Boll Weevils Win Again; UAM 22-Northwestern Oklahoma 20

UAM 22-Northwestern Oklahoma 20

MONTICELLO – The University of Arkansas at Monticello football team recorded its second consecutive victory with a 22-20 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday at home in Great American Conference action.

The low-scoring affair was highlighted by the leg of freshman kicker Jamie McGee, who was responsible for 10 of UAM’s 22 points in the victory. McGee nailed a 32-yarder early in the first quarter for the game’s first score, followed with a 23-yarder with just over six minutes remaining in the thirdquarter to put UAM up 19-14 and finalized the scoring with a career-high 43-yarder with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

McGee adds to his already GAC best field goal totals with his performance against the Rangers. He now has converted on all six of his attempts through the first three games of the season. He tied a UAM single-game record on Saturday with his three made field goals, a record that had been accomplished 10 times before this weekend.

Following McGee’s first field goal of the night, the Rangers (0-3, 0-3 GAC) took a 7-3 lead following a 39-yard touchdown pass from L.T. Pfaff to Mervin Stewart to cap a five-play, 65-yard drive using 2:29.

UAM (2-1, 2-1 GAC) answered on the first play of the second quarter on an eight-yard quarterback keeper for a score from freshman Brett Courville followed by a blocked extra point try to give the Weevils a 9-7 lead. That score was set up by a blocked punt from the hands of junior Anthony Hughes inside the NWOSU 10-yard line as time expired in the first period.

The Rangers regained the lead later in the second quarter on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Pfaff to Montrell Logan to cap a quick three-play, 54-yard drive that used just took just over a minute.

UAM put together a shorter scoring drive for its next score, a 76-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown from junior Jamal Nixon, who reversed field and broke three tackles to find the end zone. That was the second play of a 49 second drive.

McGee added his second field goal at the 6:15 mark of the third quarter, the only score of the period to cap a nine-play, 37-yard drive that was set up by a failed fake punt attempt by the Rangers.

The Rangers found the end zone once more on the first drive of the fourth quarter using a one-yard touchdown run by Zachry Doyle to put his team up 20-19 with 13:52 remaining.

McGee nailed what ended up being the game winning 43-yard field goal to cap a 10-play, 28-yard drive that used 3:40.

The UAM defense sealed the victory by forcing turnovers on NWOSU’s final two offensive possessions of the game. Sophomore Marshall Everett recovered a fumble at the 6:16 mark with the Rangers inside the UAM 40-yard line, and sophomore Demarcus Robinson picked off a Pfaff pass with 2:59 remaining. With no timeouts remaining for NWOSU, UAM was able to run out the remaining three minutes to seal the team’s first two-game win streak since the 2011 season.

UAM used three quarterbacks in the win with sophomore Colton Morrison leading the way going 18-of-32 for 120 yards. Sophomore Cody Trimble went 6-for-10 for 111 yards and was credited with the touchdown pass on Nixon’s long run. In addition to his 25 rushing yards on seven carries, Courville finished 1-for-5 for 18 yards passing.

Nixon led all receivers in the game with seven receptions for 110 yards.

Junior Anthony Hughes paced the UAM defense with 13 total tackles. Senior Calvin Ursin also reached double-digits with 10 tackles, including one sack and two tackles for losses. GAC tackles leader Keith Reynolds finished the night with nine tackles and an assisted tackle for loss.

The Weevils are on the road next Saturday, September 28 to face off againstSouthwestern Oklahoma State (2-1, 2-1 GAC), which received its first loss of the season on Saturday with a 20-17 setback on the road at Southern Arkansas. Next Saturday’s kickoff against SWOSU is set for 6 p.m. at Fast Lane Field in Weatherford, Okla.

Box Score

Courtesy UAM Department of Athletics