CLEVELAND, Miss. – Riding a two-game winning streak and offensive explosion in which the Tigers piled up over 500 yards against Valdosta State, the West Alabama football team will travel to #10 Delta State this Saturday night for a big Gulf South Conference matchup with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

Make sure to tune into SLY 104.9 at 30 minutes before kickoff for the game day coverage with Will Atkinson and Rob Pearson on the call. Click here to listen to SLY 104.9 online. There will also be a live stream that can be found here and live stats that can be found here. Tickets can be purchased here.

UWA (4-2, 2-1 GSC) used another big rushing attack going over 300 yards for the second straight week to claim the three-point road win at Valdosta State. Overall, the Tigers came away with 503 total yards, 327 on the ground and 176 through the air. Everyone in the backfield had solid rushing numbers. Demetrius Battle carried the ball 17 times for 114 yards and a touchdown. Bry Webb added 23 carries for 98 yards and a score, while quarterback Tucker Melton rushed for 81 yards on six carries for a 13.5 average. Melton also threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. Darius Nalls caught five passes for 82 yards and a score, while Dalton Bailey added four catches for 47 yards.

Michael Anderson continued to be all over the field with 13 tackles (five solo), along with 1.5 tackles for loss. Kel Williams chipped in with nine tackles and Jamal Ellis added 2.5 tackles for loss. Trevon Stanford and Shamar Lewis each added an interception.

UWA enters the week averaging 23.83 points per game and allowed 16.0 points per game. The offense has tallied 1,035 yards on the ground with seven touchdowns and have passed for 1,267 yards and 10 more scores. The defense has limited teams to 764 rushing yards and 934 passing yards, along with 11 total touchdowns.

UWA enters the week as a team ranked in the top-50 nationally in several categories:

• -          41^st in kickoff return yards per game (22.33)
• -          16^th in blocked kicks (3)
• -          22^nd in passing yards allowed on defense per game (155.7)
• -          14^th in red zone defense percentage (61.1)
• -          6^th in red zone offense percentage (94.4)
• -          18^th in scoring defense-points per game (16.0)
• -          33^rd in tackles for loss allowed per game (5.0)
• -          10^th in team passing efficiency defense per game (95.58)
• -          11^th in team sacks per game (3.50)
• -          12^th in team tackles for loss per game (8.8)
• -          22^nd in total defense-yards allowed per game (283)
• -          34^th in winning percentage (66.7)

In addition, UWA either leads the GSC or is tied for the conference lead in:

• -          Third down conversion percentage on defense
• -          Blocked kicks
• -          Red zone defense
• -          Red zone offense
• -          Scoring defense
• -          Team passing efficiency on defense
• -          Team sacks
• -          Team tackles for loss
• -          Total defense

Individually, Melton has completed 90-180 for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns to five interception. John Hilbert leads the receivers with 21 catches for 290 yards and three touchdowns. Nalls has 23 catches for 243 yards and two touchdowns. Caeleb Bass has 17 receptions for 188 yards and a touchdown. Geordan Pollard adds a receiving touchdown, along with 10 catches for 141 yards. Bailey is also over 100 receiving yards with 10 catches for 124 yards.

The rushing attack is led by Webb's 73 carries for 422 yards and a three touchdowns. Battle has rushed 88 times for 366 yards and three touchdowns. Antonio Brown has the other rushing touchdown on 39 carries and 230 yards.

Anderson leads the way with 51 tackles (36 solo), eight tackles for loss, three sacks and both a forced fumble and recovery. Stanford has 30 tackles (23 solo), along with three tackles for loss and a half-sack, tallying an interception and three pass breakups. Lamar Gray has 28 tackles (22 solo), five tackles for loss, a sack and a blocked kick. Lewis has a pair of interceptions and Ellis has 8.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. The UWA defense has 53 tackles for a loss of 202 yards and 21 sacks for a loss of 108 yards.

Melton ranks in the top-50 nationally in several categories including:

• -          37^th in completions per game (18)
• -          38^th in passing touchdowns (10)
• -          37^th in passing yards per game (221)
• -          49^th in total offensive yards per game (231.8)

Dearrius Nelson is one of the top returners around having taken nine punt returns back for 73 yards and then eight kickoff returns for 211 yards. Nationally, Nelson ranks in the top-50 in multiple categories:

• -          45^th in combined kick return yards (313)
• -          26^th in kickoff return yards per game (26.4)
• -          23^rd in punt return yards per game (10.2)

Gabriel Dunkle, coming off of a GSC Player of the Week honor, is 8-12 on field goal attempts and is a perfect 17-17 on extra point attempts. Dunkle ranks in the top-50 nationally in field goals per game (1.17) which ranks 27^th.

Ellis ranks 29^th nationally in sacks per game (0.83) and 43^rd in tackles for loss per game (1.4), while Anderson is 12^th nationally in solo tackles per game (6.0) and 48^th nationally in total tackles per game (8.5).

UWA has continued to play well away from Livingston improving to 3-0 this season on the road with wins at Morehouse, Miles and Valdosta State. The Tigers have won nine straight away from Livingston dating back to the neutral site win during the shortened 2020 season. UWA then went 5-0 last season.

