By By Joey Vaughan/special to The Star
August 31, 2002
The scoreboard operator at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium could be a busy man in Ole Miss' opener Saturday night.
Louisiana-Monroe, a team that has won three games in the last two years, visits for Saturday's 6 p.m. contest. The Indians gave up 32 points per game last year, and have lost their last four meetings with SEC schools by scores of 55-6, 70-3, 52-6 and 44-6.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, returns seven starters from an offense that scored a school-record 35.6 points per game. It could get ugly.
But the Indians come into the game with the measured confidence of a team that sees a brighter future ahead.
last couple of years."
That's a good sign for the Indians, who averaged just 13.5 points per game,
ranking 114th nationally in scoring last year. They'll be led this season
by junior college transfer quarterback Daniel DaPrato.
The Indians' top receiver, Mack Vincent, and top rusher, senior Bryant
Jacobs, are back. Vincent caught 47 passes for 619 yards and two scores last
season, while Jacobs gained 305 yards on the ground on 103 carries with one
score.
Junior linebacker Maurice Sonnier led ULM with 76 tackles last season, including 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. Also returning on defense is sophomore free safety Chris Harris, who was third on the squad with 74 hits and intercepted a team-high two passes.
The Indians have been running the 4-2-5 defense that Ole Miss just installed
for years, so they will be familiar with some of the Rebels' defensive sets.
A defensive concern for the Indians, obviously, will be containing junior
quarterback Eli Manning, who set 17 Ole Miss records last year.
pocket too long then of course we're in trouble," said senior linebacker
Carols Hughes. "We have good DBs so if we can bring some pressure on him
then we hope we can make him have break downs."
Hughes, a Rosedale native, is eager to show the people in his home state that ULM football is on the way up.
this one," he said. "I have a lot of family and a lot friends who are going
to be there. I'm ready to show everyone that we're not like we have been the
last couple of years, this is our time. I want to leave my (young) players
with a winning attitude."