ATLANTA, Ga. – In a rematch to open the 2021 season, the West Alabama football team will face Morehouse for a second straight year to kick things off when they travel to Atlanta to play the Maroon Tigers this Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. (Central).
Morehouse will not provide a live stream for the game this Saturday. Make sure to tune into SLY 104.9 for all of the game day coverage with Will Atkinson and Rob Pearson on the call. Click here to listen live online. There will also be live stats that can be found by clicking here.
UWA rolled to the 48-7 win over Morehouse last year in Livingston scoring the first 38 points of the game. The Tigers held a massive 550-131 total yards advantage and limited Morehouse to just 33 rushing yards on 17 carries. It was the first meeting between the teams.
Darius Nalls started his career in style recording nine catches for 200 yards and two touchdowns. He had a long reception of 57 yards. Nalls, along with Shamar Lewis and Michael Anderson were named to the Preseason All-Gulf South Conference Team.
It was an impressive start to the 2021 season for the Tigers as they went 6-0 for the first time in program history. Head coach Brett Gilliland recorded his 50th career victory following the win at West Georgia on Oct. 2.
All-GSC running back Demetrius Battle returns for the 2022 season after leading the charge with 934 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns. Returning tight ends Caeleb Bass and Owen Harper each tallied a touchdown reception a season ago.
Battle ranked in the top-100 nationally in multiple categories including, rushing touchdowns (65th), rushing yards (67th), and rushing yards per game (41st).
Anderson led the defense with 55 tackles and two forced fumbles. Lewis led the team in interceptions with three, along with six pass breakups and 36 solo tackles. Lewis was ranked 59th nationally in interceptions per game and 103rd in passes defended.
UWA will be looking to replace a couple of leaders on offense. Jack McDaniels guided the team at quarterback and completed 218-375 for 2,792 yards and 22 touchdowns. Tyriq Martin led the receivers with 62 catches for 981 yards and nine touchdowns. Bayley Blanchard added 41 receptions for 656 yards and five touchdowns.
On defense, Chris Terrell had a big year in his final season leading the team with 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also finished third on the team with 49 tackles, 41 being solo.
Special teams returns Gabriel Dunkle and Trey Sullivan. Dunkle connected on 16 field goals last year, with a long of 47. He went 7-9 on attempts between 40-49 yards. He also handled 60 kickoffs with an average of 57.8 per attempt. Sullivan punted 50 times for an average of 36.36 yards, landing 18 inside the 20 and forcing 22 fair catches.
The 2021 season started with UWA winning their first six games. After the win over Morehouse, the Tigers then defeated Tuskegee, North American, Mississippi College, West Georgia and Shorter. Five of the six wins were by double-digits.
The Tigers enter this season receiving votes in the Preseason American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll after reaching a high ranking of 10th last season following the 6-0 start.
Morehouse went 4-6 last season, losing five-straight to start the season before winning four of five down the stretch. They went 1-3 at home. Frank Bailey Jr., led the team on the ground rushing for 532 yards and five touchdowns. Ernest Davis added 418 yards and six scores. Michael Sims completed 97-215 for 1,028 yards and five touchdowns. Marqueiz Pride caught 29 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown. Albert Connell had a team-high two TD catches, along with 221 receiving yards and nine total receptions.
Dayton Land led the defense with 61 tackles, while Daniel Norman added 59 stops. Armani Maddox tallied five interceptions, while Darien Pittman added four.
Of the players mentioned: Davis, Pride, Land, and Pittman are back for the 2022 season.
This will be the first of two road games to start the season as UWA will travel just down the road next week to play at Miles College in Birmingham. The home opener arrives on Sep. 17 against Tuskegee.
Quick Hits Entering Week 1:
- Won last year's meeting in Livingston, 48-7
- Scored in each quarter and led 31-0 at halftime
- Returner Darius Nalls had a breakout game with 9 catches for 200 yards and 2 TD
- Nalls opened and closed the season with receiving touchdowns and had a catch in 10 games
- Opened season last year with win over Morehouse which led to program's first 6-0 start in history
- Won last five season openers
- Coach Gilliland enters season with seven straight winning seasons, won 10 during the 2017 season when Tigers advanced to second round of NCAA Playoffs
- Returner Demetrius Battle rushed for 934 yards and 11 touchdowns last year to earn All-GSC honors, entered season being named to the College Gridiron Showcase Watch List
- Battle put together a stretch of nine rushing touchdowns in a four-game span
- Returner Michael Anderson led the team with 55 tackles, 38 solo, along with 2.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles
- Anderson returned for extra season after posting a tackle in every game in 2021. Had a tackle for loss in four games and multiple tackles in every game
- Returner Shamar Lewis led the team with three interceptions and added 36 solo tackles and six pass breakups
- Lewis had two interceptions over the first two games and added a solo tackle in each contest
- Nalls, Anderson and Lewis were all named to the Preseason GSC All-Conference Team
- UWA will miss Chris Terrell who led the team in sacks (7), tackles for loss (14) and added 49 total tackles
- Quarterback will be a change this year after Jack McDaniels led the team completing 218-375 for 2,792 yards and 22 touchdowns
- Wide receiver Tyriq Martin finished his career last year after leading the Tigers with 62 catches for 981 yards and nine scores
- UWA went a perfect 5-0 away from home last year, with wins in four different states
- The Tigers have won the last six games played away from Livingston
- First road opener to start season since 2017 when UWA played at Lenoir-Rhyne (won, 46-7)
- UWA scored first in seven games in 2021, went 6-1 in those games
To stay connected with the UWA football team, follow @UWA_football on Instagram and Twitter. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
