Carrollton, GA - The West Georgia Wolves fell short in their efforts to spoil a second-straight opponent Homecoming, falling 38-21 to North Alabama on the road Saturday evening at Braly Memorial Stadium in Florence, Ala.

Two weeks ago, the Wolves were the Homcoming opponent for the Shorter Hawks and were a spoiler for that event, beating the GSC newcomer 31-14. Tonight in Florence, West Georgia came out looking solid early, but miscues in the second and third quarter left the Wolves with a tough row to hoe.

The Wolves dominated the first three possessions of the game in nearly every facet of the game, beginning with the first play from scrimmage, a 15-yard pass from #Austin Trainor# to #Randall Snell#. The next five plays were on the ground, with #Quan Jones# picking up 15 yards on three carries.

On his second carry, Jones went over the 1,000-yard mark for his career, marking the third UWG player to accomplish such a feat this season. Jones is the 16th running back in school history to reach that career milestone.

The drive stalled at the UNA 38 and head coach Daryl Dickey elected to punt. #James Dugan# worked his magic, dropping the ball inside the 10 and it bounced right into the waiting hands of #Quentin Walker#, who downed the punt inside the UNA 1.

The defense held strong on the first series, with #Nathan Teter# finishing off the three-and-out by sacking UNA quarterback Luke Wingo to force a punt. The punt was short, giving the Wolves the ball at the UNA 36.

Trainor and #Seth Hinsley# took over from there. Hinsley rushed three times for 16 yards on the drive and Trainor connected with the Norcross native for a 12-yard pass to get the Wolves down to the UNA 2. Trainor took it in from there and West Georgia led 7-0.

North Alabama returned the favor and produced a 75-yard march that resulted in a one-yard touchdown from Wingo with just over 40 seconds gone in the second quarter, tying the game at 7-7.

Not to be outdone, West Georgia handed the ball to #Dallas Dickey#, who matched Wingo's drive with a 75-yard drive of his own. On the 10-play drive, Dickey carried the ball four times for 43 yards and connected with #Denarius Appling# for a six-yard touchdown pass to give the Wolves a 14-7 advantage.

North Alabama put together another long drive that finished with a seven-yard touchdown run from Chris Coffey, but the Lions missed the extra point, keeping the Wolves in the lead.

That set up the first of several miscues from West Georgia that allowed North Alabama to put the game out of reach. The Wolves were held to a three-and-out, but on 4th-and-2, the UNA line jumped on the snap, giving UWG new life. But on first down, Dickey was intercepted, giving the ball back to North Alabama.

The UWG defense stiffened, forcing a punt, but Appling mishandled the catch and the resulting fumble gave UNA the ball inside the West Georgia 20 with less than two minutes left before the half. Wingo and the Lions offense took advantage, scoring with 34 seconds left before halftime. The two-point conversion was good, giving UNA a 21-14 lead heading into the break.

After the half, things looked up again for UWG, as the defense held the UNA offense on three straight plays, forcing a punt on the opening drive of the second half. West Georgia's ensuing drive stalled at midfield, but a fake punt continued the drive. After another first down, the Wolves were held on downs, swinging the momentum back to UNA.

The Lions took the momentum after the turnover and drove deep into UWG territory. The Wolves' defense stiffened again inside the 10, forcing a field goal that gave UNA a 24-14 advantage. But on the ensuing kickoff, Appling fumbled during the return, giving the Lions another chance inside the Wolves' 20. Four plays later, Jacob Tucker took the ball in for North Alabama, giving UNA a 31-14 lead.

Each team added one more fourth quarter touchdown to reach the final of 38-14.

The two teams had nearly identical stats, as West Georgia had 312 yards of offense to North Alabama's 313. UWG had 21 first downs to UNA's 19. The big difference in the game came on five UWG turnovers to two from the Lions.

West Georgia falls to 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in Gulf South Conference play. The Wolves will return to the confines of University Stadium next weekend, playing host to Valdosta State at 2 p.m. on Hall-of-Fame Saturday.