WONDER BOYS SET FOR THURSDAY'S GULF SOUTH CONFERENCE OPENER AT HOME AGAINST WEST ALABAMA

        RUSSELLVILLE, Arkansas – Arkansas Tech Football is set to open its Gulf South Conference schedule here Thursday when it hosts West Alabama in a 7 p.m. game in Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field.

The game will be broadcast live on television by CSS (Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast) and Cox Sports as part of the “GSC-TV Live” Game of the Week package. In Russellville, the game will be shown on SuddenLink Digital Cable Channel 119 and also on SuddenLink Cable Channel 2.

“We are very excited to get the opportunity to play West Alabama on our home field to open up the conference’s live television package,” Tech Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Steve Mullins said. “With it being a Thursday night, I expect we’ll have a tremendous crowd, not only from our student body, but also from the Russellville community, which will create a great atmosphere for the television broadcast.”

Tech enters its third consecutive Thursday night game sporting a 1-1 overall record after falling 49-13 last Thursday at Central Missouri in its final non-conference tune-up. Prior to the UCM loss, the Wonder Boys opened the 2008 season with a 22-3 win at home over Northeastern State on Aug. 28.

“Every team builds for this time of year,” Mullins said about beginning conference play. “All 11 teams in the league share the same goal of winning the GSC title and that quest starts Thursday for our team.”

Thursday’s opponent, West Alabama, will present some challenges for Tech’s defense, according to Mullins.

“They (UWA) make make you defend to the whole field on offense,” the 12th-year Tech coach said. “Their quarterback (Deon Williams) is extremely hard to bring down and (Terry) Allen, one of their receivers, is a special talent.”

The Tigers, who are 1-1 on the season after falling 37-27 in a non-conference game last Saturday at Harding, run some elements of the triple option, but they have also put in some elements of the spread as well, thanks to its new offensive coordinator, Will Hall. Hall, who served as the offensive coordinator last season at Arkansas-Monticello, played at North Alabama and was the 2003 Harlon Hill Trophy winner.

“Will Hall did a great job at UAM last season and was a great quarterback at UNA in the early 1990s,” Mullins added.

Leading the UWA offensive charge is junior quarterback Deon Williams, a transfer from East Mississippi Community College. Williams is a dual threat player as he averaging 345 yards of total offense per game and is 33-for-55 passing for 587 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. In addition to Williams, the Tigers offense is also led by sophomore receiver Terry Allen. Allen leads the league and is fifth in NCAA Division II in all-purpose yards (188 yards per game) and has caught nine passes for 237 yards (118.5 yards per game) and is averaging nine points per game as he has scored three touchdowns.

“Williams has a strong arm and can beat you with his arm and his legs,” Mullins said. “Allen is a Tracey Stiger-like player. He seems to make a lot of big plays for them.”  

Tech’s offense, which is averaging 372 yards per game and is scoring 17.5 points per game, will be facing a Tigers defense that is allowing 347 yards per game, which is fourth in the latest GSC statistics and is allowing its opponents to score just 24.5 points per contest.

Leading the Tigers defense is senior linebacker Garry Pack, who is a transfer from the University of Mississippi and was an All-SEC selection as a sophomore. Pack is averaging 12 tackles per game and has recorded two tackles for nine yards in losses. Along with Pack, senior defensive end Will Vickery has picked up seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss and junior defensive Jeremy May has collected four tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback sacks.

“Pack is an outstanding player and is a big part of their defense,” the Tech coach said. “Vickery is very athletic and does an excellent job on the defensive line.”

Mullins said his team needs to put their last game behind them before taking the field on Thursday.

“We have to put last week’s game behind us and go out and get ready to face West Alabama,” said Mullins. “Additionally, we have to get some guys healthy, especially along the defensive line.”

Thursday’s game will feature a battle between the two winningest active coaches in the league in terms of victories as UWA’s Bobby Wallace is the winningest active coach with 91 victories, while Mullins stands second on that list with 72 wins. Entering Thursday’s game, Wallace, who won three NCAA Division II titles at North Alabama in the 1990s, is the second all-time winningest coach in GSC history, while Mullins is the fifth winningest coach in league history.

The game marks the first meeting between the two teams since 2005 when Tech collected a 27-21 win in overtime in Russellville. The Wonder Boys lead the all-time series, 10-4 and have won nine straight games in the series since the Tigers posted a 38-24 win in Livingston, Ala., in 1996. Tech leads the series 5-1 in Russellville and leads 5-2 in Livingston, while UWA leads 1-0 on a neutral field. The team’s first meeting was in the 1971 NAIA National Championship Game at Legion Field in Birmingham, as game UWA (then known as Livingston State) won 14-12.

“We don’t have a lot of familiarity with them (UWA), since we haven’t played them in three years,” Mullins said. “But when we last played them, they had a different coach and different personnel.”

Since joining the GSC in 1995, Tech is 7-6 all-time in league openers and the Wonder Boys have won five straight GSC openers. In addition, Mullins is 7-4 in his Tech career in league openers.

West Alabama Game Notes

-- Tech Athletics --