LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Football team ended their historic regular season on Saturday with a dominate 63-0 Senior Day win over the Erskine Flying Fleet.
West Alabama (9-1, 5-1 GSC) completely dominated from start to finish as the Tigers recorded 475 total yards of offense, while holding Erskine (1-8, 0-6 GSC) to 122 yards total yards. 361 of UWA's yards came on the ground with five different runners scoring touchdowns, propelling the Tigers to their ninth win of the regular season which sits as the best regular season in school history since 1971.
"We came out and did what we needed to do," said head coach Brett Gilliland. Having the best regular season since 1971 is a big deal. I have ties to that team and I think the coolest part is that I know what that '71 team was and the brotherhood they had. Coming through the Spring and the Summer, we started to see that brotherhood build on this team and that's what makes the difference. These guys care about each other and trust one another."
West Alabama's showcase of football excellence began with Cody Sigler registering his sixth sack of the season, knocking the Flying Fleet out of field goal range early in the first quarter. After Erskine's punt, Spencer Arceneaux and the UWA offense marched down the field with the Junior Quarterback connecting with Dearrius Nelson on a 25-yard touchdown to open up the scoring. Immediately after the touchdown, Lamar Gray picked off Erskine's Ethan Damron, giving the ball right back to the Tigers where Arceneaux found Khris Binion in the corner of the end zone to make it a 14-0 game in a blink. For the remainder of the quarter, West Alabama's defense remained stout as UWA took a 14-0 lead into the second.
In the second quarter, Bry Webb found his rhythm and spearheaded West Alabama's rushing attack as Webb recorded 36 yards on the Tigers first drive, capping it off with a 21-yard touchdown to extend the Tigers' lead to 21-0. For the next two drives, we saw punts from both teams before Arceneaux continued the scoring for UWA as the Quarterback took off for a 53-yard touchdown run. After the score, UWA's defense forced another Erskine three-and-out, bringing West Alabama's hot offense back onto the field. Webb continued to carry the load in the backfield as the senior rushed for 21 more yards in three attempts, before punching in his second touchdown of the day to put UWA up 35-0 at the half.
At the break, West Alabama accumulated 265 yards while holding Erskine to 45 yards and four first downs.
It was more UWA dominance in the second half. After the Tigers' defense forced another punt, Arceneaux and the offense went back to work. West Alabama put together a 10-play, 74-yard drive, with Arceneaux connecting with Tyler Walker for a 19-yard touchdown. On the first play of the Flying Fleet's next drive, Aydan Adams forced a fumble that was recovered by Malik Jones, giving the ball back to the Tigers at Erskine's 45-yard line. Up 42-0 and threatening to score again, Coach Gilliland went deep into his bench, calling on Tyler Smith and Hunter Kilpatrick who combined to rush for 30 yards in the drive, with Kilpatrick capping it off by scoring his first touchdown of the year.
Up 49-0 to begin the fourth, Senior Jalen Henderson, Junior Contravious Blanks, and Kilpatrick got a bulk of the carries. Henderson and Blanks continued to move the chains for West Alabama, with Henderson scoring his first touchdown of the year at the 8:39 mark and Blanks scoring his at the 3:04 mark as the Tigers cruised to a 63-0 win.
Out of their 361 rushing yards, Webb registered 101 while Arceneaux accounted for four touchdowns. Defensively, Trevon Lambert picked up two more sacks, pushing his season total to 11.0 while Trevon Stanford recorded 5.0 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
"We've put ourselves in a really good position to host a playoff game," coach Gilliland continued. "We're undefeated at home and our guys feed off of that energy. Our guys made a commitment in the Spring that this Stadium means something to them, so we need everyone in the stands next week. We need them loud and giving us a home field advantage because that's what this team has earned."
West Alabama ends their historic 2024 regular season with a 9-1 record and now awaits selection Sunday to find out who they will be playing in the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs next weekend.
