CLEVELAND, Miss. - Trailing 42-24 with less than 11 minutes remaining, the 19th-ranked West Georgia Wolves scored 28 unanswered points to hand sixth-ranked Delta State their first loss of 2022 in shocking, comeback fashion.
After scoring with 3:11 left and converting a two-point conversion to make it a three-point game, the Wolves forced a fumble and recovered to take over with 1:19 left an no timeouts. The Wolves marched down and eventually set up a Mississippi Miracle as Harrison Frost found Ronnie Blackmon from 29 yards out to score the game winner.
The Wolves (7-2, 5-2 GSC) had a strong offensive effort and the defense made plays when it mattered most as they held Delta State (9-1, 6-1 GSC) and their third-ranked offense under their averages in points and total yards.
Frost finished the game with 503 passing yards, breaking his own school record and putting up the 10th most passing yards in a single-game in Gulf South Conference history. The senior also had four touchdowns through the air and one on the ground.
Delta State jumped out to the early lead with 9:14 left in the game, and then UWG matched the score on their next drive with Jaxton Carson scoring his 18th rushing touchdown of the season.
The Statesmen then scored a pair of touchdowns to take a two score lead before Frost found Steven Peterson for his first passing touchdown of the game, but Delta State answered right back to go up 28-14 with 4:26 left in the half.
Late in the half, the Wolves took advantage of a Devonte Mathews interception and added a late field goal to cut the halftime deficit to 28-17.
Out of the break, UWG failed to score on their first drive of the third quarter, and Delta State then scored to go up 35-17 with 6:50 remaining in the third. But the Wolves got it back to a two-score game with Frost's first rushing touchdown of his career with 50 seconds left in the third.
One minute of game time later, DSU scored scored to go up 42-24 and then the comeback was on.
UWG got it back to a two-score game on a 24-yard touchdown pass to LaPerion Perry at the 7:56 mark and then with 3:11 left, Frost found Zay Britt for a 43-yard score, and then a little trickery on the two-point try made it a three-point, 42-39 deficit for the Wolves.
After Delta State seemed to break UWG's back for good on a long, third-down pass, Xavier Robinson forced a DSU fumble and Amos Dahn picked it up and gave UWG's offense a chance. That's when Frost and company engineered the seven-play, 65-yard game winning drive that was capped by Blackmon's incredible game winner.
On the ensuing kickoff, Delta State attempted the lateral play to pull off some magic of their own, but the ball ended up in the end zone and Jacob Pinch jumped on the ball and made it a 10-point win for the Wolves.
Blackmon finished the game with 10 catches for 114 yards and the memorable touchdown while Terrill Cole had 84 yards and Zay Britt finished with 76.
Jalin Shepard led the UWG defense with eight tackles while Amos Dahn, Keith Harris, and Keondre Williams each had four.
The win keeps UWG's playoff hopes alive with one regular season game remaining at North Greenville next Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 12:30 p.m. from Tigerville, South Carolina.
