Warfield
Drew Barton
28
Winner Tarleton St. TSU 3-1 , 1-0
14
North Alabama UNA 0-5 , 0-1
Winner
Tarleton St. TSU
3-1 , 1-0
28
Final
14
North Alabama UNA
0-5 , 0-1
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
TSU Tarleton St. 0 7 14 7 28
UNA North Alabama 3 3 8 0 14

Game Recap: Football |

Lions outlasted by No. 16 Texans in UAC opener, 28-14

White Schultz leads defense in season debut, Lions total 385 yards of offense in late loss

FLORENCE, Ala. (September 21, 2024) – North Alabama made it clear to the rest of the United Athletic Conference the Lions will be a program to be reckoned after battling No. 16 Tarleton State to the wire before dropping a hard-fought 28-14 decision Saturday night at Braly Stadium.

The Lions (0-5, 0-1 in UAC) found themselves trailing only 7-6 at halftime. Tarleton State was limited to 141 yards in the first half, with the bulk of that total coming on a 96-yard run by Kayvon Britten in the second quarter.

The Texans (3-1, 1-0) were picked to finish second out of nine UAC teams in the Preseason Coaches Poll but found themselves locked in a 14-14 tie in the third quarter after Jayvian Allen's 10-yard run.

UNA pounded out 189 yards on the ground with eight different players carrying the football, led by quarterback TJ Smith with 72 yards. Overall, the Lions out-gained the Texans 385-334 and possessed the ball for almost 38 minutes compared to just 22 for Tarleton.

Redshirt junior safety Edwin White Schultz made an immediate impact in his return to UNA's lineup, recording a tackle on the first play from scrimmage and finishing with eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble. Defensive back Gregory Reddick added five tackles and boosted his team lead to 45 through five games.

UNA pass defense, meanwhile, allowed just 50 yards through the air – the second-fewest ever surrendered in the FCS era. Tarleton State did its damage on the ground as Britten ran for 273 yards and four touchdowns. The rest of the Texans accounted for only 11 rushing yards.

Scott Payne provided the Lions' other points with field goals of 20 and 22 yards. He remains perfect at 5-for-5 this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST QUARTER
North Alabama 3, Tarleton State 0: The Lions received the opening kickoff and pierced together a time-consuming 13-play, 72-yard scoring drive that culminated with Scott Payne's 20-yard field goal. TJ Smith completed three passes on the drive and Kobe Warden picked up 23 yards on a reverse into Texans territory as UNA took more than seven minutes off the clock to start the game. The Lions possessed the ball for over 12 minutes in the first quarter.
 
SECOND QUARTER
Tarleton State 7, North Alabama 3: Adam Watford's 41-yard punt pinned the Texans inside their own 5 midway through the second quarter. Tarleton State, which had been limited to 33 scrimmage yards through the first 21 minutes, grabbed the lead when Kayvon Britten took the handoff, broke free up the middle and out-ran the Lions defense for a 96-yard touchdown with 9:05 left in the quarter.
 
Tarleton State 7, North Alabama 6: UNA sliced the deficit to one at halftime with a 72-yard march that eventually stalled at Tarleton State's 5. Payne finished off the 14-play drive with his second field goal, a 22-yarder.
 
THIRD QUARTER
Tarleton State 14, North Alabama 6: The Lions' first mistake of the night proved costly when Tarleton State's Kasyus Kurns pounced on a muffed punt at UNA's 19. The Texans found the end zone in five plays, all Kayvon Britten runs, and Adrian Guzman added the extra point with 10:10 remaining in the third.

North Alabama 14, Tarleton State 14: UNA turned to backup quarterback Ben Harris when TJ Smith left the game with an injury, and the redshirt junior wasted little time making an impact. Harris hooked up with Dakota Warfield for a 31-yard gain deep into Texans territory, and Jayvian "Juice" Allen put the finishing touches on the scoring march with a 10-yard TD run. Harris then hit Kaleb Heatherly on the two-point conversion as the Lions drew even.    

Tarleton State 21, North Alabama 14: Tarleton State wasted no time regaining the lead. On the second play of the ensuing possession, Britten – who entered the game as the second-leading rusher in FCS – broke loose up the middle again, this time scoring from 65 yards.
 
FOURTH QUARTER
Tarleton State 28, North Alabama 14: Britten put the finishing touches on his four-touchdown, 269-yard effort with a nine-yard touchdown run that capped off an 80-yard Texans drive.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • Redshirt junior safety Edwin White Schultz made his season debut and was credited with a tackle on Tarleton State's first offensive play. The preseason All-America candidate and 2023 first-team All-UAC selection finished with eight stops, two sacks and a forced fumble in his 2024 debut.
  • UNA's 13-play opening drive ending with Scott Payne's 20-yard field goal consumed 7:03, by far its longest time of possession on a scoring drive this season. The previous high was an eight-play touchdown drive that took 4:38 vs. Illinois State.
  • The Lions later added a 14-play scoring drive late in the first half, the second straight week the offense has produced points after maintaining possession for 14 plays. UNA had a 14-play, 68-yard scoring drive at UT Martin last week that resulted in a field goal.
  • Quarterback TJ Smith made his first career start and completed 10-of-19 passes for 85 yards before leaving the game in the third quarter with an injury. He returned early in the fourth quarter and finished 13-of-23 for 96 yards. Smith also was the Lions' top rusher with 72 yards on 14 carries.
  • Seventh-year senior receiver Takairee Kenebrew caught four passes and now has 118 in his career. Kenebrew needs six more catches to move past Jason Messing for 10th place on UNA's all-time receptions list.
  • Adam Watford punted five times for a 47.4-yard average.
  • Tarleton State's 50 passing yards was the fewest allowed by the Lions defense in the FCS era since No. 4 Kennesaw State had zero yards on four passes attempts on Oct. 26, 2019. The Owls rushed for 490 yards in that game.
  • Senior receiver Kobe Warden's 26-yard reception in the second quarter was the third-longest of his career and longest of the season. Warden had a 40-yard catch vs. UT Martin in 2023 and a 32-yard snag vs. Robert Morris in 2021.
  • Ben Harris' pass to Kaleb Heatherly following Juice Allen's third-quarter touchdown run was the third successful two-point conversion of the year for the Lions. UNA previously had two-point conversions against Southeast Missouri and UT Martin.
  • Scott Payne is now 5-for-5 on field goal tries, with kicks of 20 and 22 yards against the Texans. 
  • The Texans are UNA's eighth consecutive opponent that's been ranked or received votes in a national poll. UNA's last three opponents in 2023, Austin Peay (FCS #20), Central Arkansas (FCS #25) and Florida State (FBS #4), were ranked, respectively, while Southeast Missouri, Memphis (FBS Coaches Poll #25), Illinois State (FCS #18), UT Martin and Tarleton State (FCS #16) are currently ranked or garnered votes this year.
  • UNA is 61-60-1 all-time against ranked opponents. The Lions' last win over a ranked team came against NCAA Division II No. 24 Azusa Pacific in 2018.
COMING UP NEXT
Next Saturday, the Lions travel to Carrollton, Ga., for the renewal of a classic series against West Georgia, a first-year UAC member. The teams battled every year between 1983-2017 while in the Gulf South Conference, with UNA holding a 22-13 edge in the all-time series.

Kickoff at 10,000-seat University Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST with television coverage on ESPN+.
 
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 
 
 
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