JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Playing its first game in 655 days, the University of West Georgia football team made up for lost time in a hurry Thursday evening.

The Wolves delivered a dominant display in the 2021 season opener, defeating No. 24 Carson-Newman for the first time in program history courtesy of a 45-7 clubbing at Burke-Tarr Stadium in a game the visitors controlled from start to finish against a traditional power from the South Atlantic Conference.

It marked the first time the Eagles, who reached the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2019, lost by more than 30 points at home in over a decade. It also served as Carson-Newman's most lopsided season-opening loss since 1983.

"This is a tough place to play. I've been up here three times and hadn't had an opportunity to win. So this one is sweet," noted UWG head coach David Dean, referring to three playoff games as an assistant coach at UWG in the '90s.

Junior signal-caller Harrison Frost dazzled in his UWG debut, completing 29-of-40 attempts for 316 yards and three touchdowns to set the tone for a promising fall campaign for the Mercer transfer in just a little more than three quarters of work.

Frost completed passes to nine different receivers, including a pair of touchdowns to senior wideout Mechane Slade, who hauled in nine receptions for 80 yards and the two scores.
"I thought (Frost) played an outstanding football game. He dished the ball off to the people who were open. He made great reads, he made great decisions, which is very good for us. I thought our offensive line protected well," Dean said.

Equally impressive was the West Georgia defense under coordinator Nate Masters, who was making his first appearance on the sidelines for the Wolves in an official game.

The Wolves (1-0) contained the Eagles (0-1) to 194 yards of total offense and held star receiver Braxton Westfield to nine yards on two receptions with five targets. Carson-Newman's vaunted triple-option attack amassed a pedestrian 132 yards on the ground, the bulk of which came in the second half.

"We ran to the football very well and we covered in the secondary," Dean said. "We did not allow them to have big plays in the passing game. That's one of the things they do is they kind of lull you to sleep and all of a sudden they'll hit you with a big pass. We were able to control their passing game and force them to run. And when we did that, we did a great job of rallying to the ball and making big hits. I think we did a great job of getting off the blocks at the point of attack."

The Wolves busted out of the gate with an incredible first-half performance, out-gaining the Eagles offensively by a 251-87 margin to take a commanding 28-7 lead into the locker room.

Frost completed 20-of-25 attempts in the first half for 204 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

The Harrison High School product engineered back-to-back scoring drives on the first two possessions of the game, the first of which was an eight-play, 75-yard march where Frost completed 5-of-6 pass attempts for 67 yards, including a 10-yard touchdown strike to Slade for the early 7-0 edge.

Following a quick possession by the Eagles, UWG made it 14-0 behind another lengthy drive, going 70 yards in 13 plays, with Frost hooking up with Slade again – this time from one-yard out – on fourth-and-goal with 3:57 remaining in the first quarter.

The Eagles used a 74-yard kickoff return from literally the fastest man in all of college football, Devon Moore – a 10-time All-American sprinting standout for the Carson-Newman track and field program – to put the host squad in ideal field position on its second possession. The Eagles would cut the deficit in half on a 13-yard scoring pass from Trey Mitchell to Mister Hogue with 1:44 to go in the first quarter.

But that would prove to be the lone offensive highlight for the host squad on this night.

West Georgia sophomore tailback Rajaez Mosley capped off a 15-play, 83-yard scoring drive on a two-yard touchdown run with 4:41 to play in the second quarter and senior Ronnie Blackmon stamped the exclamation point on the first-half festivities with an 82-yard punt return to the house in the closing minutes for the 28-7 halftime lead.

In the second half, UWG put the game away with a fourth-down stop by the defense to set up a 29-yard touchdown pass from Frost to senior receiver Quan Harrison to make it 35-7 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

On the next possession, the UWG defense forced a fumble on a sack by freshman linebacker Jordan Davis to give the Wolves the ball at the C-N 45.

That set up a 37-yard field goal from 2021 Preseason All-Gulf South Conference kicker Omar Cervantes for the 38-7 lead with under a minute to go in the third quarter.

The Wolves tacked on a 13-yard touchdown run from freshman running back J.B. Carlisle with 5:37 remaining in the game to cap off the scoring.

Along with the big night from Slade, freshman receiver Terrill Cole hauled in six receptions for 82 yards and Harrison added 69 yards and a touchdown on three receptions. Mosley led the rushing attack with 52 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.

Defensively, freshman defensive lineman Cody Gast led West Georgia with 11 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, while Davis and senior defensive lineman Derrick Shaw recorded sacks.

The Wolves carry the momentum of Thursday's victory into the 2021 home opener against Morehouse on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 6 p.m. from University Stadium.

With the win at Carson-Newman marking a huge night for the Wolves, Dean noted how it's hopefully just the start of something even bigger for the 2021 campaign.

"There's a lot of improvements to make. By no means is this a perfect game. From Game 1 to Game 2 they say is your most improvement, and hopefully we're going to do that when we line up against Morehouse next week," Dean said.