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November 6, 2004
LIONS LOSE FOOTBALL
FINALE AT WEST ALABAMA
LIVINGSTON, Ala. –
A 31-yard touchdown pass from Josh
Crouch to Andre Epps with six seconds left in the game gave West
Alabama a come-from-behind 28-27 win over North Alabama at Tiger
Stadium.
North Alabama led 27-15 in the
fourth quarter before the Tigers rallied for two touchdowns and the
victory.
UNA closed its 2004 season at 5-5
overall and 4-5 in the Gulf South Conference. The Tigers improved to
2-9 and 2-7.
The win was just the second for the
Tigers over North Alabama in the last 17 seasons.
With UNA leading 27-22, West Alabama mounted the game-winning drive
from its own 14-yard line in the final two minutes. A 30-yard run by
Marcuc Ross and a 23-yard pass completion moved it to UNA’s 31
before Crouch tossed the game-winner to Epps in the endzone between
two Lion defenders. On North Alabama’s second possession of the
game, a fumbled handoff was returned 30 yards for a touchdown by
West Alabama’s Kelvin Vann. The holder was tackled for a loss after
a bad snap on the extra-point attempt, keeping the score at 6-0 with
8:55 left in the opening period.
UNA finally got on the board early
in the second quarter with a 77-yard, eight-play drive. A 37-yard
run by Chris Gunn was a key play in the drive and Gunn scored the
touchdown on a four-yard run. Beau Tanner’s PAT gave UNA a 7-6 lead
with 12:45 left in the second period.
A 35-yard Tonya Butler field goal
gave the lead back to West Alabama at the 8:45 mark of the second
quarter at 9-7, but UNA answered with an 80-yard, four-play drive
for a touchdown. Gunn had 57 yards rushing on three plays, then
Randy Vickers scored on a 23-yard run. Tanner’s kick made it 14-9
with 7:57 left in the half.
UWA’s Marcus Ross scored on a
16-yard run in the final minute of the half to put the Tigers up
15-14 but Butler’s extra-point attempt was wide.
With just 50 seconds left in the
half, UNA managed to move the ball to the West Alabama 26 before
Tanner booted a 43-yard field goal to make it 17-15 with one second
left in the half.
A 21-yard Tanner field goal on UNA’s
opening series of the second half extended UNA’s lead to 20-15, then
Anthony Merritt returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown to push the
Lions’ advantage to 27-15. The return, that came with 2:43 left in
the third quarter, was Merritt’s fifth career return for a touchdown
and his third punt return for a TD this season.
A seven-yard touchdown run by West Alabama’s Jerin Wright with 11:05
left in the game brought the Tigers back. The TD was set up by a
39-yard pass from Laramie Cook to Will Harter. Rob Miller’s PAT
closed the gap to 27-22. |
