SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist football team returns to the gridiron on Saturday, September 10, as they'll travel across state lines to for a 6:00 p.m. matchup with the Boll Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello. This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the two as the series sits at 3-3. OBU has yet to defeat UAM on their home field.
Live video of Saturday's contest will be available on
UAMSports.com and fans can listen to the broadcast on the
Bison Radio Network with the duo of Todd Miller and Scott Wanish.
Game Notes
OPENING KICKOFF
- The Bison enter week two following a tough 42-32 loss to then ranked, No. 17 Ouachita Baptist. OBU posted a 20-point fourth quarter to overcome a 42-12 deficit, but the lead was insurmountable by the time the clock read zero. Oklahoma Baptist looks to turn the table against a 1-0 UAM team this week.
PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF
- In the 2021 season opener against Ouachita Baptist, the Bison accounted for 481 yards of offense. Last Thursday, they eclipsed the mark with 488 total yards. Safe to say, the offense that finished second in the GAC in total offense a season ago hasn't missed a beat.
NOT A BAD DEBUT
- Much of OBU's success on offense can be credited to quarterback Dayton Wolfe, who posted the best start from a freshman quarterback in program history. In fact, Wolfe is the first freshman quarterback to start for the Bison since Preston Haire made his debut in 2017 as a redshirt freshman. Wolfe finished with 397 yards through the air and three touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes. Furthermore, it was the most passing yards in a single game since Haire went for 493 yards against UAM in 2018. Wolfe ranks No. 2 in completions (34), No. 3 in passing yards, and No. 4 in total offense (414) in the nation. He leads the GAC in all categories mentioned above as well.
- The high-powered Bison passing attack ranks No. 1 and No. 2 in yards and total offense in the league after one week of action. Additionally, OBU is tied for first in passing touchdowns and first down conversions (31) in the GAC. It was the most conversions since Oklahoma Baptist racked up 31 against East Central last season. Furthermore, 20 first downs were converted through the air, th most since OBU's 45-20 win over Arkansas-Monticello in 2021. Nationally, the Bison's passing yardage and first down conversion numbers rank fifth.
DISCIPLINED BETWEEN THE LINES
- Oklahoma Baptist committed two penalties for 15 yards against Ouachita Baptist last Thursday, coming into the new week as the second-least penalized team in the GAC. Furthermore, the 15 lost yards are a tie for first in the conference and sixth in the nation.
IN KEI WE TRUST
- Junior wide receiver Keilahn Harris lived up to the hype last week, coming into the 2022 season as one most sought after players in Division II. Harris recorded a career-high 179 receiving yards on 11 receptions and one touchdown. His lone touchdown was a 75-yard connection, the second longest reception in his career and the fourth longest in school history. He wasn't done there. Harris added 106 kick return yards, with a long of 56, to account for 285 all-purpose yards. The figure is currently No. 1 in the nation, while he is No. 2 in receptions and No. 3 in receiving yards.
- Harris' 179-yard performance ranks second all-time in OBU history and brings his career receiving yards total to 1,639. He is on pace to become the third Bison to eclipse the 2,000-yard mark in program history. Harris became the second fastest Oklahoma Baptist wideout to reach 1,500 career receiving yards, accomplishing the feat in 24 games. Former standout Josh Cornell did it in 22 games played.
GANG'S ALL HERE
- Twelve. That was the number of players that recorded multiple stops for the green and gold against No. 16 Ouachita on September 1. Leading the way was sophomore Nick Carpin who tallied a career-high seven tackles, three of which were unassisted. Additionally, three others – Jake Landers, Trajan Lands, and Kaleb Peters – registered a half-dozen stops versus the Tigers.
CREATING MORE PRESSURE
- During the 2021 season, the Bison recorded multiple tackles-for-loss in every game. Last week against Ouachita, that number was just 1.0, on a second-quarter sack by Jake Landers. Granted, the Tigers have one of the best offensive lines in the region, but OBU will need to improve in that department. And they'll need to this week at Arkansas-Monticello. In the Boll Weevils' season-opening win against Southern Nazarene, UAM came up with 40 points and 538 yards of offense.
DEFENDING MONTICELLO
- As mentioned above, Monticello rang up 538 yards on offense against SNU. Here's the breakdown from that game: 310 rushing yards, 228 passing yards. That's very good balance. An observant follower must think OBU goes to slow down Monticello's run game first on Saturday. Why? A week ago, against Ouachita, the green and gold allowed 374 net yards to the potent Tiger run game.
WHAT CAN THEY ANTICIPATE
- During the September 1 home game versus Ouachita, the defensive backs had to face just 16 Tiger passing attempts. Kenyatta Richardson notched the team's lone pass break-up, while Trajan Lands and Kaleb Peters recorded six tackles each. After what Monticello did last week against Southern Nazarene, averaging 9.9 yards per pass attempt from quarterback Demilon Brown, the Bison secondary should be ready to see a good dose of throws coming their way.
MONTICELLO ROAD HISTORY
- The previous two times Oklahoma Baptist ventured to Willis "Convoy" Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium in Arkansas, the Weevils dialed up 45 points (October 20, 2018) and 31 points (October 1, 2016). That's an average of 38.0 per game. And both contests turned out to be Bison defeats. Is the lucky number under 30 for the Bison defense? We'll see come the 9 o'clock hour on September 10.
SCOUTING THE BOLL WEEVILS
- Arkansas Monticello enters Saturday with a 1-0 record following its week one 40-26 victory over Southern Nazarene. The Boll Weevils got off to a hot start, scoring 14 points in the inaugural quarter, but allowed 19 in the second to lead 21-19 going into the break. After halftime, UAM mustered 13 in the third and tacked on six in the fourth quarter to claim the season opening win over SNU.
- The Boll Weevil offense racked up a league-best 538 yards of offense and six touchdowns. UAM gained 310 yards on the ground and 228 through the air. Nationally, Arkansas-Monticello ranks 10th in Division II for total offense. Conversely, The UAM defense gave up 322 yards to SNU, including 143 through the air.
- Junior quarterback Demilon Brown was responsible for UAM's explosion on offense last week, accounting for 377 yards. Brown, who was named GAC Freshman of the Year in 2019, rushed for 149 yards and a career-high three touchdowns. Furthermore, he passed for 228 yards and two touchdowns but threw three interceptions. Sophomore running back Jonero Scott also eclipsed the 100-yard mark, collecting 129 yards on 21 carries. Sophomore receiver Isaiah Cross caught three passes for 97 yards, including a game-long reception of 52 yards.
- Defensively, junior linebacker Tanner Courson leads the UAM defense with nine stops and 2.0 TFLs. Defensive back Demauryon Holmes has eight tackles and one pass break-up, while linebacker Demarous White has 2.0 TFLs.
- The last time the two met, OBU won 45-20 in Shawnee. Keilahn Harris had a career day, going for 154 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, BJ Westmoreland notched five tackles, and Nick Boone added five plus a fumble recovery.
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