This article is one in a series of features produced in partnership with the Southwestern Athletic Conference, exploring the history of the SWAC from its founding in 1920 to the present day. The series will run during the months of April and May.
A few weeks ago, the Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Washington Commanders communities were hit hard with the stunning and sudden passing of Monte Coleman.
Coleman was a linebacker who played all 14 of his NFL seasons with the Commanders, helping them win Super Bowls in 1982, 1987 and 1991.
And it’s likely he’ll be remembered just as much for leading one of the most unexpected SWAC football champions of all time.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s football history is an interesting, if scattered one. Then known as Arkansas AM&N, the school was a member of the SWAC from 1936 to 1969, then jumped around as a NCAA Division II and NAIA independent before rejoining the SWAC in 1998.
The Golden Lions boasted some longtime pro players, such as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive L.C. Greenwood, Atlanta Falcons deep ball threat Wallace Francis and AFL all-pro tight end Willie Frazier.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff was successful at the NAIA level in the mid-90s, advancing to the 1994 national championship game before falling in a 13-12 heartbreaker to Northeastern State of Oklahoma.
The Golden Lions’ best year since rejoining the SWAC was 2006, when under Mo Forte they won the SWAC West, but lost the SWAC championship game 22-13 to Alabama A&M.
Coleman served as Forte’s linebacker coach and team chaplain before replacing him as head coach prior to the 2008 campaign.
In four seasons at the helm, Coleman was 19-25 and had just picked up his first winning season (6-5) in 2011.
Needless to say there were no high expectations for UAPB entering the 2012 season; they were picked third in the West behind Grambling and Prairie View in the SWAC preseason polls. The Golden Lions’ best-known player was three-time all-SWAC offensive lineman Terron Armstead, who went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins.
The season got off to an inauspicious start as UAPB struggled with NAIA member Langston, who was coached by future Grambling head man Mickey Joseph.
Placekicker Tyler Strickland rescued the Golden Lions with a 27-yard field goal with a second left for a 17-14 victory.
After getting hammered by Tennessee State 40-13 on September 29, UAPB stood at 2-2, facing a crossroads in their season and Jackson State coming to Golden Lion stadium that next weekend.
The Tigers did everything right that weekend…except hold onto the football. JSU ran for 319 yards, but fumbled the ball away four times.
154 yards rushing and two touchdowns from Dennis Jenkins helped the Golden Lions beat JSU 34-24 in a soggy Saturday night game. It was the start of a win streak that would take Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the top of the SWAC.
The Golden Lions’ run to the SWAC title game featured a few romps (50-21 at Southern, 49-3 at Texas Southern) and a couple of close calls (10-0 over Mississippi Valley State and 24-17 at Grambling).
But none were as close or as heartstopping as the regular season finale on Nov. 17 against Prairie View.
Two touchdown passes by quarterback Ben Anderson helped UAPB open a 28-13 lead five minutes into the second quarter, but the Panthers scored two touchdowns in a span of 28 seconds to pull within a point.
Somehow, Arkansas-Pine Bluff stayed one step ahead of PV. Anderson connected with Alton Taylor for another score with just four seconds before halftime for a 35-27 Golden Lion advantage.
Prairie View started the third quarter with a touchdown drive, but Anderson called his own number from 19 yards out to make it 42-34 Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
PV scored in the fourth quarter and looked to steal a win from UAPB. Fortunately for the Golden Lions, Jarvis Webb saved the day.
Webb forced a fumble deep in UAPB territory and the Golden Lions recovered. With less than two minutes to go and PV out of timeouts, Arkansas-Pine Bluff headed to the SWAC championship game with a 42-41 victory.
They would face Jackson State, the SWAC East winner, at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama on December 8.
The Tigers were ready for UAPB this time.
A pair of long touchdowns by Rick Richardson and Rakeem Sims, along with a quarterback keeper by Clayton Moore sparked JSU to a 21-7 lead in the second quarter.
Just before halftime, the UAPB defense came up big again. Linebacker Xavier Lofton sacked Moore and forced him to fumble. Bill Ross picked up the loose ball and scooted 73 yards for a touchdown to make it a 21-14 game at halftime.
The score remained the same until the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Jackson State pinned the Golden Lions at their own five-yard line and in need of a miracle, the combination of Ben Anderson and Willie Young came through.
“I looked at the safety and once I saw him bite on the dig route, I just threw it,” Anderson said of a 95-yard bomb to Young that tied the game at 21.
The Hail Mary play produced the first overtime game in SWAC championship game history.
JSU won the coin toss and looked to take the lead on a 43-yard field goal attempt. UAPB blocked it and had a chance to win. A chance that had been several generations of football in the making.
Running back Justin Billings zipped through the Jackson State line and stepped out of bounds at the Tiger five before tumbling into the end zone.
While there was no touchdown, that was plenty of room for Tyler Strickland, who booted a 22-yard field goal to give Arkansas-Pine Bluff their first – and to date, only – SWAC football championship 24-21.
“Sometimes when you’re dealing with destiny, you can’t change it,” Monte Coleman said in the Opelika-Auburn News. “We bent but never broke. Did it scare us? Absolutely, but don’t ever count us out.”
Arkansas-Pine Bluff was also named Black College Football national champion for the first time that season and while the program has yet to repeat that success, 2012 will hold a special place in the hearts of the Golden Lions community, as will the memories of a great coach and great man who left the field far too soon.
