CONWAY -- When assessing the relative quality of athletic opponents, most start with a glance at respective win-loss records.
Stop there, and the University of Central Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 Southland Conference) football team appears to have a considerable edge in today's 6 p.m. road game against Northwestern (La.) State (0-6, 0-3) at Turpin Stadium in Natchitoches, La.
UCA Coach Nathan Brown said a simple score comparison with a recent common opponent should invoke respect from his players. On Oct. 5, UCA lost at Southland Conference leader Nicholls State, 34-14. Last Saturday, Northwestern State lost 45-35 at Nicholls State.
"For them to go down to Nicholls, the team [at the] top of the conference standings, and play in the manner they played, definitely raises your eyebrows a little bit if you're standing in our shoes," Brown said.
UCA and Northwestern State have comparable offensive statistics. The Bears have rushed for an average of 73.3 yards a game to the Demons' 72.8. UCA's passing game, behind sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith, averages 302.2 yards a game. Northwestern State has followed senior Shelton Eppler to an average of 304.2.
Eppler's top target is senior receiver Quan Shorts, a transfer from Texas Tech who caught 56 passes in 11 games last season. Through six games this season, he has caught 55.
"[Eppler] is a very, very capable quarterback," Brown said. "The kid is just a talented kid, and they have surrounded him with some quality receivers. Quan Shorts is a big-time playmaker in this league. He's their go-to guy, and we're going to have to key on him."
From a statistical standpoint, UCA has a clear defensive edge. Northwestern State has allowed an average of 491.7 yards a game, while UCA has given up 435.8 yards a contest.
"It's going to be a difficult task stopping their offense," Brown said. "I don't know that you necessarily stop them, but we will have to contain them. We'll have to play a good football game to beat them."
Ray earns honor
UCA junior placekicker Hayden Ray had three kickoffs go out of bounds in the first half of the Bears' 40-31 victory over McNeese State at Estes Stadium in Conway last Saturday.
Penalties for each gave the Cowboys possession at the McNeese State 35-yard line, but Ray said a brief, encouraging exchange with UCA Coach Nathan Brown changed his approach and helped inspire an overall performance that led the Southland Conference to name him its special teams player of the week.
"I told him to look at the way I was reacting," Brown said. "I'm not one of those coaches who's going to scream in guys' faces. Maybe 10,000 people in the stands saw what he did, but I know he's the one person who really understood it. There's no point in my saying, 'Why did you kick it out of bounds?' I just told him to step back, take a deep breath, and live in the moment."
Ray was not penalized for any of his four second-half kickoffs. Two resulted in touchbacks, and one was turned into a fumble at the McNeese State 22. Ray's subsequent 25-yard field goal gave UCA a 37-31 lead with 7:41 left in the game.
Ray also kicked field goals of 39, 39 and 34 yards, and made four of four extra points in UCA's victory. For the season, Ray is 9 of 9 on field-goal tries and 17 of 18 on extra-point attempts.
"He looked me right in the eye," Ray said. "He had a smile on his face and he said, 'Do you see me? I'm not mad. I know you get this, but you're just trying to be too perfect. When you do that, you're going to start stressing out. Just trust your leg. You got this.' That really hit home with me."
"What's amazing is his mental drive," Brown said. "He was able to block out those kicks out of bounds and go on and kick four field goals, and that was the difference in the game."
Receivers emerge
The Bears have been led in receptions throughout the season by sophomore Lujuan Winningham, freshman Tyler Hudson and senior running back Carlos Blackmon, players who have combined for 90 catches, or 58.4% of the 154 by 15 UCA receivers with 1 or more this season.
Passes from sophomore quarterback Breylin Smith were spread around a bit more in UCA's game last Saturday, a 40-31 home-field victory over McNeese State.
Smith completed passes to a total of 11 receivers, including juniors Joe Hampton, Jack Short and sophomore Jarrod Barnes, a trio who entered the game with no catches through UCA's previous five games this season.
Barnes caught 3 passes for 52 yards. Hampton had 2 for 44 yards and 1 touchdown. Short, a tight end, caught 1 for 6 yards.
Hampton has been limited by an ankle injury and Barnes by an early season head injury.
"[Barnes] has slowly gotten integrated into the offense," Brown said. "He's got big-play capability. Joe's been back for a while, and we've just been trying to get him back in the mix. He has extreme ability. He's one of our fastest guys."
Sports on 10/19/2019