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Defensive Celebration
Joe Chance

#21 Football

No. 22 Tigers Open GSC Play at No. 24 West Georgia

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Business as usual. That's what Saturday's trip to West Georgia is for the West Alabama football team.
 
Forget the fact that UWA defensive line coach Roberto Pinilla was a team captain and defensive tackle for West Georgia and spent time on the Wolves coaching staff on a couple of separate occasions.
 
Five members of the West Georgia coaching staff spent the better part of the last six years in Livingston with their offices in the Homer Field House on the UWA campus. Doesn't matter.
 
The Tigers are quick to point out that football is a team game. Never has been and never will be about individuals, whether they be players or coaches. The game is always bigger. The team is always bigger.
 
"This is all business. We are going over there to do work," UWA running back Javae Swindle said. "I just want to win, because overall this is not about me. I just want to win with my teammates and continue that brotherhood that we are always shouting about."
 
West Alabama defensive end Tirelle Cullen has played in more games than any of his Tiger teammates. He knows the rigors of Gulf South Conference play having, like Swindle, been a part of back-to-back GSC championship teams.
 
"This is just another conference road game, a business trip," Cullen said. "This is a team, a brotherhood, so everything I do affects the team and that's why I don't think about myself. My goals are not important."
 
Cullen and his defensive line mates lead the conference in quarterback sacks with 17. Pinilla, who finished his playing career as West Georgia's leader in games started and tackles by a defensive lineman, coaches Cullen and company.
 
"My approach to this game is no different than any other conference opponent," Pinilla said. "It's our conference opener, it's on the road, and it's an opportunity for us to be 1-0 in GSC play, regardless of who we are playing. 
 
"This is my first time going back to Carrollton to coach in a game against UWG, and returning to there to coach against them in an on-campus stadium will be special," Pinilla said. "The new stadium shows the commitment the university has made to the program."
 
Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. EDT at University Stadium on the West Georgia campus in Carrollton. Tickets are available at http://bit.ly/1pA4QgQ or at the gate for $15.
 
West Alabama has won the last four meetings in the series that West Georgia leads 18-13. UWA is 3-1 this season, with its only loss at FCS member Jacksonville State. UWG is 4-0 and its defense hasn't allowed a touchdown in the last three games.
 
"West Georgia is a very solid, well-coached team," UWA head coach Brett Gilliland said. "Obviously, it's hard to score on them. They haven't given up an offensive touchdown in the last three games."
 
Saturday's game is the first between two ranked teams on Ra-Lin Field at University Stadium since the facility was opened five years ago. The Tigers are ranked No. 22 in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 and the Wolves are 24th.
 
"It's a Gulf South Conference game on the road and none of those are easy regardless of who is ranked where," Gilliland said. "It will be a fight, but our guys are excited about it and I am looking forward to watching us play."
 
West Alabama comes into the game leading the GSC and ninth in the nation in rushing offense at 283.5 yards per game. The Tigers put up a single-game, school-record 473 rushing yards last week in a win over Concordia, also setting school standards in rushing touchdowns (8) and rushing first downs (24).
 
West Georgia leads the league and is sixth nationally in total defense, allowing 226.5 yards per game. The Wolves are tops in the GSC and fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.0 points per game.
 
"We are going to do what we do," Gilliland said. "If we can run it well, we will stick with it, but we also aren't afraid to take our chances in the passing game."
 
West Alabama took advantage of those chances two weeks ago at Jacksonville State and finished with 356 yards and four touchdowns through the air, giving upcoming opponents even more to prepare for.
 
"We showed at Jacksonville State we can throw it around a little bit," Gilliland said. "We are fortunate on offense to be able to run the ball effectively and have a pretty good passing game to go along with it. So we will line up and take what they are giving us."
 
The game begins an seven-week run for West Alabama where every game is a Gulf South Conference game. There are no open dates as UWA works toward a three-peat as league champions.
 
"In this conference you have to show up to play week in and week out. Top to bottom this is a great league," Gilliland said. "Now it's about lining up each week and seeing who ends up with more points on the scoreboard at the end of it."
 
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Players Mentioned

Tirelle Cullen

#6 Tirelle Cullen

DE
6' 2"
Senior
Javae Swindle

#22 Javae Swindle

RB
5' 4"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Tirelle Cullen

#6 Tirelle Cullen

6' 2"
Senior
DE
Javae Swindle

#22 Javae Swindle

5' 4"
Junior
RB