STEPHENVILLE, Texas (September 8, 2023) – A milestone moment will take place for the University of North Alabama and the United Athletic Conference in Texas this Saturday, as the Lions will battle Tarleton State in the first conference game in UAC history.
Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Tarleton Memorial Stadium in Stephenville, Texas.
For a list of "Things to Know" on Saturday, including parking, tickets and how to follow along,
click here.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama at Tarleton State
Date: Saturday, September 9
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Stephenville, Texas
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets: TarletonTickets.com
Social Media:
@UNAFootball
UNA Game Notes |
Opponent Game Notes |
UAC Website
ABOUT THE LIONS
- North Alabama enters its third week of competition with a 1-1 record and for a third straight week will face an opponent either ranked in the FCS Top 25 or receiving votes in one of the two major FCS polls.
- The Lions own an all-time record of 481-299-16 with 16 wins as a member of FCS.
- UNA enters its first conference game with a strong non-conference win under its belt, defeating Chattanooga by a 41-27 final in UNA's home opener at Braly Stadium last weekend.
- Despite being underdogs, North Alabama jumped to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter before Chattanooga surged back to take the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter (27-21). UNA did not cower down, tying the game midway through the fourth quarter on the first career touchdown by running back Jalyn Daniels and later taking the lead as Noah Walters connected with Dakota Warfield. UNA made a late fourth down stop and Daniels sprinted 81 yards with under a minute to go to seal the victory.
- As a team, the Lions totaled over 500 yards for the 60th time in program history — finishing with 517 yards. Fifty of those times came at home, while 10 have happened on the road. One of the 10 came the last time UNA played at Tarleton State in 2013, as the Lions totaled 501 yards in a 44-7 win.
- UNA's last performance of at least 500 yards came against EKU last season, where the Lions set their FCS era record at 571 in a back-and-forth thriller. The Colonels held on at home to win 56-53.
- Redshirt senior wide receiver Takairee Kenebrew was named the first-ever UAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, making league history following five catches for 172 yards and three touchdowns. The yardage set a new career-high and fell just 11 short of UNA's FCS era record, while the touchdowns matched his career-high and FCS era record set three times prior.
- Noah Walters took the reigns last Saturday and 16-for-28 passing for 271 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. His longest strike came on a pass to Kenebrew over the middle, making the score 14-0 in the first quarter. Walters also rushed for 28 yards, including a skillful 20 yard run.
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Sophomore running back Jalyn Daniels was atop the nation in rushing yards early this week with 196, including eight carries for 147 yards and two touchdowns against Chattanooga last week. Daniels is averaging 17.8 yards per carry this season.
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Complimenting Daniels and the receiving corps, sophomore Demarcus Lacey finished with 104 all-purpose yards, including 11 carries for 75 yards and three catches for 29 yards.
- Atop the nation in total tackles, the safety duo of Edwin White Schultz and Gregory Reddick have led the Lions in each of the last two games. White Schultz had 14 tackles in the opener and followed that with 12 tackles against UTC. Meanwhile, Reddick had eight at the FCS Kickoff and a game-high 13 against the Mocs.
- UNA recorded 12 pass breakups and one interception last Saturday in a strong defensive performance. Three of the pass breakups came from redshirt freshman Keenan Hill, while redshirt sophomore AJ Seay added a pair. Junior linebacker Shaun Myers had the first interception of the season for UNA on a tipped pass in the second half. He added a pass breakup, as well.
- Freshman punter Adam Watford ranks third in the FCS in average yards per punt with an impressive 48.0 average on 11 attempts. He had three punts sail over 50 yards this past Saturday against the Mocs, including two that went for 57 yards.
- The win over the Mocs allowed UNA to improve to a 52-20-3 record in home openers all-time.
- This season will be the sixth for UNA since transitioning to the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and the second as a full-fledged FCS member. UNA has an all-time record of 17-35 versus FCS opponents dating back to 1978.
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North Alabama remains the second-winningest program in the state of Alabama since 1990 with 254 wins in the last 33 years, ranking second only to the University of Alabama with 295 wins. The Lions boast 21 NCAA playoff appearances, 17 conference championships and three national championship victories.
ABOUT THE TEXANS
- Tarleton State opened the 2023 season last week in Louisiana, defeating McNeese State by a score of 52-34 in Lake Charles.
- With the score tied at 17-17 heading to halftime, the Texans turned on the jets and scored five second-half touchdowns en route to victory. A seven point lead grew to double digits in the fourth quarter as the Texans outscored McNeese, 21-10.
- The Texans had a pair of players join Kenebrew on the UAC Players of the Week list, including defensive honoree Patrick Jones and special teams honoree Adrian Guzman. Jones had a team-high seven tackles and had a 71 yard pick-six in the fourth quarter to extend a double-digit lead.
- On special teams, Guzman punted, kicked off and kicked field goals and had success in all three phases with a 41 yard field goal on his only attempt, a perfect 7-for-7 on extra points, 39.3 yards per punt and 36.3 yards per kickoff. One of his three punts landed inside the 20.
- Sophomore quarterback Victor Gabalis went 20-for-34 passing for 344 yards, two interceptions and three touchdowns, including a long of 62.
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The leading rusher for the Texans last week was junior Derrel Kelley III with 18 attempts for 136 yards and a score. He was complimented by fellow junior Kayvon Britten, an Arkansas Pine Bluff transfer, who ran 19 times for 82 yards and two scores and added one receiving touchdown.
- Junior receiver Darius Cooper led the way last week with six receptions for 96 yards. Teammates Dejuan Miller and Jaden Smith joined Britten as players with receiving touchdowns. Miller was on the receiving end of the 62 yard pass from Gabalis.
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Much like North Alabama, Tarleton State is a recent addition to FCS. The Texans began their transition two years after the Lions and began FCS competition in 2020. Tarleton State will be full-fledged FCS members and eligible for the playoffs in 2024.
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Last season, the Texans finished with a 6-5 record with wins over Mississippi Valley State, Eastern New Mexico, North Alabama, Southern Utah, Southwest Baptist and the season finale against Houston Christian.
SERIES HISTORY
- Saturday marks the fourth all-time meeting between UNA and Tarleton State.
- The Lions have a chance to even the series this weekend, as the Texans own a 2-1 record in the series with wins in 2012 and 2022. The Lions won in 2013.
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The road team has won every meeting in this short series. UNA's lone trip to Stephenville before this weekend happened in the 2013 regular season finale. The Lions dominated from start to finish for a 44-7 victory.
- Despite losing both meetings in Florence, UNA scored 28 points each time in a pair of high-scoring affairs. UNA is averaging 33.3 points per game and is outscoring Tarleton 100-88 over the three games.
- Saturday marks the 12th all-time meeting between UNA and the Lone Star State. The Lions own an 8-3 record against the state, including games against Abilene Christian, Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
