STEPHENVILLE, Texas (September 9, 2023) – The first game in United Athletic Conference history saw over 1,000 combined yards in a high-scoring affair between North Alabama and Tarleton State, but the home-standing Texans had a little more steam in the fourth quarter to win 52-31 on Saturday in Stephenville, Texas.
The momentum was on UNA's side early on, as the Lions carried a 28-17 lead into the locker room. The Texans began to shift it back in their favor in the second half with most of its scoring coming late in the contest. Meanwhile, the Lions were hampered by turnovers, untimely penalties and the late absence of key players due to injuries.
Despite the loss, UNA out-gained Tarleton State 565-477 with 342 yards passing and 223 yards rushing. Today marks the 61st time in school history that UNA has totaled over 500 yards with 11 of those coming on the road and two of those coming in trips to Stephenville in 2013 and 2023. The two sides combined for 1,042 yards.
North Alabama also set a new record for most plays, taking 109 offensive snaps. The previous record of 96 plays was set in 2002 against Arkansas Tech and again in 2010 at Glenville State. The record was tied in a balanced attack with 43 rushing plays and 43 passing plays, then the Lions entered century territory for the first-time ever with 21 more passing plays and a pair of rushes.
The Lions were successful on conversions with 12-23 on third down and 3-5 on fourth down. Meanwhile, the Texans struggled with a combined 2-12 on third and fourth downs, but took advantage of explosive plays on early downs.
The Lions dip to a 1-2 record on the season, while Tarleton State improves to 2-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
North Alabama 7, Tarleton State 0: The Texans won the toss and chose to defer, giving UNA the ball first. Although the Lions coughed up the football in the redzone on the opening drive, they atoned for that with a stop on 4th-and-2 and a 10 play, 49 yard drive that ended with a one yard plunge by
Jalyn Daniels.
North Alabama 14, Tarleton State 0: Tarleton was three plays into the ensuing possession after UNA's first score, throwing an interception into the hands of
Rush Lansdell in enemy territory. The Lions successfully ran a trick play as Walters connected with Daniels on a wide-open wheel. Daniels was hurt on the play, exiting the game. Three plays later, a motivated
Demarcus Lacey ran his first rushing touchdown of the season from two yards out and threw up a pair of ones in honor of his injured teammate.
North Alabama 14, Tarleton State 7: The Texans scored on the next possession, going 75 yards on seven plays. The drive ended with a 12 yard run by Derrel Kelley III.
North Alabama 14, Tarleton State 14: UNA punted on the next possession after the first TSU touchdown, allowing the Texans to take over at their own 47. A 37 yard pass to Keylan Johnson put Tarleton State in the red zone, where quarterback Victor Gabalis went back to the well and found Johnson again for a 13 yard score to tie it.
SECOND QUARTER
North Alabama 21, Tarleton State 14: The second quarter started with the two purple teams trading punts and UNA taking over at its own 33 yard line with 12:44 remaining. After a nine yard pass to tight end
Kenny Rawls, UNA turned to experienced running back
Parker Driggers who ran and caught his way to 32 yards. A few plays later, Walters handed off to
Demarcus Lacey nine yards out who rushed up the middle for the go-ahead score.
North Alabama 28, Tarleton State 14: The Texans once again tried to go for it on fourth down, but came up empty handed as junior linebacker
A.J. Phillips tripped up Kelley III on what would have been a first down conversion. Taking over at the TSU 46, Walters engineered a six play drive that resulted in a QB keeper that went for five yards and a score.
North Alabama 28, Tarleton State 17: A penalty forced UNA to kickoff from its own 20 yard line, allowing TSU to receive in more favorable position and break off a long return into the red zone. The UNA defense held strong, including a second down sack by Texas native
Philip Ossai and a touchdown-saving tackle by
Gregory Reddick on third down. TSU elected to take the points with a short 25 yard field goal by Adrian Guzman.
With 2:14 left in the half, UNA had a kickoff return miscue that put the offense on its own one yard line. The Lions engineered an impressive 11 play, 81 yard drive, but just ran out of time to end the half.
THIRD QUARTER
North Alabama 28, Tarleton State 24: UNA forced a punt on the opening possession of the third quarter and started its own drive with a 35 yard run by Lacey, but TSU poked the ball out and ended the drive. On the very next play, Gabalis connected with Johnson for a 64 yard score — their second scoring hook-up of the game.
North Alabama 31, Tarleton State 24: The Lions took over on their own 25 after the touchdown, using a combination of Driggers and Frisco, Texas native
Dennis Moody at running back. The key play on the drive came through the air, as Walters found
David Florence for a 27 yard one-handed catch to flip field position. This set up a successful 39 yard field goal by
Sam Contorno.
North Alabama 31, Tarleton State 31: The Texans tied the game with 8:02 remaining in the third quarter, as Gabalis found Johnson for a third touchdown connection. The 55 yard pass put Johnson over 200 receiving yards. The PAT tied the game.
Tarleton State 38, North Alabama 31: Tarleton State took its first lead of the game with 4:17 left in the quarter, as Kayvon Britten rushed for an eight-yard touchdown.
FOURTH QUARTER
Tarleton State 45, North Alabama 31: The Lions had some unfortunate breaks early in the fourth quarter, as controversy ensued on a muffed punt by UNA. The Texans took advantage of the favorable field position with another touchdown strike from Gabalis to Johnson along the end zone boundary.
Tarleton State 52, North Alabama 31: The final blow came with just over 10 minutes remaining, as O'tay Baker broke up a pass play and came up with an interception which he returned for 50 yards and a score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Noah Walters was a busy man under center, completing 36-of-63 passes for 342 yards. The 63 attempts broke a school record set back in 2005 by Vinnie Saylor at 58 against Central Arkansas. Walters was one completion short of tying Saylor for that all-time record.
- The Lions ran 109 plays, nearly doubling the 55 ran by Tarleton State.
- UNA had 33 first downs on Saturday, just three short of the record set in the 2010 Glenville State game. UNA had more passing first downs (17) than Tarleton did total first downs (16).
- Eleven Lions caught at least one pass and totaled at least eight yards, including eight receivers with double digit totals. David Florence led the corps with eight receptions for 82 yards, followed by Takairee Kenebrew with six catches for 56 yards.
- In the absence of Jalyn Daniels, Demarcus Lacey picked up the rushing attack with 95 yards on 17 attempts and two scores. Parker Driggers added 16 carries for 65 yards.
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Lacey had over 100 all-purpose yards for a second straight game, totaling 121 tonight with 26 receiving yards.
- Sam Contorno made all four of his extra points and made a 39 yard field goal in the third quarter.
- Edwin White Schultz and Philip Ossai split the team lead with six tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack by Ossai. Shaun Myers followed with five tackles.
- Rush Lansdell had the lone pick for the Lions, while K.J. Trujillo forced and recovered the lone fumble.
- UNA has scored at least 28 points in all four meetings against Tarleton State all-time, averaging over 30.0 points per game.
- The Lions now have an all-time record of 481-300-16.
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions will be back on the road next week at Tennessee Tech. Kickoff for the non-conference matchup is set for 6 p.m. in Cookeville.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
