LITTLE ROCK — The bye week for Central Arkansas came at a good time.
Seven UCA players were injured during Saturday’s 41-14 loss at Tulsa, most notably junior quarterback Nathan Dick.
Dick, an Arkansas transfer, hurt his left, non-throwing shoulder in the second quarter and did not return. He completed 8 of 14 passes for 83 yards before the injury.
“He’s sore,” Bears Coach Clint Conque said. “We’re just being cautious.”
Linebacker Frank Newsome left with a concussion, cornerback Marcus Dumas injured his knee, and linebacker Jacob Bundrick hurt his shoulder. Conque said that Newsome has been cleared to practice, but has been held out of workouts this week.
Dumas’ availability will not be known until later in the week, Conque said, when test results from a imaging scan will be available.
Wide receivers Dominique Croom (ankle) and Kenneth Robey (thigh) were also injured, but finished the game. Robey led the Bears’ receiving corps with seven receptions for 110 yards.
Injuries to safeties Seth Allison (concussion), Jestin Love (shoulder), Jerrel McKnight (ankle) and Radarius Winston (ankle) further depleted a banged-up secondary. Conque had to move starting cornerback Henry Minor to safety late in the fourth quarter because of the injuries.
With the bye this week, players will be able to rest up and heal their injuries, Conque said. UCA will practice today and Thursday before taking Friday and Saturday off.
“Some of these guys would be back and available to play if we had a game this Saturday,” Conque said. “We have the luxury of the Saturday off. We have to take full advantage of the treatment schedule, do everything wecan there.”
UCA is off to a 3-1 start, with victories against Ohio Valley Conference opponents Eastern Illinois (37-7) and Murray State (21-20). The Bears are ranked 25th in this week’s Football Championship Subdivision coaches’ poll but dropped out of The Sports Network’s poll after the Tulsa loss.
Against Tulsa, UCA trailed 14-7 in the second quarter before giving up a touchdown and a field goal to fall behind 24-7 at halftime.
“We had moments in the game to make it interesting, but we didn’t respond to giveus a chance to win the game,” Conque said. “Give Tulsa credit. They got thrashed by Oklahoma State. It would have been easy for them, playing down, to not be on point and be focused. They scored, boom, boom, 14-0. We scored after we took their initial onslaught. If we go in 14-7 at half, I like our chances better.”
UCA returns to action Oct. 9 against Northwestern (La.) State in its Southland Conference opener at Estes Stadium in Conway.
“We’ve made some growth,” Conque said. “I think Nathan Dick has really emerged. He’s taken the lessons from the spring and summer and has really transferred the performances to the field. I think our offensive line played better against Tulsa.
“Defensively, I think we’re playing aggressive, playing to the football, playing hard. ... We’re a work in progress. When you look at the youth of our team, some of these guys have three or four games under their belt.
“We have to keep our best players on the field. They’re also lacking the physical maturity. A lot of our injuries are ankle injuries, being able to stay on our feet. Those are the kind of things that come with being in the weight room. The whole key is to have our best players on the field.”
Sports, Pages 26 on 09/29/2010