FLORENCE, Ala. (November 8, 2025) – A promising first half ended in a tight loss for the University of North Alabama football team, as the Lions fell 24-17 against classic rival West Georgia in United Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Braly Stadium.
The Lions (2-8, 1-5 UAC) established a rhythm on both sides of the ball and led 17-10 at the half, but starting quarterback
Destin Wade exited the game with an injury a few minutes before the break. He was 5-for-7 passing for 137 yards at the time with 31 rushing yards to boot.
True freshman
John Austin Wood had the tough task of replacing Wade and battling the second-ranked defense in the UAC for more than a half. The dual-sport athlete, who will play baseball for the Lions this spring, went 4-for-11 passing in his extensive debut.
West Georgia (7-3, 4-3 UAC) was able to contain the UNA offense in the second half and posted a pair of third quarter touchdowns to surge ahead. The Lions had six drives in the second half but were unable to move into scoring position.
Before the injury, Wade scored his fifth rushing touchdown of the season and also connected with redshirt freshman
Azariah Fletcher on a 75-yard touchdown pass. This was not only Fletcher's first career touchdown but also his first career catch.
The UNA defense played one of its best games of the season, limiting the Wolves to the lowest scoring total by an opponent since the 35-14 win over EKU on Homecoming. A key piece to this was the linebacker trio of
Tango McCauley Jr.,
Seth Hampton and
Demarcious Robinson with a combined 25 tackles, including a career-high 10 from McCauley Jr.
Special teams was also a highlight for UNA, including a 43-yard field goal from Fred Mitchell Award Watch List member
Ian Vachon. Junior punted
Adam Watford continued his remarkable run with nine punts for a 49.1 net average.
In addition to flipping the field throughout the night, Watford had three punts sail over 50 yards and two inside the 20-yard line. He became the all-time school record holder for career punts over 50 yards with 32 over almost three seasons, passing Tony Faggioni's record of 30 set from 1995-98. Watford also broke Joe Gurley's FCS single-season record of 14 set in 2019.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST QUARTER
West Georgia 3, North Alabama 0: The Lions received to start the game and got off to a rocky start with a 23-yard loss. Forced to punt, UNA put West Georgia near midfield on its first possession. The Wolves were only able to get in field goal range thanks to a five-yard sack by senior
Kaleb Brown on third down. Tommy Holden made the 36-yarder for the first score of the game.
North Alabama 7, West Georgia 3: Wade and the Lions wasted no time with a answer on the second drive, as a pair of QB keepers set up a first down. From his own 25-yard line, Wade sailed a deep pass to Fletcher, who caught it at the UWG 40 and shook off the only defender in his way for the 75-yard touchdown. True freshman
Chandler Dixon nailed the extra point to make it 7-3 with 8:48 on the clock.
North Alabama 14, West Georgia 3: After a three-and-out by the UNA defense, thanks in part to pressure from EJ Colbert on a nine-yard loss on second down, the Lions took over at their own 21. Wade engineered another strong drive that was escalated by a 44-yard pass to redshirt senior
Jalyn Daniels down the home sideline. Wade kept it himself on the next play for an 11-yard score. Dixon made it 14-3 with the extra point and is 17-18 on PATs this season, including a perfect 10-10 at Braly.
North Alabama 14, West Georgia 10: The back-and-forth first quarter continued with a 55-yard run by Latrelle Murrell to make it a four-point game. This was the longest play of the game for the Wolves, coming with 2:54 left in the first.
SECOND QUARTER
North Alabama 17, West Georgia 10: Neither team was able to get good field position off the punts in the second quarter, including a 52-yard punt by Watford that sailed out at the five-yard line to pin UWG deep and give himself the 50-yard punt single-seson and career records. The turning point came on a UWG fumble by quarterback Davin Wydner stripped out by
Anthony Young and recovered by
Cameron Jamar. This set up Vachon's 43-yard field goal with 2:21 to go. Two plays into this drive, Wade exited the game and Wood subbed in.
THIRD QUARTER
North Alabama 17, West Georgia 17: The Wolves took the ball and secured momentum in the second half, as Wydner connected with Bryce Dickerson for a 41-yard touchdown. Holden's PAT sailed through to tie the game with 11:27 on the clock.
West Georgia 24, North Alabama 17: UNA was unable to move the ball on the first two drives of the second half, allowing UWG to take the lead with a 20-yard touchdown pass from Wydner to Owen Dupree for the go-ahead score with 3:33 left in the third.
FOURTH QUARTER
West Georgia 24, North Alabama 17: The defense played admirably in the fourth quarter, pitching a shutout while the true freshman Wood led an entire half for the first time in his career. Despite a spirited effort from the offense, UWG was able to churn out the road win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- West Georgia earned its first win in Braly Stadium since 2004, ending UNA's six-game home winning streak over the Wolves at home.
- Watford is now averaging 46.9 yards per punt, which keeps him sixth in the nation in net punting yardage at the time of writing.
- In the first six games of the season, UNA had at least 55 penalty yards. In the last four, UNA has been penalized less than 55 yards, including only four penalties for 40 yards tonight.
- The Lions fall to 23-14 in the all-time series.
COMING UP NEXT
The Lions will hit the road for the final time this season next week at No. 6 Tarleton State.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
