense also features a talented running back in sophomore Johnny Polite and senior receivers Clarence Denmark and Tim Harris. Polite is averaging 75.8 yards rushing on the season, while Denmark, a transfer from Troy University, has caught 22 passes for 432 yards (108 yards/game) and Harris has caught 21 balls for 293 yards (73.2 yards/game). Both Harris and Denmark have each caught four touchdown passes.

“They have a lot of weapons on offense, but their quarterback makes it all happen,” the Tech coach said.

UAM Head Coach Gwaine Mathews is in his fourth season with the Boll Weevils and Mullins says that he has done a good job of bringing in transfers and blending them into his system.

“Gwaine has brought in some wonderful transfers this season,” Mullins added.

Among those transfers is senior safety Augustus Ashley. Ashley, who transferred to UAM from Central Florida, leads the GSC and is second nationally with five interceptions in four games.

“Ashley is a special player,” Mullins said. “He plays with a lot of intensity.”

          Mullins said that Saturday’s game will be a huge confidence boost for the team that wins the match-up, but a loss doesn’t knock you out of contending for a league title.

          “As we saw last season, one loss doesn’t wreck your chances of winning a league title or making the playoffs,” Mullins said.

          Tech’s offense comes into Saturday’s game looking to sustain drives against UAM’s defense and keep the Boll Weevils offense off the field. On the season, Tech’s offense is averaging 372.3 yards per game and is scoring just 20.3 points per game. In addition, Tech’s offense is averaging a little less than 28 minutes of time of possession and has committed eight turnovers in three games, including fumbling three times in the win against West Alabama. Two of Tech’s fumbles came inside the red zone.

          “We need to be able to sustain drives and keep the ball out of UAM’s hands,” Mullins said. “We’ll also need to do a better job on kickoff coverage than we’ve done this season and we have got to do something with their quarterback.”

          Two Tech players take streaks into Saturday’s game with UAM. Senior receiver Tracey Stiger (Russellville, Ark.) has caught a pass in 21 consecutive games dating to the 2006 season, while senior punter Michael Podobnik (Frankfort, Ill.) has had at least one punt go 50 or more yards in four consecutive games, including booting a 52-yard punt in his last outing against West Alabama.

          Saturday’s game marks the 65th meeting all-time in the series between the two schools that dates to 1928. Tech leads the all-time series, 38-23-3 and they have won eight of the last 10 games in series, including collecting a 31-21 win in Monticello in the team’s last meeting in 2005. Tech leads the series, 15-12-1 in Monticello and also leads the series, 20-11-2 in Russellville and is 3-0 against UAM on neutral fields.

Arkansas-Monticello Game Notes

-- Tech Athletics --