CARROLLTON, Ga. – The longest road trip of the season awaits the 13^th-ranked West Georgia Wolves as UWG heads to Clinton, Mississippi for Gulf South Conference action and game six of the season. Kickoff between the Wolves and Mississippi College Choctaws is slated for 3 p.m. from Robinson-Hale Stadium.
 
West Georgia (4-1, 2-1 GSC) is coming off of their first loss of the season last week, dropping a home game to West Alabama, and the Choctaws (2-2, 1-1 GSC) return home after a 42-21 road triumph over GSC foe North Greenville.
 
Despite the 350-mile trek ahead, head coach David Dean is ready to get his squad on the field and righting the ship after last week's setback.
 
"Looking forward to a good road trip, one of our longest trips of the year, and playing a team that seems to be getting significantly better each week," said Dean. "It looks like they're playing with some confidence and obviously something different that we'll see with them being an option team."
 
The Choctaws triple option offense has been a challenge for their opponents this season, as MC has averaged 282 rushing yards per game.
 
"Offensively, they run the option very well. Their quarterback is extremely fast and reads things well. They've got a big full back that keeps pounding you and you can see on film, teams get tired of hitting him."
 
Quarterback Deante Smith-Moore is a threat with his legs in the option offense, rushing for 195 yards and five scores. Last week, he rushed for 110 yards and four touchdowns on his way to being the GSC Offensive Player of the Week. The Choctaws' fullback, Cole Fagan, has rushed for 302 yards this season and found the endzone twice.
 
Assignment football will be key for the UWG defense, but so will tackling at a high level, something the Wolves didn't do well in last week's loss.
 
"Defensively, we have to tackle better this week. We gave up too many yards after contact, and we've got to wrap up better," admitted Dean. "I think our effort was good, but from a technique standpoint, we didn't finish those tackles."
 
And for all of the emphasis that goes into stopping Mississippi College's triple option attack, they are pretty good on defense too, added Dean.
 
"Very good on defense. They run to the ball and play very hard. They can create a lot of confusion with some things that they do," said the fifth-year head coach.
 
Mississippi College is allowing just 237.8 yards of total offense and 19 points per game, but the Wolves' offense has been clicking, especially through the air.
 
Junior quarterback Harrison Frost currently ranks eighth in the country with 1,541 yards passing through five games, averaging 308.2 per contest, ranking 10^th in the country. Both of those numbers lead the GSC, and Frost's top target this season has been senior Mechane Slade.
 
Slade caught 10 passes for 119 yards against UWA, becoming the first UWG receiver to haul in 10 receptions in a game since 2017, but Slade's contributions go well beyond one game.
 
"He means a tremendous amount to this football team. He's brought a lot of confidence into the wide receiver room," said Dean. "He's a guy that we'll try to continue to get the ball to because he's a playmaker."
 
Slade, a native of Roswell leads the GSC in receiving yards with 459 and receptions per game with 6.4 while his three receiving touchdowns rank third in the league.
 
Frost, Slade, and company are set for what is sure to be a big test on the road in GSC action this week. Fans heading west can purchase tickets here. Fans can also follow the action from home via live stats, the radio broadcast on KISS 102.7, or on FloSports.com. Links for those can be found above.