First things first as UCA braces
Posted on Saturday, November 8, 2008
CONWAY — First place in the Southland Conference is at stake today at Estes Stadium.
Either Central Arkansas or Northwestern (La. ) State will emerge from today’s game alone atop the conference standings with a 4-1 record. The loser will fall into a tie for second in a conference that has six teams with records of 2-2 or better.
So yes, the game is important, as both coaches acknowledge, but it will not necessarily decide the championship. “Granted, whoever wins today is going to be in the driver’s seat, but there’s still a lot of season left to play,” Central Arkansas Coach Clint Conque said. Northwestern State Coach Scott Stoker said playing an important football game in November is what teams aspire to do when going through two-a-days in August.
“So, yeah, this is where we want to be,” Stoker said.
Not that many people thought these two teams would be tied for first right now. Any prognosticator worth his opinion would have put two-time defending Southland Conference champion McNeese State down as the favorite for a third consecutive title.
But, two losses in the first four conference games have left the Cowboys (5-3, 2-2 ) a game back in the conference race.
McNeese was so well-regarded in the preseason that Conque talked about the importance of having no more than one conference loss going into the season-finale with McNeese State at Estes Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22. Conque said that still holds true, but the pressure has lessened slightly as the conference’s dynamic has changed.
“But that doesn’t mean that we can change the way that we approach these next few games,” Conque said. “You’ve got to remember that every team with two or fewer losses in the conference right now feels like they have a shot at the title. So, everyone is still gunning for everyone else.”
Central Arkansas (7-2 ) and Northwestern State (6-3 ) are tied at 3-1, but four other teams, including McNeese State, are 2-2.
“I tell our guys every day that this thing is far from being decided,” Stoker said.
Last season, Northwestern State beat Central Arkansas 31-28 on Robert Weeks’ 35-yard field goal as time expired in Natchitoches, La.
The teams combined for 826 total yards, including 115 rushing yards and a touchdown by Demons running back Bryon Lawrence.
Lawrence (North Pulaski ) is again the Demons’ battering ram this season, averaging a conference-best 101. 1 yards per game and leading the conference with 18. 6 carries per game.
The combination of Lawrence’s running and a stingy Northwestern State defense has been a potent blend for the Demons.
“If you look at the film of teams in this conference, that’s what you’ve got to do to be successful,” Stoker said. “You’ve got to limit the other team’s opportunities and try to stop them when they have the ball.”
The Bears are coming off one of their least productive offensive performances, totaling 312 yards — 112 yards below their season average — in a 20-17 loss to Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La.
But the Bears scored 14 of their 17 points against the Colonels in the final 4: 27 of the fourth quarter, nearly forcing overtime.
“You hope that the offense can take something positive from that,” Conque said. “And that they can carry that momentum over to this game.” Today’s game
NORTHWESTERN (LA. ) STATE AT NO. 16 CENTRAL ARKANSAS WHERE Estes Stadium, Conway WHEN 4 p. m. Central today RECORDS Central Arkansas (7-2, 3-1 Southland ); Northwestern State (5-3, 3-1 ) COACHES Clint Conque (65-36 in ninth season at Central Arkansas and overall ); Scott Stoker (42-36 in seventh season at Northwestern State and overall ) SERIES Northwestern State leads 1-0 RADIO KKPT-FM, 94. 1, KDXE-AM, 1380, in Little Rock; KUCA-FM, 91. 3, and KCNY-FM, 107. 1, in Conway; KFFK-AM, 1390, in Rogers. INTERNET www. ucasports. com
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