NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The West Alabama football team returns to Tiger Stadium defending a 12-game home winning streak when Gulf South Conference opponent Florida Tech visits the UWA campus in Livingston on Saturday.
 
737
West Alabama has not lost at home since Midwestern State beat the Tigers on Oct. 4, 2012, a span that will reach 737 days by the time the ball is teed up for kickoff on Saturday. Over the course of the streak the Tigers have outscored a dozen opponents by an average score of 52-14.
 
KICKOFF TIME
6 p.m. CDT
 
PANTHERS ON THE ROAD
Florida Tech is 2-6 in road games over the last two seasons. The 650 mile bus trip (one way) is the longest in the brief history of FIT football.
 
SHARED OBJECTIVE AT 3-2, 0-1
UWA and FIT come into Saturday's game with some shared objectives. Both teams are looking for victory number four overall and for their first win in GSC play. After a 3-0 start, the Panthers have lost two straight. The Tigers have lost two of their last three.
 
JAVAE'S WORLD
Tiger running back Javae Swindle had his coming out party against Florida Tech last year, running for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. He is currently fifth on the UWA career rushing yards list with 1,895 on 225 carries (8.42 ypc) and needs just 105 yards to become the fourth running back in UWA history to have 2,000 career rushing yards. He will be the first, however, to hit that milestone in less than 300 carries.
 
FIT LEAGUE LEADERS
Florida Tech running back Trevor Sand currently leads the GSC in rushing with 415 yards, while receiver Xavier Milton is tops in the league with 512 receiving yards. Wideout Aaron George is tied for the league lead with seven TD receptions. Redshirt freshman quarterback Mark Cato leads the GSC in touchdown passes with 14. Linebacker Chris Stapleton has 36 tackles to lead the league.
 
TIGER RESULTS
West Alabama has beaten Stillman (44-20), Shaw (30-6) and Concordia (60-7). The Tigers have lost to Jacksonville State (45-34) and West Georgia (26-17), both on the road.
 
PANTHER RESULTS
Florida Tech has defeated Stetson (54-0), Ave Maria (42-6) and Tarleton State (37-31). The Panthers have to Bethune Cookman (34-33) and Delta State (58-20).
 
PREVIEW DAY
Saturday is also Preview Day on the West Alabama campus, culminating with the Admissions Office Golden Ticket Giveaway of a scholarship to attend UWA. The drawing will be conducted on the field between the first and second quarters by former All-GSC center and current UWA Admissions Counselor Skeeter Sellers.
 
THE SERIES
This will be just the second meeting between West Alabama and Florida Tech. The Tigers lead the series 1-0. West Alabama won last year's game, 45-3, in a game played before a national television audience on CBS Sports. The Tigers rang up 637 yards of total offense, 389 yards rushing.
 
MORE THAN 400 COMPLETIONS
Kyle Caldwell is just the second quarterback in UWA history to complete more than 400 passes. The senior from Dadeville, Ala., has 405 completions and trails only Deon Williams, who completed 471 from 2008-10.
 
TV, LIVE STREAM
There is no television for this week's game. The live video stream can be accessed at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/uwa.portal#.
 
WEST ALABAMA RADIO
The West Alabama broadcast can be heard in the Twin States area on ESPN 104.9 or globally at http://mixlr.com/espn1049/. Lee Tracey handles the play by play with Robert Upchurch providing color and Rob Pearson sideline reports.
 
FLORIDA TECH RADIO
The FIT broadcast can be heard on WFIT 89.5 FM or WFIT.org with Jerry Durney and Paul Van Scott on the call.
 
LIVE STATS
http://www.sidearmstats.com/uwa/football
 
TICKETS
Tickets are $10 and are available at the gate or at http://bit.ly/Ywo2WX.