McKissic enjoys grand day in romp

BECK CROSS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

PINE BLUFF -- The constant drizzle Saturday put a slight damper on tailgating and homecoming festivities but did nothing to impede the effectiveness of junior tailback Dwight McKissic.
The transfer from the University of Oklahoma rushed for 241 yards on 17 carries and 2 touchdowns to lead Arkansas-Pine Bluff (5-4, 4-2) to a 32-13 victory over Prairie View A&M (1-9,1-6) before a soggy crowd of 7,000 at Golden Lion Stadium.
With his 1,107 yards rushing for the year, McKissic became only the fifth UAPB back to surpass the 1,000 mark for a season.
"I knew how many yards I had coming in, but I tried to block it out,'' McKissic said. "I've been bothered by a groin injury the last couple of weeks, so I really needed to stay focused.
"Now that I'm over 1,000, I can't tell you how happy and relieved I am. When I came here, I knew I wanted to be somebody who could produce instead of just sitting on the bench.''
Since he assumed the starter's position three weeks ago in place of injured Ron Johnson, McKissic has averaged 225.6 yards a game. He has passed Johnson as the leading rusher in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
He will likely be called on again next week. Johnson separated a shoulder in the first half and finished with 30 yards on four carries.
"With Ron down, we knew we wouldn't be slipping any with McKissic in the backfield,'' UAPB Coach Lee Hardman said. "He has continued to carry the load.''
Prairie View, which ended a 67-game conference losing streak on Oct. 7 against Alcorn State, never posed a serious threat to the Golden Lions.
Maurice Troutman set up UAPB's first scoring opportunity with a tip and interception at the Panthers 46. The Golden Lions converted a fourth-and-1 with a 3-yard run by Johnson and capped the seven-play scoring drive with a 28-yard run by McKissic.
Aaron Wall's extra point made it 7-0 with 8:08 left in the first quarter.
Less than two minutes later, Prairie View was charged with a safety after the snap from center sailed over punter Chris Dailey's head and out of the end zone.
Bobby Jett returned the kickoff 38 yards to the Prairie View 37, and UAPB took advantage with a five-play scoring drive. Darryl Shelton completed a 23-yard scoring pass to Philip Doolin on fourth-and-goal from the 15 to extend the lead to 16-0 with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, UAPB scored on a three-play, 70-yard drive. McKissic broke free for a 50-yard run to set up Shelton's 20-yard pass to freshman Mark Bradley.
But the play of the game for McKissic was yet to come. With UAPB backed up at its 17 with 1:49 left in the half, McKissic found a hole off right tackle, sprinted untouched to the Prairie View 20 and shook off three defenders before finding the end zone.
The 83-yard run put him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season.
"If you're all caught up in how many yards you need, you don't play like you're supposed to do,'' McKissic said. "But getting 1,000 yards this season is more than I expected when I came here. I just feel blessed.''
As the stands began to thin immediately after the halftime show, the Panthers prevented the shutout on their opening possession of the third quarter. Backup quarterback Jamaal Foster rushed twice for 51 yards and was 2 of 2 passing for 35 yards in the four-play drive, including the 22-yard touchdown pass to Deontay Wilson.
Set up by Timothy Jasper's interception the Prairie View 44, UAPB got a 23-yard field goal from Aaron Wall with 6:11 left in the quarter to pad the margin to 32-7.

This article was published on Sunday, November 5, 2000

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