CARROLLTON, Ga. - The UWG football team dropped its 2024 home finale on Saturday, falling 38-21 to the 14th-ranked Tarleton State Texans at University Stadium.
Four first half turnovers, three of them costly put West Georgia (3-7, 0-7 UAC) behind the eight-ball, and the Wolves never could come all the way back against a tough Tarleton State (8-2, 5-1 UAC) team still in the hunt for a United Athletic Conference title and a FCS Playoff berth.
West Georgia would fumble on their third offensive play and Tarleton would scoop it up and score to take a 7-0 lead before their offense even got on the field. UWG's second possession ended in a fumble as well, this one deep in TSU territory.
Between those turnovers, UWG would get on the board as Quincy Casey found Dylan Gary for a 16-yard touchdown completion to tie things up at 7-7. The next Wolves' possession would result in an interception that five plays later ended in a TSU touchdown and a 14-7 lead.
After TSU regained the lead following the interception, Kayvon Britten found the end zone for the Texans, capping off a 12-play drive that traveled 84 yards and made it a 21-7 lead for Tarleton State with 2:40 left in the half.
Before halftime, the Wolves cut it to a seven-point deficit as Davin Wydner connected with T.J. Lockley for a 27-yard touchdown with just over a minute remaining in the period.
The Texans scored just over two minutes into the second half to stretch the lead back to 14, and then West Georgia answered with an eight-play, 75-yard drive that was finished off by Wydner finding Cedric Seabrough. That score made it 28-21, which it would stay heading into the final quarter.
A 42-yard field goal by TSU's Corbin Position made it a two-score game at 31-21 at the 6:18 mark. After UWG turned the ball over on downs, the Texans hit the Wolves with the knockout blow, a 17-yard strike from Victor Gabalis to Cody Jackson to make it a 38-21 final.
TSU outgained UWG 391-312, and held the Wolves to just 3-of-12 on third down conversions including a 1-of-6 mark in the second half. Meanwhile, TSU was 9-of-16 on third downs.
Wydner finished the game 17-of-32 for 137 yards and two scores with Lockley's 74 yards on five catches leading the Wolves' receiving corps.
Defensively, Jay Carter led the way with 12 tackles while Anthony Rochester had 10.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Dylan Gary's first quarter touchdown was his league-leading ninth receiving touchdown of the season. He is now tied for fifth in single-season receiving touchdowns at UWG.
- Reilly mason had a great day punting, averaging 53.6 yards per kick and downed four of his five punts inside the 20-yard line. He had a long of 70 which was downed at the one-yard line.
- West Georgia's defense held Kayvon Britten, the second-leading rusher in FCS, to 74 yards on 26 carries (2.8 YPC), which was his second-lowest of the season and lowest against an FCS opponent (68 vs. Baylor).
UP NEXT
West Georgia will wrap up their season next week, traveling to Utah Tech for a 4 p.m. EST kickoff from St. George, Utah.
