Kyle Shipp, Arkansas Tech University head football coach, admitted that it took a couple of days for him, his staff and the Wonder Boys to get over the disappointment of last Saturday’s loss at Henderson State University.
ATU held the nationally 20th-ranked Reddies to 222 yards of total offense (more than 300 yards below their season average coming into the game), but Henderson State wiggled off the hook by turning two Wonder Boys’ turnovers into touchdowns in the final two minutes. The Reddies won 27-12.
“Monday’s team meeting was hard,” said Shipp. “We talked about how we have to be better and take care of the ball better. You can’t play bad ball in big games. That’s the truth. It was a hard meeting, but our guys bounced back from it in practice and the weight room. We need to get to another game. It will help us mentally and physically.”
That next game is Saturday, Sept. 28, at Simmons Bank Field at Thone Stadium in Russellville. The Wonder Boys (2-1) will host the Southern Arkansas University Muleriders (2-1) for a 6 p.m. Family Day contest. Tickets are available at www.arkansastechsports.com/tickets.
Defeating the Muleriders starts with tackling running back Jariq Scales.
The former walk-on from Osceola has rushed for 3,900 yards and 40 touchdowns during his SAU career. In three games against Arkansas Tech, Scales has accumulated 548 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. His career high of 245 rushing yards in a single game came against the Wonder Boys in 2021.
“That’s something we talked about on Sunday…we have to be able to tackle really well this week because Jariq is a really, really, really good football player,” said Shipp. “He’s as good as anyone we’ve seen in this conference. To do what he’s done says so much about who he is. He already has a degree. I don’t coach him, but from what I know about him, he’s a great young man who knows how to play the game of football. We can’t let him beat us by himself.”
Live coverage of the ATU-SAU game will be available on KCJC 102.3 FM, the EAB Media Group app and www.arkansastechsports.com.
Talk to you on the radio.
Tech Tidbits is a column written by Sam Strasner, ATU director of university relations and radio play-by-play voice for ATU football and basketball.
