Junior defensive back Rae Holden lunges at the West Alabama quarterback. The quarterback had a rough day staying comfortable in the pocket due to pressure from the Bison defense, which had four sacks in the game. ~ Photo by Daniel Dubois The Bison football team experienced a tough, sometimes exciting, and sometimes disappointing second season in the Gulf South Conference. Struggling without the presence of last year's AllAmerican wide receiver Gerald Payne, the Bisons found their second year in the GSC to be much tougher than the first, finishing the season with a 4-6 overall record and putting together a string of two consecutive losing seasons. "We had a little higher expectations than last year," head coach Randy Tribble said. "You always want to improve on what you were able to accomplish the season before. But we knew that losing Gerald and others would set us back a bit. We just didn't have the kind of results we'd hoped for, but we were able to improve in some areas of weakness as the season progressed." After opening the season with a record of 1-5, the Bisons were able to string together three straight wins over some tough opponents, including a 43-31 win over 11th ranked West Georgia, the Bisons' first win against a ranked opponent in 13 tries. "That was a huge win for us," offensive coordinator James Frank said. "We were able to control the ball better than we had all season and consistently put points on the board. It was our first home win of the season and gave us some much-needed momentum heading into Homecoming the following week." Homecoming weekend marked another milestone for the Bisons, as their 44-10 win over West Alabama lifted their Homecoming winning streak to 12 straight seasons. The Bisons then struggled on the road in their season closer against long-time rival Ouachita Baptist, losing 20-10 in a heartbreaking fourth quarter defensive struggle. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak against the Tigers, dating back to 1990. The Bison football assault included two first team All-GSC players, senior left tackle Nate Williams and sophomore defensive tackle Tim Love. Second team All-GSC honors were handed out to sophomore wide receiver Santiago Collins, senior defensive lineman Floyd Black, freshman linebacker Tim Polk and sophomore kicker Coy Nance. Senior wide receiver Zach Beavers was named to the Verizon Academic All-District VI College Division Football Team for his success in the classroom. -Jeff McKeand Photo by Daniel Dubois football 265
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