Delta State has rolled to their 6-0 overall record and 3-0 mark in conference play, moving to 10^th in the national rankings. Other than a close 45-42 road win over then No. 6 West Florida, the Statesmen have won every game by double-digits. Other conference wins include a 70-31 win over Valdosta State in their only home game so far this year and then winning at North Greenville by a score of 47-14 last week.

Delta State is averaging 46.83 points per game, while allowing 24.67. The offense has tallied 2,988 yards and 36 touchdowns, while allowing 2,696 yards and 20 touchdowns. The Statesmen have rushed for 1,269 yards and 20 touchdowns, while throwing for 1,719 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Patrick Shegog has completed 96-144 for 1,441 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has been the ultimate dual-threat rushing for 304 yards and seven touchdowns. Kory Gainwell has rushed for 220 yards and seven touchdowns. Dohnte Meyers leads the receivers with 23 catches for 465 yards and five touchdowns. Tremell Withrow has 15 receptions for 267 yards and three touchdowns. Calvin Lockett and Todd Lee Battle each have two receiving touchdowns.

Marlon Windham has 37 tackles on defense with 24 solo stops, along with 3.5 tackles for loss and an interception. Tamos Stevenson has 32 tackles with 21 solo stops. Tyrell Goldsmith has 31 tackles with 25 coming solo, along with two tackles for loss and two interceptions. Goldsmith was named the GSC Defensive Player of the Week this past week tallying both of his interceptions. Demario Martin has 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks, while Lamarcus Faulkner has six tackles for loss and two sacks.

The two teams will play each other twice within a month as they will meet again on Nov. 12 once again in Cleveland.

A look around the GSC standings has Delta State leading the way at 3-0. West Florida, West Alabama and Mississippi College are all 2-1. West Georgia, Valdosta State and North Greenville are 1-2, while Shorter is 0-3.

Other matchups around the league this week has West Florida at Shorter, West Georgia at North Greenville and Mississippi College at Valdosta State.

Following the road trip this week, UWA will return to Livingston for Homecoming on Oct. 22 at 4 p.m. against North Greenville.

Game 7 Notes

• -          UWA continues to pick up the victories on the road. Following the win at Valdosta State last week, the Tigers have now won nine straight away from Livingston dating back to the shortened 2020 season in which the Tigers played one neutral site game and won. Then went 5-0 in 2021 and are 3-0 so far this season
• -          UWA is 27-37-3 against Delta State since 1940. The Tigers won five straight in the series from 2015-18, while Delta State has won the past two meetings
• -          Last year's meeting in Livingston featured just about everything in the rivalry. With the Statesmen ahead late, UWA drove all the way down to the one with seconds left. A goal line stop sent Delta State to the 35-30 victory
• -          Jack McDaniels completed 17-51 for 283 yards and a touchdown. Demetrius Battle rushed for 113 yards and a score, while Bry Webb added 95 yards and a score. Tyriq Martin caught six passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. Chris Terrell came up big with five tackles for loss and a pair of sacks
• -          That was Delta State's only third win of the season last year picking up the victory in Livingston. It's a different story this year as the Statesmen have bolted out of the gates as one of the hottest teams in the country. Currently at 6-0 and ranked 10^th in the nation, DSU has played five of their six games away from Cleveland, Miss., so far this season
• -          The two teams will see each other a lot down the stretch. Not only will the two teams play in Cleveland this week, they will close the regular season back at Delta State on Nov. 12
• -          UWA is 2-2 this season when the opponent scores first, coming back to win road games at Morehouse and Valdosta State. The one at the Blazers was even more impressive after falling behind by 14 points early before claiming the three-point win. The Tigers are 2-0 in games in which they score first (Miles, 31-0/Shorter, 37-14)
• -          With another rushing touchdown this past week, Demetrius Battle now has 22 for his career which ties him for eighth on the all-time program list. With his 114 rushing yards against Valdosta State, Battle is now at 1,628 for his career and leaves him just 75 rushing yards away from joining the top-10 list in program history
• -          The rushing attack is starting to gain momentum. After the 338 rushing yards against Shorter, the Tigers added 327 more rushing yards against the Blazers
• -          UWA has now rushed for at least 100 yards in 14 of the past 17 games and have eclipsed the century mark four times this year
• -          After not throwing for over 100 yards against Shorter for the first time since 2018, the Tigers passed for 176 at Valdosta State. That means the Tigers have thrown for at least 100 yards in 36 of the past 37 games
• -          The defense tallied both an interception and a sack in the win at Valdosta State which means UWA has had either a sack or interception in 15 of the past 17 games. In 11 of those games, the Tigers have both a sack and interception
• -          The UWA defense has limited opponents to under 100 yards rushing in three games and under in yards passing once (Miles College, 89 yards). The Tigers have kept five of the six teams this season to under 200 passing yards, with the only one going slightly over was Valdosta State this past week (215)
• -          UWA continues to cash in once they get in the red zone. The Tigers are 17-18 on red zone chances, including a 12-18 clip on scoring touchdowns inside the 20. On the flip side of that, the UWA defense has held teams to 11-18 scoring in the red zone and just 7-18 on touchdowns
• -          UWA is back to receiving votes in the AFCA National Poll this week