Carrollton, GA - The West Georgia Wolves used a dominating defensive display and a quick-strike offensive effort Saturday afternoon at Barron Stadium in Rome, GA, to hand the Shorter Hawks a 31-14 loss in Gulf South Conference play.

The Wolves came into the day looking for revenge from last year's senior day loss to the Hawks at University Stadium, where UWG scored with just under two minutes to play to take a 20-17 lead, but Shorter came right back down the field. Quarterback Eric Dodson scored the game-winning touchdown for the Hawks with seven seconds remaining.

The day started out with both teams trading punts for the first three possessions of the game. #Seth Hinsley# opened the fourth possession with a 15-yard run, getting the Wolves out of trouble after Shorter pinned UWG at its own 1. On the next play, the snap sailed over quarterback #Austin Trainor#'s head and Shorter recovered at the 8.

Three plays later, Dodson scored the first touchdown of the day with a one-yard plunge, giving the Hawks a 7-0 advantage.

But that advantage didn't last long, as Hinsley broke free for a 72-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage on the next possession. #Mark Bardenwerper#'s extra point was good and the game was tied at 7-7. The play was a historical one, as it was Hinsley's longest of his career, but it also pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark as he became the 15th runner in school history to pass that mark.

The Hawks wasted little time in reclaiming the lead, putting together their only drive of the day. The march went 67 yards in four plays and lasted less than two minutes as Shorter's Devin Helvie took the ball in from 24 yards out to give SU a 14-7 advantage.

West Georgia responded in kind, going on a seven-play, 56-yard drive that culminated with #Quan Jones# and his fourth touchdown of the season, as two-yard plunge. The big play on the drive came on an #Austin Trainor# pass to #Earvin Agnumba# for 19 yards as the Wolves tied the game at 14-14.

The score remained tied until the 2:22 mark of the second quarter when Dodson fumbled at the UWG 42 yard line. Redshirt freshman #Eric Bridges# scooped the fumble up and sprinted 58 yards to paydirt, giving the Wolves a 21-14 advantage. The score was the third defensive score of the season for West Georgia. For the remainder of the first half, neither team was able to put more points on the board as the score remained 21-14 heading into the break.

West Georgia wasted little time in putting more distance between themselves and Shorter after the half, as Trainor hooked up with #Joey Eliezer# for a 63-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half, giving the Wolves a 28-14 advantage.

On the next Shorter possession, Dodson fumbled again and #Isaiah Hinsley# recovered for the Wolves deep in Shorter territory. The Wolves were able to move to the Shorter three before the drive stalled and UWG settled for a 24-yard field goal from Bardenwerper to close out the scoring in the game.

The UWG defense took over at that point as the Wolves allowed little else from the Hawks for the remainder of the game. West Georgia had six sacks on the day, including two from #Thomas Dover#, who also was second on the team with six tackles. #Clay Horton# led the defense with seven tackles on the afternoon.

Hinsley had 12 rushes for a career-high 134 yards in the contest and senior #Bobby Burum# hauled in five receptions for 61 yards. Trainor was 9-of-15 for 171 yards and a touchdown while #Dallas Dickey# was 5-of-7 for 50 yards. The Wolves gained 365 total yards on the afternoon, including 256 through the air.

Next up for West Georgia is Homecoming week, as the Wolves welcome Point University to University Stadium next Saturday at 2 p.m.