A bygone facet of football has helped take the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff to heights it hasn’t reached in 28 years.
That’s not by accident, Coach Doc Gamble said.
Special teams have been especially good for the Golden Lions, who find themselves on the brink of winning the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division and reaching the league title game for the first time since 2012.
UAPB (3-0, 3-0), which last won its first three games in 1994, leads the conference in punt return average (20.6) and is second in kickoff return average (23.7). The Golden Lions also have recovered two onside kicks, blocked two punts and connected on 2 of 3 field-goal opportunities this season.
Special-teams play, coupled with an offense that ranks first in scoring (35.0) and a defense that’s fourth in points allowed
(22.7), has UAPB in position to end a nine-year championship game drought.
“Guys take pride in playing on special teams,” said Gamble, whose team will host Prairie View A&M on Saturday. “What a lot of people don’t realize is we spend just as much time on that as we do on offense and defense. We put a lot of emphasis on it because we want to be able to play well in all three phases of the game.
“Now it may not always play out that way, but that’s what we strive to do every time we step out there on that field.” The Golden Lions spared no effort on special teams eight days ago against longtime rival Mississippi Valley State. UAPB came away with fumble recoveries on kickoffs and punts.
The Delta Devils still battled back from a 17-3 halftime deficit to tie the game 17-17 in the fourth quarter, but the SWAC’s No. 1 returner slammed the door on the comeback attempt.
After Mississippi Valley St a te wa s forced to kick the ball away o n fo u r t h and 30 with 2:10 remain-i n g , UA P B senior specialist Tyrin Ralph picked up the punt on a hop at his team’s 23, sprinted to the right sideline and sidestepped two would-be tacklers before racing untouched 77 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
The return may have stunned fans in attendance at Rice-Totten Stadium, but not Ralph, who finished with 227 yards on punt and kickoff returns.
“We actually made an adjustment the punt before, and I think I sprung it for like 40 or 50 yards,” Ralph said. “So after that, we were like, ‘OK, we’ve got the right call in place.’ So on that last one, we had that same call, and I was just hoping for a good hop or line-drive kick. When I got that hop, I knew something big would happen.
“But all of that just comes with preparation. If we’re dedicating a whole day to just special teams, that shows how important it is to us. One through 11 has to do their jobs, and if we do that everything will fall into place.” Mississippi Valley State Coach Vincent Dancy, who was concerned about UAPB’s play-making ability on special teams prior to the game, said nothing went right in that area for his team.
“We knew that they were capable of things in [special teams],” he said. “We fumbled the ball on a punt return that set them up for a score early, they pooch-kicked us and recovered it before the half that allowed them to score. And then in the fourth quarter, the punt return touchdown.
“If we don’t have those mistakes or those blunders throughout the course of the game, I think we win.” Instead, the Golden Lions won on a day where they averaged 2.4 yards per rushing attempt, completed 54.5% (24 of 44) of their passes and converted 6 of 18 third-down attempts.
But specials teams were there all day.
“I tell them all the time about the returns, either [Tyrin] can get it on his own or we can help him out,” Gamble said. “Those guys go block their tails off for him, and they’re self-motivated in doing so.
“Even on that last return, you could see guys getting their butts knocked down but getting back up and fighting to get another block for him. We always say if we get everybody blocked up, then the punter or kicker is Tyrin’s guy. He’s got to beat him, and we expect him to win that matchup.” So does Ralph, who said his team is playing with a lot of confidence in all areas.
“For special teams, we treat it like offense and defense. Special players have to be special on special teams,” the New Orleans native explained. “We take it serious because we all play on it. But it’s a part of the game that’s just as important as any other.”
Up next
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M AT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
WHEN 3 p.m., Saturday
WHERE Simmons Bank Field, Pine Bluff
RADIO KPBA-FM, 99.3, Pine Bluff
RECORDS UAPB 3-0, 3-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference; Prairie View A&M 2-0, 2-0
INTERNET uapblionsroar.com/live
TV None