UWA Focusing on Itself When Concordia Comes to Tiger Stadium

LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Concordia College comes to Tiger Stadium Saturday evening, but for Coach Brett Gilliland and his West Alabama football team the opponent could be anyone.

For the Tigers, Saturday isn't about the Hornets. It's about the Tigers.

UWA's first-year head coach said that if the Tigers look inward, the temptation for the two-time defending Gulf South Conference champions to look past a football team they defeated 71-14 a year ago looms large. Especially with GSC play beginning next week.

"We make it about us every week and this week is no different," Gilliland said. "Our goal is to execute everything and not have the mistakes we made last Saturday.

"If we can do that we will be fine, but if we come out flat and don't take them seriously it will be a lot tougher on us," Gilliland said. "We can't do that and we have talked to them all week about it. I believe our players understand."

Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at on the UWA Campus. West Alabama is 2-1, while Concordia is 1-2. West Alabama has won 11 straight home games and 13 of its last 14 at Tiger Stadium. UWA has won all five previous meetings with the Hornets.

A lot has changed for both programs since the last year's meeting in Demopolis, Ala. Both have new coaching staffs and new philosophies. Concordia lists 81 players on their numerical roster who are either freshmen or sophomores. The Hornets have seven freshmen listed as starters.

"They are trying to build from the ground up. The young players they have look like they have some talent," Gilliland said. "They have a couple of players on defense that will strike you, the safety and a linebacker. They have a defensive end that looks really athletic.

"On offense they have system in place that they stick to and are trying to get good at it," Gilliland said. "Any time you can be basic and get good at what you are doing, then you have a chance to be successful. It looks like that is the route they have taken."

West Alabama came out of the matchup at FCS member Jacksonville State without significant injury on either side of the line of scrimmage and are slated to start 10 seniors.

Senior quarterback Kyle Caldwell comes into the game with 56 career touchdown passes, needing just five to move past Deon Williams as the all-time leader in UWA history. Caldwell passed his head coach into the second spot on the career total yardage list last week. Williams is the Tigers' tight end coach.

"It's been fun with Kyle chasing our records, but I am glad he finally moved past me on the list, so we can put that one to bed and move forward," Gilliland said. "Deon and I have had some fun talking about records, but not Kyle. He isn't a numbers guy, and besides, Deon and I wouldn't let him talk about it too much anyway."

The game will not be televised, but can be heard in the Twin States area on ESPN 104.9 with Lee Tracey and Robert Upchurch on the call. The game will be video streamed live at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/uwa/. Live stats are also available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/uwa/football/. Both links will be live 15 minutes prior to kickoff.

Tickets will be available at the gate for $10.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Kyle Caldwell: QB; 5' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Kyle Caldwell
: 5' 7"; Senior
: QB

Players Mentioned

#4 Kyle Caldwell

Players Mentioned

#4 Kyle Caldwell