Carrollton, GA - Saturday's 2013 UWG football opener at Mars Hill had just about everything a football fan would want to see, but especially on the UWG side of things as the Wolves opened the season for the second straight year with a victory, winning 31-21 over the Lions at Meares Stadium in Mars Hill, NC.

The UWG defense was just one of the stories of the game, as defensive coordinator Jody Allen's unit allowed just two offensive touchdowns from a team that scored 40 in the 2012 season. The Wolves' defense gave the offense a touchdown and West Georgia picked up a score from special teams as well in the victory.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Wolves had 209 yards rushing on the day, including 114 yards from senior running back #Quan Jones#. West Georgia held the ball for 31 minutes of possession and kept the Mars Hill offense off the field with a nearly six-minute game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.

The Wolves moved the ball well on the opening drive of the season, as quarterback #Austin Trainor# directed his offense for a nine-play, 38-yard drive that stalled at the Mars Hill 36, forcing a UWG punt.

That exposed what would become another big weapon for the Wolves in the kicking game, as #James Dugan# delivered his first of five punts that were downed inside the 20. This one pinned the Lions inside the five at their own two yard line. The two teams traded punts for the remainder of the first quarter and ended that period with a 0-0 standoff.

But Mars Hill ended the game's scoring drought less than three minutes into the second quarter when quarterback Trent Miller found Cameron Shuford on a 19-yard touchdown pass, giving Mars Hill the first lead of the game at 7-0.

After another trade of punts, Trainor and the Wolves' offense began another march. This one was 14 plays, covered 81 yards of territory, but stalled at the Mars Hill three yard line, forcing a #Mark Bardenwerper# field goal, which was good from 21 yards out to make the score 7-3 with 1:32 left in the first half.

From that point until the buzzer signaling the end of the first half, the game was a whirlwind, as a 7-3 game turned into a 14-10 game with a pair of defensive plays.

First, redshirt freshman #Rocky Capobianco# intercepted Miller at the Mars Hill 18 on the first play of the next drive, taking it 18 yards to paydirt to give the Wolves a 10-7 advantage. After the kickoff, the Wolves' defense held the Lions on downs, giving the ball back to Trainor and the offense at the MHC 46 with 18 seconds left in the half.

On the first play of that drive, Trainor was intercepted by Mars Hill linebacker Chamarcus Pittard, who then returned the pick 51 yards for the score, giving the Lions a 14-10 lead heading into the break.

The third quarter belonged to West Georgia, as the defense forced a three-and-out on the first drive of the second half. On the punt, redshirt freshman #Marcus Sayles# broke free and blocked the punt. Another redshirt freshman, #David Singleton# scooped the ball up at the 19 and raced in for the score, giving the Wolves a lead they would not relinquish.

Sayles would come up big again on the next drive, as Mars Hill opened the march with a pair of rushing plays that chewed up 30 yards of ground. But after redshirt freshman #Alex Armah# stopped the Lions on the next play for no gain, Sayles stepped in front of a pass for his first collegiate interception.

The Wolves weren't able to move the ball, but Dugan pinned the Lions deep again, putting the ball down at the MHC 3. West Georgia's defense didn't budge, forcing a punt from the back of the end zone that went just 18 yards and out of bounds, giving the ball back to the offense in the red zone.

The Wolves' offense took full advantage this time, taking just three plays to go 20 yards and Jones capped the short drive off with a seven-yard touchdown. Bardenwerper's kick made the score 24-14 with 7:27 left in the third quarter.

After a fourth-quarter score from Mars Hill, head coach Daryl Dickey put the ball in the hands of his offense at the start of the fourth quarter. The result was a grinding 12-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by #Dallas Dickey#'s one-yard dive over the pile to give the Wolves a 31-21 advantage with just 2:38 left to play in the game.

Three plays into the next drive, newcomer #Carlos Hutton# ended the Mars Hill threat, forcing a fumble and recovering it to give the ball back to UWG for the final time. tops.

While the senior Jones led the UWG offensive, Armah led the defense with 10 tackles on the day, including six solo stops. #Tyrell Adams# added eight tackles and redshirt freshman #Eric Bridges# had the lone sack on the day for the Wolves. As a team, West Georgia had 17 tackles for a loss on the day, including four from Adams.

West Georgia opens the 2013 home schedule next Saturday evening with a return battle against Miles College under the lights at University Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.