Wonder Boys out for revenge

Arkansas Tech coach Steve Mullins doesn't make any excuses when discussing his team's 42-17 loss to North Alabama back on Oct. 3.

"There are no "What ifs," from that game," Mullins said. "We just got whipped by an outstanding UNA team. We've gone back and looked at the film this week and it's as ugly on film as it was that night."

Mullins and the Wonder Boys get a chance to revenge Saturday when Arkansas Tech (9-2) faces UNA (10-1) in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Kickoff is at noon at Braly Stadium.

While the loss to UNA hurt, the Wonder Boys did not let it ruin their season. After that loss they reeled off five consecutive wins to finish second in the Gulf South Conference and earn the No. 3 seed from Super Region 2 for the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Last week, Arkansas Tech opened the playoffs with a 41-13 victory over UNC Pembroke.

"We tried to regroup as best we could after the loss to UNA," Mullins said. "We knew then that we probably had to win the rest of our games to make the playoffs.

"We beat Delta State late in the season and that was one that we really needed. I think after we won that one our players started believing we had a good chance at making the playoffs. The conference has been the big three in recent years with UNA, Delta State and Valdosta State, so finally beating one of those teams was huge for us."

The 17 points Arkansas Tech scored against UNA was a season low for the Wonder Boys. In the last six games they have scored at least 35 points in every game, including 62 against West Georgia.

Mullins, however, said the defense has been the key to the success Tech has enjoyed in the second half of the season.

"We've been much more consistent defensively," he said. "We brought in a new defensive coordinator last year and it has taken some time for our defense to get comfortable with the new system. The defense, and our entire team is playing with more confidence now."

The Wonder Boys are led by senior quarterback Nick Graziano. A Harlon Hill Trophy finalist, Graziano has thrown for 3,881 yards and 35 touchdowns. He has two receivers with over 1,000 yards receiving in Frantz Simeon (75 catches for 1,254 yards and 14 TDs) and Landon Turner (73-1,015, 8 TDs).

Graziano, Simeon and Turner were all named first-team All-GSC, along with center Torrence Wright.

"Things have gone really well since we played UNA," Graziano said. "We kind of went back to the basics and started understanding what our offense is all about. We're excited about the opportunity to play UNA again."

Mullins said it was obvious that Arkansas Tech must do things some differently against UNA this time. UNA finished with 496 yards of total offense in the first meeting, while the Wonder Boys had 452 yards, but also had five turnovers.

"If I'm North Alabama, I probably don't change a thing," Mullins said. "But when you get whipped like we did you have to make changes. Hopefully, we will play much better this time."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff..mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.