CARROLLTON, Ga. (September 28, 2024) – The revival of a longtime rivalry brought out North Alabama's finest effort of the year as the Lions knocked off FCS newcomer West Georgia 25-16 at University Stadium, dominating time of possession for their first win.
Redshirt senior
TJ Smith, making his second start at quarterback, threw two touchdown passes and
Scott Payne kicked three field goals as the Lions played mistake-free football and ran 87 plays to West Georgia's 39 while outgaining the Wolves 354-213.
UNA's defense allowed only 48 total yards after halftime while the offense kept possession for more than 43 minutes, an FCS era school record, eclipsing the mark set a week earlier against Tarleton State (37:52). The official marks were 43:16 for UNA and 16:44 for UWG.
Jackson Bratton sealed the victory by sacking West Georgia's quarterback in the end zone with 37 seconds left — the Lions' first safety since 2019.
"It's a huge sigh of relief because these guys have worked their tails off and been in so many close games already this year," said second-year head coach
Brent Dearmon. "To see them keep fighting and willing themselves to win, that was an amazing feeling."
UNA was 10 of 21 on third-down conversions and 1 of 1 on fourth down, running a fake punt with freshman defensive lineman
Kingston Lowe. The Lions improved to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in the United Athletic Conference, while West Georgia fell to 1-3 and 0-3 in UAC play.
Bratton and
Josh Anglin anchored the Lions' defense with six tackles apiece.
Dakota Warfield and
Kobe Warden each grabbed five Smith passes for 51 and 49 yards, respectively. Smith threw touchdown passes to
Takairee Kenebrew and Warfield while rushing 17 times.
Kenebrew caught three passes against the Wolves and now has 121 for his career, one behind Marcus Lewis (2002-04) for 11th place in school history. Kenebrew's second-quarter TD catch was his 29th, padding his career touchdown receptions record by four over second-place Dre Hall.
The Lions, despite injuries to two offensive linemen early, piled up 170 rushing yards, led by sophomore
Dennis Moody with 54 yards. Nine different players carried the ball for UNA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
North Alabama 3, Tarleton State 0: For the second straight week,
Scott Payne staked the Lions to an early lead with a field goal to finish off his team's first offensive series. UNA moved 58 yards in 14 plays, maintaining possession for 6:11, and Payne stayed perfect for the season with a 24-yard kick with 7:57 to go in the first.
SECOND QUARTER
West Georgia 6, North Alabama 3: The Wolves struck for a big play for their first lead. Facing third-and-3 in their own territory, quarterback Davin Wydner tossed a short pass to Chase Belcher, who shook free from two UNA defenders before getting chased down from behind after a 70-yard completion. Wydner scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak to give the Wolves their first lead at the 9:52 mark. A two-point conversion attempt failed.
North Alabama 6, West Georgia 6: A fumble recovery by
Garrick Ponder set up another Payne field goal that drew the Lions even. Smith connected with
Jayvian Allen for a 34-yard completion deep into Wolves territory, but the drive stalled, and Payne came on to kick his second field goal, this time from 27 yards.
West Georgia 13, North Alabama 6: The Wolves extended their lead by responding to UNA's field goal with a touchdown. The bulk of West Georgia's yardage came on the ground and Wydner finished off the go-ahead drive with a 12-yard run on a quarterback keeper. Chance Gagnon add the extra point for UWG.
North Alabama 13, West Georgia 13: The back-and-forth action continued as UNA immediately responded with its first touchdown drive, going 75 yards on 13 plays in two minutes. Smith's final completion of the half was a perfectly thrown pass to the back corner of the end zone to "TK" Kenebrew with four seconds on the clock. Payne's PAT pulled the Lions even for the second time.
THIRD QUARTER
North Alabama 20, West Georgia 13: A key third-down completion of 26 yards by Smith to Warden got the Lions inside the red zone late in the third quarter. A defensive pass interference penalty moved it to the Wolves 4 and UNA regained the lead when
Dakota Warfield made a brilliant one-handed catch in the end zone, getting his foot down for a four-yard touchdown with 42 seconds left in the third.
FOURTH QUARTER
North Alabama 23, West Georgia 13: The Lions ate another six minutes off the clock after forcing a punt. UNA drove to the UWG 13 in nine plays and Payne's 30-yard field goal stretched the lead to 10 with 7:47 remaining.
North Alabama 23, West Georgia 16: Gagnon's 32-yard field goal cut UNA's lead to a touchdown with 1:52 remaining. The Wolves attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff, but Warden recovered to give the Lions possession near midfield.
North Alabama 25, West Georgia 16: Sam Contorno's punt pinned the Wolves at their 5 and
Jackson Bratton sacked quarterback Davin Wydner on first down for the game-clinching safety.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- TJ Smith went the distance at quarterback and had his best game in a UNA uniform, completing 18-of-29 passes for 184 yards, setting career-highs for completions, attempts, passing yards and touchdown passes (2). He had his first TD pass of 2024, and third of his career, a two-yarder to "TK" Kenebrew just before halftime and later added a four-yarder to Dakota Warfield in the third quarter.
- Garrick Ponder's second-quarter fumble recovery was the first of the redshirt sophomore linebacker's career.
- This was UNA's first turnover-free game since Oct. 28, 2023, at Austin Peay.
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Jayvian "Juice" Allen's 34-yard catch in the second quarter was a career-long. Allen also had a 13-yard reception later in the second quarter.
- UNA's defense held West Georgia without a first down for more than 22 minutes in the second half. The Wolves finally made a first down with 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter – via a pass interference penalty.
- Jackson Bratton's sack of West Georgia quarterback Davin Wydner in the end zone marked UNA's first safety since Nov. 2, 2019, vs. Campbell.
- Scott Payne kicked a season-high three field goals and is now 8-of-9 on kicks this season.
- West Georgia's University Stadium is the first natural grass surface the Lions have played on since the 2023 finale at Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium. It is also the only grass field UNA plays on this season.
- West Georgia is the second straight league opponent UNA has faced that had an open date the week before facing the Lions. Central Arkansas also has an open date prior to hosting UNA on Oct. 26.
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The Lions avoided their first 0-6 start since 1974.
- The Lions have played West Georgia more than any other current FCS member with 36 meetings. The second-most played FCS member for UNA is UT Martin, who the Lions faced two weeks ago for the 34th time. UNA's most played rivals are West Alabama (71), Delta State (61), Jacksonville State (50), Troy (44), Valdosta State (42), West Georgia (36) and Mississippi College (35).
- UNA leads the all-time series vs. West Georgia 23-13.
- Wolves senior Jelen "Jet" Lee is a 2019 graduate of Florence High School.
COMING UP NEXT
Next Saturday, the Lions host Utah Tech at Braly Stadium. UNA's 1994 Division II national championship squad will be honored as part of the festivities.
Kickoff at Braly Stadium is set for 4 p.m. with television coverage on ESPN+. UNA won the only previous meeting last year in Florence, stopping a two-point conversion attempt with 31 seconds on the clock to claim a heart-pounding 31-30 UAC victory over the Trailblazers.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
