LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Football team puts their No. 15 ranking on the line this Saturday as they welcome the North Greenville Trailblazers to Tiger Stadium for a 2:00 p.m. matchup on Hall of Fame Weekend.

Before the ball gets kicked off on Saturday, the West Alabama Athletic Department will honor and celebrate five new additions to the UWA Hall of Fame. Back in June, the University announced the Class of 2024 which includes Thibault Charmey, Otha Foster III, Henry "Teakettle" Nettles, Harry Satterwhite, and the 2024 Women's Rodeo National Championship team. The inductees will also serve as honorary captains for Saturday's game. Alongside the celebration of the new inductees, the Alabama Department of Health will sponsor the game between West Alabama and North Greenville.

"It will be great honoring our newest Hall of Fame inductees," said head coach Brett Gilliland. "This is a group of Tiger greats spanning through several decades."

#15 West Alabama (6-1,3-1 GSC) comes into Saturday's game after cruising past the Chowan Hawks last weekend, 38-0. As for North Greenville (4-3, 3-1 GSC), they enter the weekend after upsetting Delta State, 45-43, in quadruple overtime last Saturday.

UWA vs NGU is one of the most intriguing matchups in the GSC this weekend with both teams playing their best brand of Football heading into Saturday. Led by Trevon Lambert, Ishmael Naylor, and Lamar Gray, the Tigers' defensive unit remains one of the best in the country. After registering their second shutout of the year this past weekend, West Alabama's points allowed per game dropped to 13.1 which ranks second in the conference and 10th in the nation. 

UWA will need their defense to put together another clinical performance on Saturday as they are set to face one of the best offensive teams that they've seen this season. 

North Greenville comes into their matchup with West Alabama, averaging 30 points per game on the season. In the last two games, the Trailblazers have scored a combined 99 points to knock off Delta State and Erskine, bringing a ton of momentum and confidence to Livingston with them. NGU's Quarterback Dylan Ramirez has thrown for 1,773 yards and 16 touchdowns this year on a 61.58 percent completion percentage. In the backfield next to Ramirez is Jacob Walker. Walker has been one of the best running backs in the league this season as the freshman ranks second in the GSC with 538 rushing yards along with five touchdowns. 

The Trailblazers are also loaded out wide, possessing two of the top receivers in the conference on their roster. Wide Receivers Dre Williams and Ahmari Coates sit fourth and fifth in the league in receiving yards with 477 and 473, respectively. Williams has been on a tear recently as the junior was named the GSC Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks after recording 19 catches, 354 yards, and seven touchdowns in North Greenville's two wins over the Flying Fleet and Statesmen. 

Coach Gilliland and Defensive Coordinator Steve Sisa have a handful of players they can throw at Williams in hopes of slowing him down. Cornerbacks Jamari Jemison, Nehemiah Washington, and Uriah Ratliff are all talented and have contributed three interceptions this year but it's yet to be determined if one of the three will follow Williams the entire game or if UWA will rotate fresh bodies onto him throughout Saturday's battle.

West Alabama will need Spencer Arceneaux, Tyler Walker, Devontae Causey, and the rest of their offense to build on the momentum they garnered last weekend against Chowan coupled with a strong defensive performance to slow down a surging North Greenville team and defend their home turf.

"This is a huge test for our team with a very good North Greenville team coming to Livingston," Gilliland continued. "They are talented and always well coached, so this should be a classic GSC battle."

Kickoff for Saturday's matchup is set for 2:00 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.