CARROLLTON, Ga. - The UWG football team came up on the wrong end of a renewed rivalry on Saturday as the Wolves fell 25-16 to the North Alabama Lions at University Stadium.
West Georgia (1-3, 0-3 UAC) struggled offensively, recording just 223 yards of offense and only 48 in the second half. The Wolves also had trouble on third down, going 2-of-9 while North Alabama (1-5, 1-1 UAC) was 10-of-21 on third down and recorded 354 yards of offense.
UWG's defense played tough, getting four sacks on the UNA quarterback all in the first half. Malik Charles had two of the Wolves' sacks while Jay Carter and Robert Johnson each had one. Malachi Williams was back in the lineup and led the Wolves with 10 tackles while Jay Carter had nine and Mar'Quavious Moss had eight.
Davin Wydner threw for 143 yards and added two touchdowns on the ground. Rajaez Mosley led the UWG offense with 66 yards rushing and running back Chase Belcher had two catches for 75 yards to led the Wolves' passing attack.
North Alabama struck first after forcing a three-and-out and driving deep into UWG territory before the UWG defense forced a 24-yard field goal and UNA took a 3-0 lead.
The Wolves' offense was slow to start, gaining only 16 yards of offense in the opening quarter before getting the running game going and finishing the half with 180 yards of offense. UWG got on the board for the first time driving 83 yard on six plays, aided by a big, 70-yard completion to Chase Belcher. It was Wydner who capped off the drive, rushing in from the two-yard line.
UWG would fail a two-point attempt, and the Lions would later tie things up with a second field goal.
Wydner would find the end zone once more in the half, capping off a 70-yard drive with a 12-yard rush to go up 13-6. The Lions would tie it up with just four second left before halftime, as TJ smith connected with Takairee Kenebrew.
It looked like neither team would add points in the third quarter, but with less than a minute left, UNA punched one in on a four-yard pass to Dakota Garfield to go up by seven.
The Lions extended their lead to 10 points at the 7:47 mark of the fourth quarter, connecting on a 30-yard field goal, giving Scott Payne three field goals on the day.
West Georgia got it to a one-score game with 1:52 left on a 32-yard field goal from Chance Gagnon. The Wolves' defense got one last stop to give the offense a chance, but the Lions sacked Wydner in the endzone to go up nine and seal the game.
The Wolves remain home next week, hosting Austin Peay in another United Athletic Conference contest on Saturday, October 5. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
