WEATHERFORD – Week two of the season brings SWOSU's home opener, the Flex-Chem Football Classic, against Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday. Kickoff for the game is set for 6:00 pm on Flex-Chem Field at Milam Stadium.

It's the first Saturday contest of the young season after the Bulldogs (0-1) began the campaign last Thursday against a stout ranked Ouachita Baptist team who claimed a 42-3 win.

First year SWOSU head coach Andrew Rice remains on the hunt for the first win of his coaching career. He'll hope current trends in the SWOSU/UAM series continue after Saturday. In the 12 games the two teams have played against each other dating back to 2011 and the formation of the Great American Conference, the home team has one all but one game. The Bulldogs are 5-0 against the Weevils when the game is played in Weatherford. The road trip is the second longest in the conference between any teams. Only Monticello's trek to Northwestern is further.

The Bulldogs are 7-5 in home openers as a member of the GAC.

Week One Recap

The Dawgs had a tough opening game to the season with the No. 19/17 Tigers of Ouachita first on the schedule. The road game started well, with defensive stops on back-to-back drives including a turnover – but an offensive turnover of their own late in the first quarter led to points the other way and the sequence seemingly flipped the game's momentum for good.

Quarterbacks Chandler Galban and Kai Kunz split time behind center. After a pair of Galban fumbles, Kunz found himself in the game for much of the second half. He finished 13-for-21 for 94 yards and had one interception. He also ran the ball 15 times for a team high 85 yards. The offense totaled 247 yards in the game with a good chunk of that number coming in the fourth quarter.

Baylor Nash caught six balls for 48 yards to lead all pass catchers. Logan Monroe led the team with seven tackles and a sack. The defense recovered three fumbles on the night.

The Opponent

Arkansas-Monticello (1-0) comes to town riding a win in week one over Northwestern, 34-7. The Weevils finished 2-9 a year ago, losing their last nine contests after starting 2-0 against SWOSU and Northwestern. Sixth year dual-threat quarterback and the 2019 GAC Freshman of the Year Demilon Brown will lead the UAM offense. He missed more than half of last season and returns for one final season. In 2022, despite missing three games of that season, he still ranked fifth in the league in rushing and sixth in passing.

Alongside Brown is senior wide receiver Isaiah Cross who was named an All-GAC selection last year.

Defensively, UAM limited Northwestern to 162 yards of total offense in week one and forced three turnovers.