Two headed attack leads the way for the Miners

After having a sputtering first half, UTEP was able to right the ship and beat Arkansas Pine-Bluff to win their first season opener since 2007.

The Miners (1-0) were only up 14-10 at the half, but after a talk from head coach Mike Price at halftime, UTEP scored 17 unanswered to defeat the Golden Lions 31-10.

"It's great to be 1-0," Price said. "I think it was a good way that we won. It was a little bit frustrating at times, we had a lot of opportunities that we blew particularly in the first half, but we stuck together but that was a good thing."

UTEP was lead on offense by its two-headed attack from the backfield. Junior's Vernon Frazier and Joe Banyard combined for 183 yards rushing. Davis rushed for 89 yards on six carries with two touchdowns. Banyard rushed for 94 yards on 19 carries for two touchdowns.

"The depth we have at running back I didn't expect that many carries, but I was glad to get them," Banyard said.

Senior quarterback Trevor Vittatoe had an efficient night as he completed 17-27 passes for 229 yards. Vittatoe was intercepted in the end zone on the opening drive in the second half for UTEP. He completed a reception to nine different receivers. James Thomas led the way with four receptions for 52 yards.

"It's great to get a win for the first game of the season," Vittatoe said. "The good thing about this win is that we got the win and there are a lot of things to correct and look towards in the future."

The defense had a shaky start to their season as they allowed APBU to score on their opening possession. The Golden Lions went 80 yards on 10 plays that ended with a 34 pass from quarterback Joshua Boudreuax to fullback Torrence Shelton Jr.

From that point on UTEP stifled the APBU attack. They only allowed them to score three more points in the game. Braxton Amy intercepted Boudreaux to start the second quarter. With the interception Amy moved to ninth all-time on UTEP's career interception list, it was the tenth of his career.

"The strength of our team is the chemistry," Amy said. "We came together and we talked about it. We made adjustments and we are a mentally tough team this year then we have been in the past."

The Miner defense forced two turnovers and also had two sacks in the game. UTEP's defense held the Golden Lion offense to 278 yards. The Miners struggled to contain APBU on third down as they were five for thirteen.

UTEP avoided making mental errors as they had a game low four penalties. One of their penalties was a questionable call that was made early in the game.

Next up for UTEP is a Friday night showdown against the Houston Cougars at 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 10 at Robertson Stadium. The Cougars beat Texas State 68-28. Case Keenum finished the day 17-22 for 254 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions. Houston will be out to revenge last year's loss against the Miners who unseated the no. 12 team. Game will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Alex Morales may be reached at the prospector@utep.edu