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October 9, 2004
NORTH ALABAMA BLOWS
OPEN GAME LATE FOR 45-24 WIN |
BOX SCORE
FLORENCE –
North Alabama blew open a close game in
the second half with big plays as the Lions rallied from an early
10-7 deficit to rout Southern Arkansas 45-24 at Braly Municipal
Stadium. The win, UNA’s second straight, ups the Lions’ record
to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the Gulf South Conference. UNA
scored five touchdowns in the second half with 14 points in the
third quarter and 21 more in the fourth for the win. A 63-yard
touchdown pass from Vinnie Saylor to Jaron Fountain and a 74-yard
fumble return by Brett Borden were key plays over the final 30
minutes. The Lions were penalized for 130 yards in the game
but rolled up 503 yards of total offense with 203 rushing and 300
passing. DeMarcus Blount rushed for 122 yards on 18 carries
and scored twice, setting a UNA record for career rushing touchdowns
with 42. He broke the mark of 40 set by Cody Gross from 1992-95.
Saylor was 22-of-32 for 278 yards and one touchdown. Fountain had
158 yards on six receptions. Southern Arkansas fumbled on its
first possession and UNA scored three plays later on a three-yard
run by Blount. Beau Tanner’s PAT made it 7-0 with 12:16 left in the
first quarter. SAU tied the game with a 36-yard TD pass from
Damian Melancon to Torrance Hoye with 10:22 left in the quarter.
A 25-yard David Korff field goal with 1:46 left in the half gave the
Muleriders a 10-7 lead but UNA tied it with three seconds left in
the half on a 28-yard Tanner field goal. The second half was
all UNA as Blount scored on an 11-yard run at the 7:54 mark of the
third quarter and Saylor scored on a 10-yard run on the last play of
the period. Following an SAU scored by D.D. Holyfield on a
three-yard run that cut UNA’s lead to 24-17, Fountain took a short
pass from Saylor and raced 63 yards to the end zone. Randy
Vickers scored on a one-yard run to make it 38-17 and the Borden
scooped up an SAU fumble and took it back 74 for a score to make it
45-17. The Muleriders added a late score on a three-yard run
by Kendric Loucious to make the final 45-24. UNA travels to
Henderson State on October 16 to face Henderson State. |
