League title on line for UCA
CONWAY — Central Arkansas has played for nine consecutive weeks without an open date.
It can go into its open date next week with the Southland Conference championship if it wins today’s homecoming game against Northwestern (La.) State, the Bears’ 10th game in a row.
Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett will be at today’s game to present the conference championship trophy should UCA win.
UCA (7-2, 5-1) can also earn the conference’s automatic berth to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. The Bears have won 10 consecutive at home and own head-to-head tiebreakers over Sam Houston State and Southeastern Louisiana, the other one-loss teams in the conference.
“This is where you want to be,” UCA Coach Clint Conque said. “You want to
play in these big games in November and December. To do that, you have to have your best players on the field.”
One of the Bears’ best players of late has been senior receiver Jesse Grandy. He has caught 5 touchdown passes in UCA’s past 3 games and has caught 24 passes for 439 yards in the past 4 weeks. For the season, he has 44 catches for 628 yards and 6 touchdowns.
“Over the last four or five weeks, he’s played at another level,” Conque said of Grandy, who caught 3 passes for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 34-14 victory at Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday. “If you remember back to last year, towards the end of the season, he got comfortable with our system and he really took it to a different level. That’s really good to see.”
The Bears had the Southland Conference’s best record in 2008 at 6-1, but were not eligible for the conference title because it was still in its transition period from NCAA Division II to Division I.
Conque, who led the Bears to the FCS playoffs last season, said his team’s experience can only help them entering today.
“We had to coach in a lot of big games in 2008 to win 10 games and to win the league title. We obviously recognize that as a championship here,” Conque said. “Last season, the Texas State game was a winor-go-home type of deal. A great number of our frontline guys in the two-deep that are here went through the pressure of the preparation, the excitement and being able to keep your emotions in control. They respected the process of preparation and respect for our opponent. We had to win seven in a row to get in and it came down to one game.
“Really and truly, a great deal of our goals are now in our own hands in Saturday’s game against Northwestern.”
The Bears have won four in a row since losing their only Southland game at Stephen F. Austin 42-37 on Sept. 29. They are coming off a victory at Southeastern Louisiana last Saturday in which they led 140 at halftime and forced three turnovers against the Lions, who entered leading the conference standings.
Despite beating Lamar 2414 on Oct. 20, the Bears’ practices since have been more up-tempo and players such as junior quarterback Wynrick Smothers know what’s at stake for the Bears today.
“Every single thing counts this week, especially knowing we’re playing for the conference championship, that ring and that trophy,” said Smothers, who has completed 208 of 310 passes for 2,292 yards, 23 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in his first season as UCA’s starting quarterback. “All of that is motivation. We’ve been preparing well these last couple of weeks. We’re just trying to keep it up.”
Senior running back Jackie Hinton hopes the Bears don’t slip up against the Demons (4-4, 2-2).
“One mistake can cost a game and cost us a conference championship and a ring that everyone has worked all season for,” Hinton said. “Since the first conference game we had, everything has been high for us. Last year we lost against Sam Houston, and that one game cost us a conference championship. I feel like everyone’s focused and everyone is ready.”
One key for UCA’s success so far this season has been its ability to stay healthy, similar to last season’s 9-4 team that advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
“All teams, you hope to improve each week on the field,” Conque said. “There has to be a certain amount of growth. Good things have to happen. You’ve got to stay relatively injury-free at the key positions. We’ve been able to do that.”