Wonder Boys Begin 2016 Season Thursday

Football game week preparation inside the coaches’ offices and meeting rooms at the Hull Physical Education Building normally includes a great deal of film study on the schemes and alignments Arkansas Tech University expects to see from its next opponent.

But when it’s the season opener, and the next opponent — Southern Nazarene University, in this case — has a new head coach, there isn’t much evidence to study.

“This has been very difficult planning for these guys,” said Raymond Monica, who is beginning his fourth season as the Wonder Boys’ head coach. “You’ve got a coach (Andy Lambert) who is coming in from another university. Everybody thinks from the get-go it is about offensive and defensive schemes, which it is, but the kicking game is also huge. What punt formation will they line up in? There’s a bunch of them to choose from. We have to prepare for every little thing going into this game. The thing I’ve been telling the players is this will be a game of adjustments in the early going.”

Arkansas Tech will begin its 102nd football season by hosting SNU for a 7 p.m. Great American Conference game at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field in Russellville on Thursday, Sept. 1.

Party at the Plaza, the pre-game tailgating celebration outside the stadium, will begin at 5 p.m. Game tickets ($10 adults/$5 senior citizens and students) will be available at the stadium ticket office during Party at the Plaza. Those with a valid Arkansas Tech identification card will be admitted free of charge.

Arkansas Tech is coming off its most successful football season in six years. The Wonder Boys were 9-3 overall and champions of the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl during the 2015 season.

Gone from that team are quarterback Arsenio Favor and linebacker Logan Genz, both of whom were seniors last year. Among the key returnees are running back Bryan Allen, who rushed for 1,150 yards a year ago, and defensive back Cua’ Rose, who was second on the team in tackles with 76.

It is anticipated that Ty Reasnor, a junior transfer from Emporia State University who joined the Arkansas Tech program at the beginning of fall 2016 practice, will start at quarterback against SNU.

Reasnor completed 61 percent of his passes for 894 yards and eight touchdowns as a redshirt freshman at Emporia State in 2014. Last season, he backed up Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Brent Wilson on a Hornets team that reached the NCAA Division II Playoffs national quarterfinals.

Winning is something that Reasnor is accustomed to. He led Cashion High School (Okla.) to a 13-1 record during his senior season and went on to graduate as class valedictorian the following spring.

“I told Ty that if he came to Tech, he would be sixth string on the first day of practice,” said Monica. “Within five days, he was basically our first-team guy. He has shown very good leadership. I’m really looking forward to watching him play and seeing what he is capable of. He’s doing a very good job with everything we’ve seen in practice.”

Monica went on to say that Jabyes Cross, a junior from Riviera Beach, Fla., has also impressed the coaching staff with his performance at quarterback during preseason practice.

“(Cross) is a dual threat,” said Monica. “He can go the distance with his feet, and he has a very strong arm. We have a much better situation (at quarterback) than what I thought we had coming out of spring practice.”

Southern Nazarene defeated Oklahoma Baptist 33-32 in overtime in its final game of 2015. The win capped a 1-10 season and ended a 32-game losing streak for the Crimson Storm.

The Wonder Boys are 3-0 against Southern Nazarene since the Crimson Storm joined the GAC in 2013. Arkansas Tech has won those three meetings by a combined margin of 145-35.

Radio station KCJC 102.3 FM will have the play-by-play description of the Tech-SNU game. Live video, live audio and live statistics will be available at www.arkansastechsports.com.