by Kai Caddy

Posted Sept. 2, 2005 11:11 a.m.

MARTIN, Tenn. — UCA’s hopes of an undefeated season were dashed Thursday night as a last-second field goal landed wide left and gave Tennessee-Martin a 35-34 victory at Hardy M. Graham Stadium.

The Bears (1-1) scored the go-ahead touchdown when Kentrel Rogers busted into the end zone on a 5-yard scamper with 2:18 left in the game. Rogers also powered in for the two-point conversion to make the score 34-28. The touchdown was set up by a long 12-yard pass to Aaron Fairooz on third down from Chris Reil and then a 24-yard pass from Reil to Fairooz.

On the next possession UTM (1-0) moved the ball steadily down the field, then quarterback Brady Wahlbewrg hit Taure Stephens on a post route in the end zone for a 31-yard score. With the extra point, UTM went up for good 35-28 with 54 seconds left.

“We finished the game,” UTM coach Matt Griffin said. “There were lots of big momentum swings. Both teams fought their tails off, it’s a shame someone had to lose that game.”

The Bears had one final shot after the UTM score. Another couple of receptions by Fairooz, who had a UCA single-game record 13 catches (and 174 yards), moved the Bears to within field goal range. On first down with 25 seconds left, coach Clint Conque elected to try for the field goal. Garrett Morgan’s 41-yard attempt landed well wide and short.

“We just made too many mistakes tonight,” Conque said. “Sacks hurts us. The fumble on a sack hurt us, the interception for a touchdown hurt us. The missed extra point hurt us.”

With the Bears poised to take a 14-7 lead, after a 15-yard Rogers touchdown a bad snap on the extra point made it just 13-7 in favor of the Bears.

After the missed PAT, UTM scored another touchdown to make it 14-13 in favor of UTM.

Then on UCA’s next possession, the Bears one and only fumble occured, when Reil was sacked and coughed up the ball. The fumble set up a UTM touchdown that made the score 21-13 for the Skyhawks.

Down 21-19 at the half, UCA came out in the second half seemingly more inspired. The Bears forced the Skyhawks to punt on their first two possessions of the third quarter. Then the Bears took over and had a solid drive going, with the Bears down to the 25-yard line Reil had a pass picked off by Jack Greenwood. Greenwood then rumbled 80 yards for a score that made it 28-19 in favor of the Skyhawks.

“There’s nobody to blame,” Conque said. “Obviously it hurts. But we competed well in the second half. I thought they competed harder than we did in the first half. We talk about protecting the football before every game and we talk about preventing big plays. Well, they hit the open post for a touchdown and offesnsively we didn’t protect the ball.”

Running back Willie Hopson was injured on the first play of the game on a kickoff return. Hopson injured his MCL and will be furthered examined Friday, needless to say, he didn’t return.

“Obviously that hurts,” Conque said. “But I think other people really stepped up and played well.”

In Hopson’s absence Rogers carried the ball 20 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

“Kentrel did yeoman’s work tonight,” Conque said.

Reil was 24-of-31 with one touchdown and 342 yards. But, he was sacked five times and threw the one interception. The loss is Reil’s first-ever as a starter for UCA. He’s now 4-1.

The Bears got on the board first after a six-play, 80-yard drive with 7:40 left in the first quarter. On third down, Reil hit Michael Norvell for a 51-yard touchdown hook up. It was Norvell’s first touchdown of the year, something it took him eight games to get last year. Norvell finished with 114 yards on six catches and had two touchdowns.

UTM answered the Bears early score on its next possession. They went 80 yards in nine plays when Justin Glover powered in from 16 yards out to tie the game.

After UTM went up 21-13 with 5:45 left in the first half, UCA answered with a long drive of its own. Reil orchestrated a long 84-yard drive that started at UCA’s own 16. He hit Cade for an 11-yard hookup, then Fairooz for 8 yards. A couple of Rogers carries got the Bears six yards. Reil lost all six on the next play as he was sacked, but on third and 14, he found an open Norvell for 43 yards. After a 5-yard rush by Rogers, Reil floated a ball over three UTM defenders right to Fairooz in the corner of the end zone. The Bears were forced to go for two because of the failed extra point earlier, making it 21-19 going into the half.

After the Skyhawks scored on the interception, UCA answered with quarterback Nathan Brown coming in off the bench to play the majority of the drive. He finished it off with an 8-yard pass for a touchdown to Norvell.

Linebacker Quentin Maxfield led the Bears with 13 tackles. Kelvin Horne had 9 stops, 3 for loss. Safety Leroy Hamilton seemed to be all over the field and finished with 6 tackles and a blocked punt. Linebacker Ryan Taylor had 7 tackles. Safety Cory Cangelosi and end Jacob Ford both had 6 stops.

The Bears will open up the Gulf South Conference season Saturday when Southern Arkansas comes to Estes Stadium for a 6 p.m. rumble.

