Lions Post 17-10 Road Victory

CLEVELAND, Miss. -- North Alabama’s defense allowed the high powered Delta State offense just three first downs in the final 30 minutes and held on as the No. 3 ranked Lions downed the #16 Statesmen 17-10 at Parker Field.

The game was tied 10-10 at the half but UNA’s defense held DSU to just 65 yards of offense in the second half. The Lions game-winning score came when quarterback A.J. Milwee ran into the line, then bounced outside for a one-yard touchdown run on a fourth down play with 4:03 left in the third quarter.

Delta drove to the UNA 11 midway through the fourth quarter but a Scott Eyster fumble was recovered by Larry Wilson at the threat was stopped.

The win kept North Alabama perfect at 7-0, while the Statesmen fall to 6-2. The game was a non-Gulf South Conference contest, but the Lions maintain a one-game lead in league play at 5-0.

The win was UNA’s first of the season against a nationally ranked team and UNA head coach Mark Hudspeth improved to 12-5 against ranked teams.

Eyster, a finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2005, was held to just 11-of-24 passing for 204 yards by the Lion defense. UNA’s Milwee, meanwhile, was 17-of-27 for 144 yards in improving his record to 7-0 as a starter. As a team, the Lions improved to 7-0 for the fourth time in school history.

Delta State’s final possession of the game ended when an Eyster pass was ruled incomplete on a fourth-
and-11 call from the Delta State 18-yard line.

UNA then ran the clock out for the win.

The Lions ran 69 offensive plays to just 48 for the Statesmen and UNA held the ball for 38:51 to just 21:09
for Delta State.

Michael Johnson led UNA’s defensive effort with eight tackles and Dee Pittman and Montrell Craft had sacks for the Lions.  North Alabama’s offense controlled the ball early, running 30 plays on its first two possessions and keeping the ball for 12 minutes of the first quarter.

On the opening drive of the game, UNA moved 58 yards in 14 plays but the Lions were kept off the scoreboard when a 39-yard field goal attempt by Yuta Fukuda was blocked by Delta State.

The Statesmen then marched to the UNA 15-yard line before the Lion defense held. Sid Halliday booted a 32-yard field goal and Delta State was on top 3-0 with 4:52 left in the first quarter.

North Alabama began the ensuing drive at its own 16 and held the ball 16 plays before Fukuda tied the game with a 38-yard field goal at the 12:00 mark of the second quarter. The Lions converted three times on third down on the drive and the big play was a 31-yard pass completion from A.J. Milwee to Anthony Merritt.

The Lion defense held Delta State to three plays and out on its next possession and UNA would find the end zone two plays later.

A double-reverse to Marcus Lewis went for 54 yards and a touchdown and UNA led 10-3 with 9:18 left in
the half.  After an exchange of punts, Delta State got the ball at its own 22-yard line with 1:39 left in the half.
Facing a second-and-15 from their 29, the Statesmen got a 40-yard pass completion from Scott Eyster to Jeremy Ricks that moved the ball to the UNA 31. Four plays later, Eyster scrambled and eventually found his way to the end zone with 27 seconds left in the half. Halliday’s PAT tied the game at 10-10.