CARROLLTON, Ga. – The 2022 UWG football season began with a bang on Thursday night as the West Georgia Wolves defeated Carson-Newman 38-7 at Ra-Lin Field.
 
The Wolves (1-0), who were ranked as high as 10^th in the Preseason Polls put up nearly 500 yards of offense and held the Eagles to less than 250 in the first ever meeting in Carrollton between UWG and Carson-Newman.
 
"I'm really, really proud of our guys and the way they played tonight," said head coach David Dean. "That's a much-improved football team from last year, and our guys never let them in the game.
 
The Wolves built an early 10-0 lead in the first half. A Brock Pellegrino field goal capped a long drive, putting up the first points of the season on the opening drive of the game. Neither team put any points on the board in the rest of the quarter, but the first drive of the second quarter resulted in points as Harrison Frost found Marquise Bridges from the 19-yard line for one of Frost's four touchdowns on the night.
 
"Once we got that 10-0 lead, they just did a great job keeping them at bay and not letting them get any momentum," Dean added.
 
After the UWG defense got a three-and-out on Carson-Newman's next drive, Frost and company went to work. A 39-yard strike to Tay Huff and a nifty move after the catch put UWG up 17-0 midway through the second.
 
But the Eagles wouldn't go away quietly as their next drive resulted in six, as T.J. King found pay dirt from 34 yards out and made it a 17-7 game.
 
UWG added one more score before the break on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Zay Britt, pushing the lead to 24-7.
 
On Carson-Newman's opening drive of the second quarter, UWG's stingy defense was back at it, forcing another three-and-out, turning the ball over to the offense, who provided the dagger.
 
Frost hit Za'Tarious Anderson on a pass over the middle and Anderson did the rest, scampering all the way to the endzone for a 68-yard score and a 31-7 lead.
 
The final score of the game came from Darius Clark, who scored with just under three minutes left in the third quarter to make it 38-7.
 
While the offensive numbers may catch the attention, David Dean was still pleased with the effort on the defensive side of the ball.
 
"What a great job by our guys playing against an option offense, because defensively we don't see that on a regular basis, and to be able to go out there and stop that option says a lot about the way they played and how good they played," Dean said of his defensive unit.
 
UWG held Carson-Newman to just 243 yards of total offense including 175 on the ground and just 68 yards passing. Xavier Robinson and Keondre Williams led the way with five tackles each while Robinson had one stop behind the line of scrimmage.
 
The defense forced two takeaways as Demetrice Lofton had a strip-sack in the first quarter and Davin Bryant forced a late fumble.
 
Offensively, Frost finished with 298 yards and the four touchdowns, completing passes to eight different receivers. Anderson was his top target, hauling in six catches for 124 yards and the touchdown. Zion Custis led the UWG rushing attack with 60 yards on seven carries.
 
West Georgia won their 10^th straight season opener, and their second straight against the Eagles. Additionally, the win moved Dean to 35 wins, which is one behind Charlie Fisher for the all-time lead in UWG history.
 
The Wolves go on the road for the first-time next week, traveling to Morehouse for a 6 p.m. contest from Atlanta, Ga and B.T. Harvey Stadium.