“We’ve just got to learn from our mistakes and get better,” Conque said. “But you can’t make the mistakes we did tonight and expect to compete.”







		by Kai Caddy Posted Sept. 2, 2005 11:11 a.m. MARTIN, Tenn. — UCA’s hopes of an undefeated season were dashed Thursday night as a last-second field goal landed wide left and gave Tennessee-Martin a 35-34 victory at Hardy M. Graham Stadium. The Bears (1-1) scored the go-ahead touchdown when Kentrel Rogers busted into the end zone on a 5-yard scamper with 2:18 left in the game. Rogers also powered in for the two-point conversion to make the score 34-28. The touchdown was set up by a long 12-yard pass to Aaron Fairooz on third down from Chris Reil and then a 24-yard pass from Reil to Fairooz. On the next possession UTM (1-0) moved the ball steadily down the field, then quarterback Brady Wahlbewrg hit Taure Stephens on a post route in the end zone for a 31-yard score. With the extra point, UTM went up for good 35-28 with 54 seconds left. “We finished the game,” UTM coach Matt Griffin said. “There were lots of big momentum swings. Both teams fought their tails off, it’s a shame someone had to lose that game.” The Bears had one final shot after the UTM score. Another couple of receptions by Fairooz, who had a UCA single-game record 13 catches (and 174 yards), moved the Bears to within field goal range. On first down with 25 seconds left, coach Clint Conque elected to try for the field goal. Garrett Morgan’s 41-yard attempt landed well wide and short. “We just made too many mistakes tonight,” Conque said. “Sacks hurts us. The fumble on a sack hurt us, the interception for a touchdown hurt us. The missed extra point hurt us.” With the Bears poised to take a 14-7 lead, after a 15-yard Rogers touchdown a bad snap on the extra point made it just 13-7 in favor of the Bears. After the missed PAT, UTM scored another touchdown to make it 14-13 in favor of UTM. Then on UCA’s next possession, the Bears one and only fumble occured, when Reil was sacked and coughed up the ball. The fumble set up a UTM touchdown that made the score 21-13 for the Skyhawks. Down 21-19 at the half, UCA came out in the second half seemingly more inspired. The Bears forced the Skyhawks to punt on their first two possessions of the third quarter. Then the Bears took over and had a solid drive going, with the Bears down to the 25-yard line Reil had a pass picked off by Jack Greenwood. Greenwood then rumbled 80 yards for a score that made it 28-19 in favor of the Skyhawks. “There’s nobody to blame,” Conque said. “Obviously it hurts. But we competed well in the second half. I thought they competed harder than we did in the first half. We talk about protecting the football before every game and we talk about preventing big plays. Well, they hit the open post for a touchdown and offesnsively we didn’t protect the ball.” Running back Willie Hopson was injured on the first play of the game on a kickoff return. Hopson injured his MCL and will be furthered examined Friday, needless to say, he didn’t return. “Obviously that hurts,” Conque said. “But I think other people really stepped up and played well.” In Hopson’s absence Rogers carried the ball 20 times for 116 yards and two touchdowns. “Kentrel did yeoman’s work tonight,” Conque said. Reil was 24-of-31 with one touchdown and 342 yards. But, he was sacked five times and threw the one interception. The loss is Reil’s first-ever as a starter for UCA. He’s now 4-1. The Bears got on the board first after a six-play, 80-yard drive with 7:40 left in the first quarter. On third down, Reil hit Michael Norvell for a 51-yard touchdown hook up. It was Norvell’s first touchdown of the year, something it took him eight games to get last year. Norvell finished with 114 yards on six catches and had two touchdowns. UTM answered the Bears early score on its next possession. They went 80 yards in nine plays when Justin Glover powered in from 16 yards out to tie the game. After UTM went up 21-13 with 5:45 left in the first half, UCA answered with a long drive of its own. Reil orchestrated a long 84-yard drive that started at UCA’s own 16. He hit Cade for an 11-yard hookup, then Fairooz for 8 yards. A couple of Rogers carries got the Bears six yards. Reil lost all six on the next play as he was sacked, but on third and 14, he found an open Norvell for 43 yards. After a 5-yard rush by Rogers, Reil floated a ball over three UTM defenders right to Fairooz in the corner of the end zone. The Bears were forced to go for two because of the failed extra point earlier, making it 21-19 going into the half. After the Skyhawks scored on the interception, UCA answered with quarterback Nathan Brown coming in off the bench to play the majority of the drive. He finished it off with an 8-yard pass for a touchdown to Norvell. Linebacker Quentin Maxfield led the Bears with 13 tackles. Kelvin Horne had 9 stops, 3 for loss. Safety Leroy Hamilton seemed to be all over the field and finished with 6 tackles and a blocked punt. Linebacker Ryan Taylor had 7 tackles. Safety Cory Cangelosi and end Jacob Ford both had 6 stops. The Bears will open up the Gulf South Conference season Saturday when Southern Arkansas comes to Estes Stadium for a 6 p.m. rumble. “We’ve just got to learn from our mistakes and get better,” Conque said. “But you can’t make the mistakes we did tonight and expect to compete.”


				Quarterback Chris Reil tried to recover from one of five sacks in Thursday’s 35-34 loss to Tennessee-Martin. Despite being sacked five times, Reil was 24-of-30 for 342 yards and two TDs.