CLEVELAND, Miss. - The University of West Alabama Football team suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday, falling 21-6 to the Delta State Statesmen in GSC play.

UWA (5-1, 2-1 GSC) struggled to finish drives as the Tigers drove into Delta State (5-2, 2-1 GSC) territory 12 times but were only able to score six points, leading to their 15-point loss.

After a pair of punts to begin the game, Delta State struck first as they marched down the field on their second drive. The league leader in rushing touchdowns, Kelvin Smith, capped off an eight-play, 46-yard drive with his seventh rushing touchdown of the season, giving the Statesmen a 7-0 lead. UWA was able to move the ball on their next drive until it stalled, forcing the Tigers to punt. West Alabama's defense held firm, preventing DSU from adding on to their lead as Trevon Lambert recorded a sack to force a Delta State three-and-out. After the Statesmen punt, the Tigers put together their best drive of the half, going 43 yards on six plays. Bry Webb finished off the drive with a seven-yard rushing Touchdown before DSU blocked the extra point to put the score at 7-6 in favor of the Statesmen.

The second quarter was all Delta State as they blanked the West Alabama offense while their offensive unit caught their stride. Explosive plays hurt the Tigers' defense in the quarter as the Statesmen's Kirk Cole found Jalen May for a 45-yard touchdown to extend Delta State's lead to 14-6, three minutes in. After the touchdown, UWA's defense was able to force a turnover on downs and an interception as Austen Cosby recorded his first INT of the season but the Tigers' offense couldn't capitalize. Late in the quarter, Spencer Arceneaux and the West Alabama offense marched down the field but the drive ended with Elijah Guyton missing a 32-yard field goal. This opened the door for the Statesmen to add on to their lead and they did just that as Cole connected with Jaylen Green for a 35-yard touchdown, extending Delta State's lead to 21-6 as we went to halftime.

DSU outgained UWA 282-214 in the first half. Penalties also hurt the Tigers as they registered five for 58 yards compared to just one penalty for the Statesmen.

Defense was the name of the game for both teams in the second half as neither team could produce any points. West Alabama's defensive unit stood firm, keeping the Tigers in the game but UWA's offense struggled to finish off their drives. West Alabama didn't have many issues getting into Delta State's territory, but when they got there, their drives stalled. The Tigers moved the ball into Statesmen territory seven times in the half but registered zero points to show for it, ultimately resulting in Delta State's 21-6 win. 

Along with Cosby's interception in the first half, Issac Williams recorded his second interception in the fourth quarter while Ishmael Naylor accumulated a game-high 11 tackles. Trevon Stanford finished the game with 10 total tackles and a game-high eight solo tackles.

For the first time in over a month, West Alabama will return home next Saturday when they play host to Chowan at 2:00 p.m. on homecoming weekend.